Nuclear weapon

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

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.

An operational idiosyncrasy of nuclear weapons was the result of containing fissile material. Fissile material emitted a readily detectable Cherenkov Radiation signature upon exiting slipspace that negated stealth measures.[1]

UNSC Nuclear Ordnance

The UNSC employs a range of nuclear ordnance.

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.[2][3][4][5]

Fury Tactical Nuclear Weapon

The Fury is a rugby ball-sized device with a yield slightly less than a megaton. It is extremely clean. It is the "Closest thing the UNSC has to a nuclear grenade."[6]

HAVOK Nuclear Warhead

The HAVOK is a 30 megaton thermonuclear device. Some were delivered by ground forces during the Human-Covenant War.[7][8][9]

HORNET Mine

The HORNET is a 30 megaton space mine. The devices are stealthy and carried aboard UNSC Prowlers.[10]

NOVA Bomb

The NOVA is a strategic device. It consists of 9 nuclear warheads encased in a lithium triteride shell, which is compressed during detonation, boosting the yield "a hundred-fold."[11] A single NOVA has enough power to cause complete devastation on a planetary scale, and can destroy orbiting moons and Naval fleets.[12]

Shiva-class Nuclear Missile

The Shiva is a type of starship ordnance.[13][14] Its warhead may be removed and carried by a C709 Longsword-class Interceptor.[15]

Sources

  1. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Chapter 22, page ??
  2. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Chapter 1, page ??
  3. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Chapter 23, page ??
  4. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Chapter 24, page ??
  5. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Chapter 39, page ??
  6. ^ Halo: First Strike, Chapter 1, page ??
  7. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 200
  8. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 212
  9. ^ Halo Wars: Genesis, page 17
  10. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 325
  11. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 180
  12. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 244
  13. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, pages 147, 322-324
  14. ^ Halo: The Cole Protocol, page ??
  15. ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page ??