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| {{Status|Canon}} | | {{Ratings}} |
| [[File:H2A Terminals - ODPs.jpg|300px|thumb|{{Class|Moncton|orbital weapon platform}}s in deployment over a colony world.]]
| | {{Era|H2|H3|RE|FOR|FS|GOO|HE|LE}} |
| {{Quote|That MAC gun can put a round clean through a Covenant capital ship.|[[Avery Johnson]], describing the gun of a ''Moncton''-class orbital weapons platform.{{Ref/Reuse|H2Cairo}}}}
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| An '''orbital defense platform''' (ODP){{Ref/Book|Enc11|Page=294}}, or '''orbital weapon platform''' (OWP), is a kind of armed satellite employed by the [[United Nations Space Command]] for defensive purposes. They can range massively in size and scope, and are frequently deployed in a [[geosynchronous orbit]] around a given world to act as a defensive line against a potential invading enemy force.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=34}}{{Ref/Site|Id=CFGlassed|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-looking-glassed|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Looking Glassed|D=16|M=01|Y=2021}} Within the UNSC, orbital weapons platforms are assigned the [[hull classification symbol]] '''OWP'''.{{Ref/Book|Id=WF30|HWF|Page=30-31}}
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| ==Overview== | | {{Ship |
| Orbital weapons platforms serve to guard their charges via a number of means. The term is a loose descriptor that can encompass a range of satellite types, ranging from small and/or unmanned satellites that consist simply of a missile pod linked to a targeting array and communications relay, up to the massive manned [[space station]]s that form the most predominant and iconic imagery of the concept. The largest of these are built around a core [[Capital ship|capital]]-scale [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] (MAC), colloquially referred to as a "big stick", and serve as some of the largest and most powerful examples of MAC weaponry available to [[human]]ity.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}{{Ref/Reuse|CFGlassed}}{{Ref/Site|URL=http://community.spartangames.co.uk/index.php?/topic/16805-halo-waypoint-update-with-spartan-new-ships/page-7|Site=Spartan Games|Page=Halo Waypoint Update with Spartan - NEW SHIPS!|Detail=(defunct)|Quote='Super MAC' is more a category than a specific weapon. Many defense platforms do not have 'super MACs' as used by Reach installations, for example.}}
| | |name = Orbital Defense Platform |
| | |image = [[Image:Macstationcairolarge1ki.jpg|300px]] |
| | |manufacturer = [[United Nations Space Command]] [[United Nations Space Command Defense Force|Defense Force]] |
| | |class = Weapon Platform |
| | |height = 1336 meters (4383.20 feet) |
| | |slipspace drive = No |
| | |hull = |
| | |countermeasures = |
| | |armament = 'Super' [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] (1) |
| | |complement = UNSC Marines, Naval crewmen |
| | |crew = |
| | |role = Defensive Weapons Platform |
| | |era = Human-Covenant War |
| | |affiliation = [[United Nations Space Command]] (Defense Force) |
| | }} |
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| Alongside their primary defensive weaponry, ODPs may also equip a number of secondary armaments to aid in their own defence. These include [[point-defense gun]]s, such as in case of the [[M606 Goalkeeper point defense gun|M606 Goalkeepers]] included on the {{Class|Moncton|orbital weapon platform|}}. Larger OWPs usually also equip [[hangar]] support facilities for [[dropship]]s and [[Space fighter|strikecraft]], with the precise examples carried varying across the fleet. OWPs are deployed in battle clusters of (in the case of the ''Moncton'') three stations, each designed to mutually support and reinforce one another. As such, each carries a slightly different loadout, allowing the three to each specialise in a particular collateral function and cover one another's bases.{{Ref/Reuse|WF30}}
| | {{Quote|That [[MAC]] gun can put a round clean through a [[Covenant]] Capital Ship.|Avery Johnson}} |
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| ===Deployment===
| | An '''Orbital Defense Platform''' is a class of large [[UNSC]] space stations used to defend locations of great importance, typically planets of high strategic value. |
