Editing Nanolaminate

{{Era|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}

[[File:H4 Prologue CAS Carrier.jpg|thumb|290px|Nanolaminate plating provides both the aesthetic and protective functions of the [[Covenant]].]]

'''Nanolaminate hull plating''' is a form of battle plating found on the [[Covenant]]'s warships.<ref name="Catalog">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969315_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969315 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction - Page 14'']</ref> Possessing a characteristic opalescent-like shine,<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 119''</ref> nanolaminate hull plating can range in color from purplish to white-blue or silver, while [[Kig-Yar]] vessels are generally bluish-black in color.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 26''</ref> The plating is very strong and heat resistant, with the support of [[energy shielding]] allowing Covenant ships to take more damage.<ref name="fs79">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 79''</ref> The amount of nanolaminate plating applied to each ship depends on the class, though {{Class|CSO|supercarrier}}s have well over thirty meters of armor plating.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 266''</ref> As of [[2525]], nanolaminate plating is not used in any [[human]] construction.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 176''</ref>

 

The hull plating allows ships to be resilient to most [[UNSC]] weaponry. UNSC [[point-defense gun]]s are not powerful enough to do significant damage to the plating,<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 272''</ref> [[Archer missile]]s prove to be very effective against the unshielded hull of a Covenant vessel causing the ship to become very vulnerable following the resulting explosions of the missiles.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 179''</ref> [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]s are often used to disable and destroy Covenant vessels after the energy shielding fails, being powerful enough to pierce the nanolaminate hull plating of most ships with a single round.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 297''</ref> A single pack of [[C-12 shaped charge]]s can easily puncture a large hole through the hull of a [[Covenant cruiser]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Blunt Instruments]]", ''page 202''</ref> Some Covenant cruisers are capable of taking a direct hit from a [[mass driver]] at near point-blank range with only minor structural damage done to the nanolaminate plating, but a second hit in the same spot will puncture the vessel.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 342''</ref>

However, Covenant weaponry is more effective against nanolaminate plating. The supercarrier ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'', one of the most powerful vessels in the [[Covenant fleet]], was heavily damaged by a single [[plasma turret|plasma torpedo]], with several layers of the armor plating boiling away.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 76''</ref>

The Sangheili continued to improve their ships' nanolaminate plating and other onboard technologies in the wake of the Human-Covenant War. Following a joint anti-[[piracy]] operation with the [[UNSC Navy]] in a [[Joint Occupation Zone]] in [[2557]], [[ONI]] analysis noted improvements to the hull plating of the assault carrier ''[[Shadow of Intent]]''.<ref name="Catalog"/>

The nanolaminate plating is very heat resistant, allowing Covenant vessels to enter extreme atmospheres or absorb the long-range damage from [[human]] [[nuclear weapon]]s. Upon entering the gas giant [[Threshold]]'s atmosphere shield-less, the hull of ''Ascendant Justice'' heated to three hundred degrees Celsius, with no actual structural damage done to the ship.<ref name="fs79"/> Only when the ship reached temperatures of over seventeen hundred degrees Celsius did minor hull tearing and conduit melting occur.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 84''</ref> However, at such high temperatures, the superstructure of the vessel becomes considerably softened.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 223''</ref>

The shield used by the [[Covenant]]'s [[Mgalekgolo]] soldiers is made up of a similar alloy.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/species/lekgolo-mgalekgolo-hunter '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Lekgolo'']</ref>

File:Reach - Supercarrier.png|A render of a ''CSO''-class supercarrier, armored with over 30 meters of nanolaminate plating.

File:Seraph reach.jpg|Covenant [[space fighter]]s, like the [[Type-31 Seraph|Seraph]], were armored with nanolaminate plating.

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