Point Blank-class prowler
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The Point Blank-class prowler, often referred to as the Point Blank-class stealth cruiser, is a classification of prowler stealth ships employed by the Office of Naval Intelligence's Prowler Corps.[10]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
Stealth cruisers are the largest prowlers built, running at the length of a Halberd-class light destroyer.[3][1][2] Typical stealth ship design logic prefers that ships built as small as possible as to minimize the ship's radar cross-section and the surface area needed to be coated in stealth ablative coating, making the Point Blank-class something of an aberration[6]—being almost double the size of the next-largest prowler in UNSC service, the Sahara-class prowler.
While running, Point Blank-class vessels enjoy the benefits of being completely invisible to radar. The vessels' fusion drives are baffled, which results in the ships appearing as dark as interstellar space when they run at below 30% power.[3]
Layout[edit]
The Point Blank's interiors are as mysterious as the exterior, with stainless-steel walls brushed to a white reflective shield, as was most of the ship's insides. The floors oddly enough weren't the same white color as the walls, being described as metal grates. It also contained a conference room that acted as a Faraday cage, completely sealed off from the rest of the ship, known as "The Cage" or "Odin's Eye." In this conference room, meetings of extremely classified nature could be conducted in absolute secrecy.[3]
The Point Blank-class stealth cruiser has a large mission preparation hold, used by the ship's infantry complement to conduct training exercises. If needed, the hold's artificial gravity can be deactivated to allow for zero gravity combat scenarios, including those with floating obstacles to provide cover. The vessel features various hangar bays meant to perform different duties. This includes a "drop hangar" large enough to comfortably hold eight hundred ODSTs, twelve Spartan-IIs, and a handful of other naval personnel.[10] There is also a "command hangar" where various ceremonies can be held, including funeral services where the dead are jettisoned into space while onlookers are protected by a retractable AlON pressure barrier.[8] Toward the vessel's aft is a "fighter hangar," from which a compliment of space fighters can be launched. On at least one of this hangar's bulkheads is a large tactical map that can be used to display fleet and fighter movements.[4] The Point Blank-class stealth cruiser also sports multiple small maintenance hangars where hardware can be worked on and repaired.[9] Finally, the vessel has at least one observation bubble high up on the vessel's stern. From here, spacecraft such as S-14 Baselards can be remotely piloted.[5]
Armament and countermeasures[edit]
While nominally intended for stealth operations, Point Blanks are equipped with a selection of armaments for defense. As is standard in UNSC ship design, the craft is built around a spinally-fitted 20F9B9 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, and is additionally fitted with five M947 Shiva nuclear missile delivery systems. The ship is also equipped with eighty M42 Archer missile pods and four M66 Sentry autocannon turrets.[5][1]
Defensively, the Point Blank is fitted with twenty M910 Rampart turrets[1] and an array of communications jamming technology capable of blocking all outbound communications from a targeted area, provided the opposing party does not make use of anti-jamming or delayed transmission technology to counteract this.[7]
Crew and complement[edit]
Point Blank-class ships are some of the most secretive ever constructed, and as such very few are ever allowed to step foot onto them, with fewer than twenty officers having access to the "Odin's Eye" on UNSC Point of No Return.[3]
During one mission, a Point Blank-class stealth cruiser was witnessed deploying a compliment of at least twenty-four S-14 Baselards.[4][5]
Development history[edit]
The first Point Blank-class vessels came online at the height of the Insurrection in 2510.[1] They were constructed in parts, then assembled in deep space for secrecy.[3] As of 2531, a single Point Blank-class ship was partially-constructed at Construction Platform 966A.[6]
Usage[edit]
Point Blank-class prowlers are versatile ships, designed to be used as long-range motherships for smaller prowler complements on longer strategic missions away from human space, or as command posts for UNSC planning staff operating on the front lines.[1] The Point of No Return served as the wartime strategic command-and-control platform for the Office of Naval Intelligence Section Three.[3]
Ships of the line[edit]
- UNSC Hidden Point - A stealth cruiser in naval service in 2559, destroyed during the Battle of Netherop.[11]
- UNSC Point Blank – The lead ship of the class.[12]
- UNSC Point of No Return - wartime command-and-control platform for ONI Section Three.[Note 1]
- UNSC Relentless Watch - A stealth cruiser in naval service some time around the early 2500s.[13]
- UNSC Vanishing Point - Logistics-support vessel for Task Force Yama during Operation: SILENT STORM.
- An unnamed stealth cruiser was under construction at Construction Platform 966A as of 2531.[6]
Operational history[edit]
In early 2526, the Point Blank-class stealth cruiser UNSC Vanishing Point acted as the logistics-support vessel of Task Force Yama.[10] It helped coordinate various missions during Operation: SILENT STORM, including battles at Seoba,[14] Biko,[9] Etalan,[4] and Zhoist.[citation needed]
In 2531, the Point of No Return served as the nexus from which the SPARTAN-III program was first conceived and approved.[6] This specimen would survive the Human-Covenant War, and was the site from which Codename: SURGEON filed the report "Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J." in December 2552.[15]
In 2559, the UNSC Hidden Point acted as the UNSC command ship during the Battle of Netherop. Although it was destroyed by Tam 'Lakosee with the Divine Hand, 5 of the ship's 10 Condor dropships managed to escape and extract the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios survivors of the conflict.[16][citation needed]
Production notes[edit]
The Point Blank-class was first identified by name in 2018's novel Halo: Silent Storm and was first visually depicted in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition). The image used in this book, and at the top of this page, is a 3D model created by artist Jared Harris for the Halo fan mod Sins of the Prophets - based on a concept by D4rkst0rm99.[17] The official recognition of this ship as the canon depiction of the Point Blank was part of an official collaboration between the Sins of the Prophets team and 343 Industries. Several other Sins of the Prophets ship models were used in the book as well.
Gallery[edit]
D4rkst0rm99's concept art of the Point Blank, originally created for Sins of the Prophets.
A further refinement of D4rkst0rm99's Point Blank concept.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (First appearance)
- Halo: Evolutions
- Halo: Silent Storm
- Halo: Outcasts
Notes[edit]
- ^ While not explicitly confirmed to be this class of ship, see the Point of No Return's production notes section for an overview of why this ship is almost certainly a Point Blank, and why this page utilizes information from both ships.
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 128
- ^ a b Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 252
- ^ a b c d e f g Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, chapter 2
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 19
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 20
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, chapter 3
- ^ a b c Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 7
- ^ a b Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 16
- ^ a b c Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 17
- ^ a b c Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 5
- ^ Halo: Outcasts, chapter 21
- ^ Stephen Loftus on the Autumn class' talk page
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 102: Relentless Watch is referred to as a stealth cruiser in Bonita Stone's bio.
- ^ Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 8
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
- ^ Halo: Outcasts
- ^ DeviantArt, Oni Fleet (Retrieved on Apr 11, 2022) [archive]
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