| Within the UNSC, orbital weapons satellites are typically manned, maintained and operated by the [[UNSC Air Force]]{{Ref/Book|OSFM|Page=136-138}}, presumably administered by the [[Orbital Defense Command]].{{Ref/Level|H4|Midnight}} However, they may be employed for collateral and administrative functions by the [[UNSC Navy]]. For example, the platform [[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]] served as the command centre for [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood]] during the [[Battle for Earth]] in late [[2552]], alongside hosting a naval ceremony to promote the survivors of the [[Battle of Installation 04]].{{Ref/Level|Id=H2Cairo|H2|Cairo Station}}
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| ===Power generation===
| | Stations are frequently placed in [[Geosynchronous]] orbit and deployed in groups, or clusters, of 2 to 5. The well-equipped and large bridge of an ODP is suitable for directing large-scale engagements. Such was the case when [[Lord Hood|Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood]] directed UNSC forces from an ODP during the [[Battle of Earth]]. The most effective method to destroy these great Platforms is via Covenant Boarding Craft. These craft would avoid the heavy slugs, and then plant a bomb. In order to avoid this, the UNSC would attempt to repel the boarders. <ref>''[[Halo 2]]'', [[Cairo Station (Level)]]</ref> |
| OWPs may generate their electrical power through a number of means. Some designs maintain their own internal [[fusion reactor]]s for fully-independent operation, and can make use of liquid metal capacitor cells to store charge for the primary weapon. In emergency circumstances, it is possible to dock a friendly UNSC warship to the station, to make use of its reactor to aid the station in power cycling.{{Ref/Reuse|WF30}} The most powerful rapid-fire designs - consisting of the {{Class|Erőd|orbital weapon platform|}} deployed over Reach - are so power-hungry as to make even onboard fusion reactors unsustainable. Instead, these few stations are manually tethered to [[Orbital defense generator|ground-based generator]] facilities. While providing vastly higher amounts of power for the weapon systems of the platform, these separate generators also serve as a key defensive weakness for the station, and are susceptible to [[Planetary warfare|forces on the ground]] in the event of an invasion.{{Ref/Reuse|Quezon}}
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| ==Classifications of orbital defense platform== | | == Facilities == |
| Several kinds of OWP are employed by the UNSC, the most prominent of which consisting of large space stations built around a central core MAC in a similar fashion to most other [[UNSC starship]]s.
| | Internally, the stations are remarkably spacious, complete with high ceilings and a monorail system to move personnel and equipment. In addition to numerous small craft bays, there are two docks for larger ships, such as [[freighter]]s, or even [[UNSC Frigate|frigates]]. These docking bays could possibly be used to hold [[Longsword fighter]]s used to protect the station from hostile spacecraft. The design incorporates many features against potential hostile boarding action, including security stations and small arms racks situated at strategic locations.<ref name="armory">Halo 2, [[The Armory (Level)]], Cutscene</ref> |
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| ===''Erőd''-class=== | | === Armament === |
| {{Main|Erőd-class orbital weapon platform}}
| | The primary and crucial armament is a Mk. V "''Super''" [[MAC]] gun capable of causing near-fatal damage to even a shielded [[Covenant]] capital warship with a single slug. It can shoot a shell at enormous velocities, plus the shell usually weighs 3,000 tons which is a factor to whether or not it can penetrate a enemy ship's shields in one shot.<ref name="armory"/> As with starship-mounted MACs, a platform's cannon is commonly controlled by an [[AI]]. |
| The ''Erőd''-class OWPs were, during their tenure, among the most powerful stations ever constructed. They consisted of a single rapid fire [[Super MAC]] that was considered a threat to even [[Covenant starship]]s, though relied upon separate ground-based generators for their power. This Achilles heel ultimately proved their downfall during the [[Space engagements over Reach|space battles]] in orbit over [[Reach]] during the planet's [[Fall of Reach|fall]]. Prior to this, ''Erőd''s formed a core component of Reach's twenty-strong OWP lineup.{{Ref/Book|Id=Quezon|Enc22|Page=36}} | |
| <gallery>
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| File:HFB_ErodClassOWP_Boxart.png|[[Quezon Station]], one of the ''Erőd''-class ODPs over Reach, alongside its battle cluster.{{Ref/Reuse|Quezon}}
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| </gallery>
