Editing Plasma torpedo

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{{Disambig header|the starship weapon|other uses of the term "plasma turret"|Plasma cannon}}

|image=[[File:FoR TAS - Unrelenting fires.png|300px]]<br>''[[Unrelenting]]'' firing plasma torpedoes

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{{Quote|Just another item in the Covenant's bottomless arsenal. Not a plasma torpedo, or we'd already be free-floating molecules.|[[Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]]<ref name="tf molecules">'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 11'' (2003)</ref>}}

'''Plasma torpedoes''' are magnetically guided bolts of [[plasma]] used as weapons by most [[Covenant]] [[capital ship]]s. Fired by dedicated turrets along a ship's hull, plasma torpedoes can strike at exceedingly long ranges.<ref name="FS">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 78''</ref> Along with the [[pulse laser turret]], [[Plasma cannon (starship)|plasma cannon]] and [[energy projector]], they are one of the Covenant's primary [[Space warfare|ship-to-ship]] weapons. Upon contact, a plasma torpedo causes severe damage to the target, boiling armor or overloading [[Energy shielding|shields]]. The weapon can be used in conjunction with pulse laser turrets and energy projectors to destroy entire [[UNSC fleet]]s.

==Design details==

The turret used to fire plasma torpedoes is antenna-like in appearance and is installed on universal joints often located along the lateral sides of the ship.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 36-37''</ref> The torpedo is red or purple and short with a ball-like head and a trail. The turrets, from afar, usually appear as short spikes on the sides, the upper sides, and the bow of the vessel. On larger ships, the plasma is collected into visible lines located along the surface of the exterior hull before firing.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 193, 197, 227, 284''</ref>

[[File:ArabiaVostok.png|thumb|250px|left|The [[UNSC frigate|frigate]]s [[CMA Arabia|''Arabia'']] and [[CMA Vostok|''Vostok'']] being severed instantly by plasma torpedoes.]]

Plasma is heated in a pinched magnetic field by energy supplied from the ship's [[pinch fusion reactor]]s. The atoms that are on an appropriate trajectory between the Covenant starship and its target are then herded towards the mouth of the turret through a series of plasma conduits by magnetic pulses.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 228, 229''</ref> Magnetic coils shape and guide the plasma, acting as a sophisticated focusing lens. When the weapon charges, a line of superheated plasma forms alongside the exterior plasma conduit adjoining the turret.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 193, 198''</ref> Once fully charged, the plasma fires outward at its target. The torpedo is guided towards its target by a long-reaching magnetic field projected by the emitter.<ref name="fs266">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 266''</ref> Upon impact, the torpedo penetrates most unshielded starships, burning through internal decks and structures, thus causing heavy damage on the target.

They are extraordinarily accurate; one of the only ways for UNSC ships to even temporarily avoid them is to use [[emergency thruster]]s to "dodge" incoming plasma torpedoes at the last moment. Particularly strong magnetospheres, such as those of gas giants, will disrupt the magnetic field holding the torpedo together, dissipating the plasma and rendering the torpedo harmless.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 480, 481''</ref> The dust and vapor from missiles detonated close enough to the ship may also absorb the energy from a torpedo, rendering it harmless.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 42''</ref> When the damaged ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' entered the atmosphere of [[Threshold]], the massive wake of superheated gases trailing the ship scattered the plasma torpedoes fired by pursuing Covenant vessels.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 79''</ref>

If the firing ship is destroyed, all plasma torpedoes guided by its magnetic fields are detonated prematurely or fly about aimlessly.<ref name="fs266"/> However, it appears that torpedoes are sometimes able to hold together for a small amount of time, as demonstrated during the [[Fall of Reach]], when fired torpedoes destroyed UNSC [[orbital defense platform]]s even after their firers had been destroyed.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 299''</ref>

As with many other examples of their technology, the Covenant themselves only understand a fraction of the underlying science involved with the operation of the plasma turret. As a result, despite their overwhelming power against human ships, the Covenant's methods of using their weapons systems are highly inefficient, relying on crude brute-force calculations and causing wasteful energy expenditure due to their slow operation; this is also why the turrets glow before firing. When in control of the Covenant ship ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'', UNSC [[smart AI|AI]] [[Cortana]] was able to use the vessel's plasma turrets to their full potential; she created an entirely new system to control the plasma, using [[electromagnetic pulse]]s to direct the plasma atoms into precision beams within a microsecond. This enabled her to use the weapons with far greater power and precision than the Covenant themselves, cutting through Covenant vessels like a scalpel, not unlike an [[energy projector]]. According to Cortana, she could have improved the plasma turrets even further had the Covenant ship possessed better electromagnetic systems.<ref name="fs171">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 171-172''</ref>

