M49 Vulcan
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| M343A2 chaingun | |
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The M343A2 Minigun is a heavy machine gun in use by the United Nations Space Command after the Human-Covenant War. It is a successor to the M41 and M46 machine guns, with which it shares the erroneous "chaingun" moniker.[1][2]
Specifications
The M343A2 is an electrically driven, five-barreled Gatling-style machine gun that is compatible with all standard UNSC heavy weapon mounts. The M343A2 is often installed on a pneumatic full-rotation turret as the primary armament of the M12B Warthog, and is also available in a semi-portable tripod configuration for site defense.[1] The latter configuration has a much shorter barrel assembly.
The M343A2's lethality is comparable to that of its predecessors. Barrel wear is considerably diminished in comparison, though the weapon will overheat after periods of sustained fire. Although the M343A2 is designed to use the latest polymer-cased and energetic propellant rounds, UNSC units have been ordered to deplete existing stocks of older ammunition before transitioning to newer cartridges.[1] As opposed to its predecessors, the M343A2 ejects its spent casings from the left side.
Variants
- ONI Chaingun Turret: A variant used by the Office of Naval Intelligence. Fires explosive rounds with increased damage and does not overheat.
- Needle turret: A variant that fires blamite.
Gameplay
Carrying the turret decreases the player's speed and maneuverability as in previous titles. However, it should be noted that this actually renders the player invisible on the motion tracker unless the weapon is fired, making the M343A2 useful for catching the enemy off-guard while on defense.
Production note
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Browse more images in this article's gallery page. |
The weapon's designation is an obvious reference to 343 Industries.
Gallery
Renders of the M343A2 for Halo 5: Guardians.
More renders
An M343A2 detached from its mount
Olympia Vale manning the turret on a Corp Warthog during the Battle of Meridian.
Edward Buck firing a portable version of the turret on Meridian
The ONI variant of the weapon
Heads-up display of the M343A2 on the back of a M12B Warthog on Recurve.
HUD of a stationary M343A2 on Guillotine.
HUD of a detached M343A2
A Hellcat-clad Spartan-IV using a detached M343A2 on Eden.
A Void Dancer-clad Spartan-IV using an M343A2.
A Spartan-IV using a detached M343A2.
A Needle M343A2 firing blamite.
List of appearances
- Halo 5: Guardians (First appearance)
Note
- ^ The in-game description states the weapon is an autocannon, though this conflicts with its Halo Waypoint universe page which claims it is a machine gun chambered in 12.7x99mm, a round not large enough to classify it as an autocannon.
Sources