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| ===''Moncton''-class===
| | Curiously, no sources indicate the presence of additional weapons, such as point defense cannons commonly mounted on [[UNSC]] warships(the absence of such weapons may explain why so many Covenant Boarding Craft were able to latch onto the Platforms orbiting Reach and Earth). However, the possibility that ODPs are armed with such weapons cannot be ruled out yet. The apparent lack of point-defense cannons may be explained by the fact that transient magnetic bursts tend to magnetize the weapons. |
| {{Main|Moncton-class orbital weapon platform}}
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| The ''Moncton''-class OWPs serve as the primary defensive battlements surrounding [[Earth]], with at least one example also constructed over Reach.{{Ref/Comic|Id=BootCamp|HFoRBC|Issue=1}} They were in service by at least [[2517]]{{Ref/Reuse|BootCamp}}, with the onset of the [[Human-Covenant War]] in [[2525]] spurring on a massive construction project for the constellations of ''Moncton'' satellites over Earth. By 2552, this program was still incomplete, by which time the planet held around three hundred stations in its defence.{{Ref/Novel|HFS|Page=104}}{{Ref/Reuse|H2Cairo}}
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| <gallery>
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| File:H2A CairoStation Loadscreen.png|[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]] alongside its battle cluster, consisting of [[Athens Station]] and [[Malta Station]].
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| </gallery>
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| ===Other OWP classes=== | | === Power plant === |
| A number of hitherto-unnamed OWPs have been observed over various [[Human colonies|colony worlds]].
| | ODPs do not possess the power generation equipment necessary to fire their main armament. Instead, they receive power from [[Orbital Defense Generator|ground-based generators]]. A possible strategy to neutralize the formidable ODPs would be to disable the generators via ground assault. This would disable the platform's weaponry without destroying it, allowing this valuable prize to be captured. The Covenant used this strategy during their invasion of [[Reach]], dropping troops to the planet's surface and destroying these generators. This paved the way for Covenant forces to completely overwhelm the [[UNSC]] forces in the space battle over Reach. |
| <gallery>
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| File:Magnetic_Accelerator_Cannon.png|An unnamed ODP over Reach, firing its main gun. Unlike regular ODPs in which the cannon is aligned vertically with the station's axis, the gun here is laterally-mounted.{{Ref/Film|HLeg|Story=Origins}}
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| File:Orbitoldefencestation.jpg|An unnamed ODP uncovered by [[343 Guilty Spark]] within the data banks of {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}.{{Ref/Game|HCEA|Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 1}}
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| </gallery>
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| | {{ODF Locations}} |
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| ==Deployment== | | == Deployment == |
| ===Reach=== | | ===[[Reach]]=== |
| [[File:Magnetic Accelerator Cannon.png|thumb|300px|An ODP above Reach firing its main cannon.]] | | By August [[2552]], [[Reach]] was protected by 20 ODPs. At least some of these platforms were in place as early as [[2527]].<ref>[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]], page 50</ref> During the [[Battle of Reach]], [[Marines]] and [[SPARTAN-II|Spartans]] were deployed to protect the orbital platforms' planetside power generators but were ultimately unable to do so against determined enemy assaults. The disabling of the defense platforms was a major factor on the battle's outcome<ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', page reference needed</ref>. |
| By [[2552#August|August 2552]], [[Reach]] was protected by 20 orbital defense platforms, with at least one being an {{Class|Erőd|orbital weapon platform}}.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} Another was a {{Class|Moncton|orbital weapon platform}} which was in place by [[2517|May 2517]].{{Ref/Comic|Id=bootcamp|[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp]]}} A number of Reach's ODPs were online by [[2527]].{{Ref/Book|Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Page=50}} During the [[Fall of Reach]], the orbital defense platforms inflicted massive losses on the Covenant armada in the opening stages of the battle, as well as providing fire support for ground forces on Reach. Large numbers of UNSC forces were deployed to protect the orbital platforms' planetside power generators, but they ultimately fell against determined enemy assaults. The disabling of the defense platforms was a major factor on the battle's outcome.{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach}} | |
