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Nuclear weapon: Difference between revisions

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===HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon===
===HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon===
{{Main|HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon}}
{{Main|HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon}}
The '''HAVOK''' is a 30 megaton thermonuclear device. Some were delivered by ground forces during the Human-Covenant War.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 200''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 212''</ref><ref>'''Halo Wars: Genesis''', ''page 17''</ref> One was used to destroy the [[Composer]] and the ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'', stopping the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s [[Battle of Earth (2557)|assault on Earth]].
The '''HAVOK''' is a 30 megaton thermonuclear device. Some were delivered by ground forces during the Human-Covenant War.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 200''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 212''</ref><ref>'''Halo Wars: Genesis''', ''page 17''</ref> One was used to destroy the [[Composer]] and the ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'', stopping the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s [[New Phoenix Incident|assault on Earth]].


===HORNET mine===
===HORNET mine===

Revision as of 19:55, September 20, 2014

Template:SeeWikipedia

An atomic blast.

A nuclear weapon is a type of ordnance using nuclear fission and/or fusion as a source of energy. The yield of a nuclear weapon is measured in the amount of tons of "TNT" needed to generate an explosion of similar proportions.

Overview

The UNSC uses nuclear weapons in space warfare to a great effect, increasing their explosive power by developing loads enhanced for vacuum use.[1] Commonly, the casings of UNSC nuclear weapons such as the FENRIS nuclear warheads are heavily reinforced, both to contain radiation and to boost the thermonuclear yield for containing the detonation for a split second longer.[2] The hardened cases also protect the nukes inside and prevent them from going off accidentally - it was noted that detonating a bomb next to a FENRIS warhead would barely scratch the casing.[3] There a various grades for the types of nuclear weapons. An example is the excavation-grade HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. While presumably not as powerful as a military-grade weapon, a single warhead is described as being powerful enough to turn Ivanoff Station "into piñata" and was powerful enough to destroy Mantle's Approach and the Composer when detonated on the inside of the ship.

Nuclear weapons are also sold commercially, and are commonly used in asteroid mining. In 2513, an Insurrectionist suicide bomber used one such commercial explosive in a terrorist attack on the Haven arcology on Mamore, killing two million and injuring over eight million more.[4]

An operational idiosyncrasy of nuclear weapons is the result of containing fissile material. Fissile materials, such as plutonium, emit a readily detectable Čerenkov radiation signature upon exiting slipspace that negates stealth measures. As a result, if complete stealth is required, prowlers are forced to jettison any on-board nuclear weapons before transitioning back to normal space to avoid detection.[5] In addition, nukes launched from slipspace can easily be detected by enemy sensors, despite the use of stealth coatings or lead linings.[6]

The energy shielding used in Covenant warships has been noted to dampen the electromagnetic pulse generated by the detonation of a nuke inside the ship. The SPARTAN-IIs used this to their advantage when they destroyed a Covenant cruiser during the Fall of Reach, without risking damaging the nearby orbital defense generators.[7]

History

The first space-borne nuclear weapons were used during the Interplanetary War in the 22nd century.[8] However, they were not considered a viable weapon of space warfare for the next several hundred years; at the time of the start of the Insurrection in 2494 it was widely believed that fissile detonations in space were practically useless, as the vacuum of space severely reduces the explosive yield and the resulting electromagnetic pulse. As such, it came as a surprise to the UNSC when the Insurrectionists used a nuclear device in a space battle following the Callisto Incident, having hidden it in an asteroid in advance. When detonated, the nuke shattered the asteroid to molten pieces, which in turn destroyed one UNSC ship and severely damaged two.[9]

Engagements against the Covenant during the Human-Covenant War constantly kept the UNSC's nuclear stockpiles near depletion. This occasionally forced them to resort to using obsolete nukes or unorthodox solutions.[10][11][12]

The Covenant did not generally use nuclear weapons, regarding them as "heretic" weapons. An exception to this were the Jiralhanae, who had no qualms about using captured UNSC nukes or any other UNSC matériel.[13][14] However, following the end of the war, remnant groups of the Covenant have adopted more liberal policies in regards to human weaponry for practical reasons. Human-made nuclear weapons have subsequently fallen into the hands of Covenant terrorists and cultists.[15]

UNSC nuclear ordnance

The nuclear mushroom cloud seen in the bombing of Nagasaki in World War II.

The UNSC employs a range of nuclear ordnance.

FENRIS nuclear warhead

Main article: FENRIS nuclear warhead

The FENRIS is a type of low-yield thermonuclear device. They were slated for decommissioning but munition expenditures during the Human-Covenant War saw the survivors return to service.[10][11][16]

Fury tactical nuclear weapon

Main article: Fury tactical nuclear weapon

The Fury, formally designated as the Medium Fusion Destructive Device,[17] is a rugby ball-sized device with a yield slightly less than a megaton. It is the "closest thing the UNSC has to a nuclear grenade".[18]

HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon

Main article: HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon

The HAVOK is a 30 megaton thermonuclear device. Some were delivered by ground forces during the Human-Covenant War.[19][20][21] One was used to destroy the Composer and the Mantle's Approach, stopping the Didact's assault on Earth.

HORNET mine

Main article: HORNET mine

The HORNET is a 30 megaton space mine. The devices are designed to be more stealthy than an ordinary nuke and are carried aboard UNSC prowlers. Although like all nuclear weapons, they can be easily detected when exiting slipspace,[5] they can be rendered practically undetectable by cooling them to near-absolute zero temperatures, same as that of interstellar space, in their launch chambers.[22]

NOVA bomb

Main article: NOVA bomb

The NOVA is a strategic device, and undoubtedly humanity's most powerful weapon. It consists of 9 nuclear warheads encased in a lithium triteride shell, which is compressed during detonation, boosting the yield "a hundred-fold".[23] A single NOVA has enough power to cause complete devastation on a planetary scale, and can destroy orbiting moons and naval fleets.[24]

Shiva-class nuclear missile

Main article: Shiva-class nuclear missile

The Shiva is a type of starship ordnance.[25][26] They may also be carried by GA-TL1 Longswords.[27]

Rudra-class nuclear missile

Main article: Rudra-class nuclear missile

The Rudra is another type of starship ordnance. The UNSC Port Stanley carried multiple enhanced yield Rudra nukes.[28]

Hyperion-class nuclear missile

Main article: M4093 Hyperion nuclear delivery system

The Hyperion is a class of nuclear weapons shown to be carried by the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn that is capable of destroying a CRS-class light cruiser in one hit if its shields are down.

List of appearances

Sources

  1. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 35" page 326
  2. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 1", page 39
  3. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 23", page 209
  4. ^ Intersystem News: HAVEN TERROR BOMBING KILLS TWO MILLION
  5. ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 22", page 187
  6. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Prologue", page 15
  7. ^ Halo: First Strike, "Chapter 3", page 25
  8. ^ Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, page 74
  9. ^ Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", page 445
  10. ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 1", page 34
  11. ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 23", page 205
  12. ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
  13. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 23", page 207
  14. ^ Halo 2, campaign level Uprising
  15. ^ Spartan Ops, Departure
  16. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, "Chapter 24", page 215
  17. ^ Halo: Reach: Deliver Hope
  18. ^ Halo: First Strike, "Chapter 1", page 20
  19. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 200
  20. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 212
  21. ^ Halo Wars: Genesis, page 17
  22. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 325
  23. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 180
  24. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 244
  25. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, pages 147, 322-324
  26. ^ Halo: The Cole Protocol, page 82
  27. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2011), page 320
  28. ^ Halo: The Thursday War, page 320
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