The magnetic coils used in a [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC gun]] can be used to shape and guide the plasma fired by a plasma turret; this was seen before the [[Massacre at Eridanus Secundus]], when the {{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}}'s magnetic coils were used to guide plasma generated by the ''Ascendant Justice'''s plasma turrets.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 264-266''</ref>

===Mistakes===

''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'' erroneously refers to the plasma torpedoes of the battlecruiser ''[[Pious Inquisitor]]'' as if they were physical objects stored aboard the vessel in a dedicated "torpedo bay".<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''pages 439, 443, 445, 446''</ref> However, there is no tangible component to the munitions, as the plasma cannon generates the "torpedo" from an amorphous supply of plasma upon firing.<ref name="fs171"/>

While the term "plasma torpedo" is used throughout the novels, the weapons used to fire the torpedoes are only identified as "plasma turrets" in ''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', which also describes their operational mechanisms in detail. [[Halo Waypoint]]'s article for the ''[[Song of Retribution]]'' introduces a distinction between the assault carrier's "Anterior Plasma Cannons" and "Plasma Torpedo Silo Network", listing these weapon systems as the ship's secondary and tertiary armament, respectively.<ref name="hwp sor">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/song-of-retribution '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Song of Retribution'']</ref> This is a change from the [[Halo novels|novels]], which (with some exceptions) mainly describe the Covenant using three layers of starship weaponry: [[energy projector]]s, plasma torpedoes and [[pulse laser turret|pulse lasers]]. The term "plasma cannon" is also used in reference to Covenant warships' secondary armament throughout ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'',<ref name="evg cannon">'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''pages 13, 28, 41''</ref> and in ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', a "heavy plasma cannon" (most often referred to only as a "plasma cannon") is mentioned as the ''[[Rapid Conversion]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s main weapon system.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 226''</ref> In the ''[[Halo Legends]]'' episode ''[[The Package]]'', what appear to be plasma torpedoes (although smaller and more numerous than typically described in the novels) are referred to as "plasma rounds".

However, it should be acknowledged that the terms "cannon" and "turret" are rather general and are likely used descriptively rather than being restricted to specific weapon systems. From the context in ''Contact Harvest'', for example, it is apparent that the ''Rapid Conversion'''s "plasma cannon" is in fact referring to the ship's [[energy projector]]. Therefore it can be assumed there is a substantial amount of overlap between the terms.

''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', ''[[Halo 3]]'' and ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' depict Covenant starships firing blue or blue-purple bolts of plasma which are seemingly unguided. Meanwhile, the novels consistently describe plasma torpedoes as being red as well as highly maneuverable. Given these differences, it is likely that the plasma weapons depicted in the games are in fact representative of the "plasma cannons" listed in the ''Song of Retribution''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s arsenal rather than plasma torpedoes. ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' depicts the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} being struck by numerous blue plasma bolts. In ''[[Halo: The Flood]]'', [[Jacob Keyes|Captain Keyes]] remarks that the Covenant cannot be targeting the ''Autumn'' with plasma torpedoes, or else the ship would have been reduced into ''"free-floating molecules"'';<ref name="tf molecules"/> thus, the plasma weapons in question must be some other form of starship plasma weapon. Halo Waypoint's article for Covenant corvettes corroborates this distinction, listing "plasma cannons" as the corvettes' sole weapon system.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-gb/universe/vehicles/covenant-corvette '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Covenant Corvette'']</ref> The distinction between "plasma cannons" and "plasma torpedoes" is carried over to ''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]'', where many classes of Covenant ships are listed as being armed with both types of weapon systems.

File:CCS Legends.jpg|A {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}} firing "plasma rounds" and [[pulse laser turret|pulse lasers]] in ''[[Halo Legends]]'': ''[[The Package]]''.

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{{Covenant Weapons}}