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| ===Earth=== | | ===[[Earth]]=== |
| The outbreak of the [[Human-Covenant War]] prompted a massive expansion of [[Earth]]'s defenses. Even as late as the [[Fall of Reach|Battle of Reach]] preparations had not yet been completed; a series of new platforms above Earth were set to come online on September 14.{{Ref/Novel|[[Halo: First Strike]]|Page=104}} By October 2552, some 300 ODPs were operational.{{Ref/Level|H2|The Armory}} Many of Earth's ODPs were named after points of interest that they roughly kept station over. | | The outbreak of the [[Human-Covenant War]] prompted a massive expansion of [[Earth]]'s defenses. Even as late as the [[Battle of Reach]] preparations had not yet been completed.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', page 104</ref> By October 2552, some 300 ODPs were operational.<ref name="armory"/> Many of Earth's ODPs were named after points of interest that they roughly kept station over. |
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| A portion of the 300 platforms first saw action at the early stages of the [[Battle for Earth]]. ''[[Athens Station]]'' and ''[[Malta Station]]'' were each destroyed by [[antimatter charge]]s installed by [[Covenant]] boarding parties, while ''[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]]'' only narrowly avoided the same fate as the other platforms thanks to [[John-117|Master Chief]]'s removal of the bomb on board.{{Ref/Reuse|H2Cairo}} The ODPs were used throughout the drawn-out Battle for Earth after more Covenant fleets began to arrive in the following days and weeks,{{Ref/Generic|Id=lootcrate2|Heading=[[Halo Legendary Crate]]|Subheading=[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2]]}} but the Covenant might have already destroyed numerous stations especially when the final Covenant [[Great Schism|loyalist]] [[Truth's fleet|naval forces]] and the [[Prophet of Truth]] himself arrived at Earth on the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] on [[2552#November|November 17]].{{Ref/Level|Halo 3|[[Crow's Nest]]}}{{Ref/Level|Id=TGJ|Game=Halo 2|Level=[[The Great Journey (level)|The Great Journey]]}} | | A portion and small section of the 300 platforms first saw action at the early stages of the [[Battle of Earth]]. ''[[Athens Station]]'' and ''[[Malta Station]]'' were each destroyed by conveniently placed [[Covenant Bomb]]s installed by [[Covenant]] boarding parties, while ''[[Cairo Station]]'' only narrowly avoided the same fate as the other platforms thanks to [[John-117|Master Chief]]'s removal of the Covenant bomb on board.<ref>''[[Halo 2]]'', [[Cairo Station (Level)]]</ref> |
| | The ODPs were also used later in the Battle of Earth, but the Covenant might have already destroyed numerous stations when Truth led a second fleet to Earth.<ref>''[[Halo 2]]'', [[The Great Journey (Level)]]</ref> |
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| During the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s [[New Phoenix Incident|attack on Earth]] in mid-[[2557]], ODPs defended Earth from the Didact alongside the ships of the UNSC Home Fleet. However, the Didact's ship ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'' was too heavily shielded for even the ODPs Super MACs and as a result, the Master Chief had to destroy the ship from the inside with a [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK nuclear warhead]].{{Ref/Level|Halo 4|[[Midnight]]}}
| | == Known ODPs == |
| | | *''[[Athens Station]]'' UNSCDF-ODA144 (Destroyed) |
| ===New Carthage===
| | *''[[Cairo Station]]'' UNSCDF-ODA142 (Damaged) |
| The MJOLNIR GEN2 [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Infiltrator|Infiltrator]] was tested on [[New Carthage]]'s orbital defense platforms.
| | *''[[Malta Station]]'' UNSCDF-ODA143 (Destroyed) |
| | | *''[[Nassau Station]]'' (Unknown) |
| ===Camber===
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| Several orbital defense platforms were stationed around [[Camber]]; these were eventually destroyed when the Covenant [[Battle of Camber|assaulted]] the moon during the Human-Covenant War.
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| ===Meridian===
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| Several orbital defense platforms held station above the [[Outer Colony]] of [[Meridian]], owing to the world's critical importance as an industrial supplier of the UNSC; these stations were lost to the Covenant during the [[Battle of Meridian]] in [[2551]].
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| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| {{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of orbital defense platforms}}
| | *All known Orbital Defense Platforms over Earth are named after cities on Earth, Some examples are Cairo, Athens, and Malta. |
| *All known orbital defense platforms over Earth are named after cities on Earth. It is also apparent that the stations' names are also based roughly on the region they orbit above: Cairo, Athens, and Malta, for example, are located rather close to each other geographically. However, the stations' locations do not directly correspond to the planetside locations of the cities, as the other stations in Cairo's battle cluster can easily be seen with the naked eye, whereas their namesakes are hundreds of kilometers apart. | | *The fact that there are 300 ODPs could be a reference to the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans used the phalanx formation to hold their own against an army of more than 200,000 Persians. |
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| ==Gallery==
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| <gallery>
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| File:H2_Cairo_FighterLaunchBay_Concept.jpg|Concept art of an ODP's fighter launch bay ''[[Halo 2]]''.
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| File:H2_Cairo_WarthogBay_Concept.jpg|Concept art of an [[M12 Force Application Vehicle]] in an ODP's interior airlock.
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| File:H2_Cairo_Airlock_Concept.jpg|Concept art of an ODP's interior airlock.
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| File:H2_Cairo_GunConsole_Concept.jpg|Concept art of an ODP's weaponry controls.
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| File:UNSC Home Fleet.JPG|[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]]'s battle cluster above Earth, one of the dozens of triads in the orbital defense grid.
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| File:CairoStationCallouts.jpg|The typical layout of an ODP.
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| File:Macstationcairolarge1ki.jpg|''Cairo Station'' right before the [[Battle of Earth]].
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| File:Nassau.png|[[Nassau Station]] firing its MAC in ''[[Halo: Uprising]]''.
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| File:BootCamp - Reach.png|An orbital defense platform above Reach, along with the [[Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet]] in ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''.
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| File:Orbitoldefencestation.jpg|An ODP, as shown in one of ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''{{'}}s [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]].
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| File:HTMCC H2A Achievement BombSquad.png|''Halo 2: Anniversary'' concept art of a ''Moncton''-class ODP shown in orbit above Earth.
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| File:Oaxaca Station.jpg|''Oaxaca Station'' in [[2558]] in ''[[Halo: Escalation]]''.
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| File:H2A - Cairo Station Bay.jpg|The underside of a Super MAC platform.
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| File:H2A-MAC Recoil Dampener.png|The dampening system at the base of an ODP's MAC.
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| File:H2A-ODP Firing.png|''Cairo Station'' firing its MAC.
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| File:H2A Terminals - ODPs.jpg|ODPs firing at a [[Covenant fleet]] in the ''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Halo 2 Anniversary Terminals]]''.
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| File:HFB-MACs.jpg|Orbital MACs in ''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]''.
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| File:Halo 5 - Guardian on Earth.jpg|An ODP in the vicinity of a newly awakened [[Guardian]] above Earth in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''.
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| File:H5G-Infinity&Guardian.jpg|Several ODPs in Earth orbit as the ''Infinity'' and her escorts approach the Guardian.
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| </gallery>
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| ==List of appearances==
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
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| *''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo 2]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Uprising]]''
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| *''[[Halo Legends]]''
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| **''[[Origins]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
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| **''[[Pariah]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Reach]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]
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| **''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
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| **''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
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| *''[[Halo 4]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
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| *''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]''
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
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| *''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
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| *''[[Halo Mythos]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Lone Wolf]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Point of Light]]''
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| *''[[Halo: The Television Series Season Two]]''
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| **''[[Reach (TV Series)|Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
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| ==Sources== | | ==Sources== |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
| | <references/> |
| | | [[Category:UNSC]] |
| {{Human Ships}}
| | [[Category:Orbital Defense Platforms| ]] |
| [[Category:Orbital defense platforms| ]] | |
| [[Category:Space stations]] | |
