UNSC Navy

The UNSC Navy is the branch of the United Nations Space Command Defense Force responsible mostly for naval operations in space, though they still operate in the oceans with their terrestrial arm. Its roles include ship-to-ship combat; orbital bombardment; the deployment of atmospheric and space fighters, and the delivery of UNSC Marines into combat.

Background

The UNSC Navy was created in the wake of the Interplanetary War of the 2160's - precisely during the Argyre Planitia Campaign of 2163, as a result of the United Nations' need to oversee and monitor Marine deployments from space, thus forming the United Nations Space Command. The UNSC Navy is a direct descendant of the UN Navy. It is led by the UNSC Naval Command.

The UNSC has a large fleet of warships, including many capital ships and single-ship craft. The UNSC Navy sustained heavy losses of materiél and personnel throughout the war against the Covenant. Many valuable assets of the UNSC Navy were destroyed during the Fall of Reach, and a very large portion of its remaining ships were lost when the Prophet of Truth occupied Earth. At least some UNSC ship production is handled by the Reyes-McLees Shipyards, though this may no longer be true due to the Covenant invasion of the Sol System).

UNSC Navy personnel are given training in self-defense. All crewmen are trained to use the M6 series of handguns.

Technology

File:Frigate.jpg

The UNSC Frigate, the most common of UNSC Navy ships.

The primary offensive armament of UNSC spacecraft is the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (MAC). These are high velocity coil guns that are used to accelerate projectiles ranging in mass from 600 metric tons in the case of smaller warships, and 3,000 tons in the case of Super MAC platforms. These projectiles are composed of Titanium-A, depleted Uranium, and/or Tungsten with a ferrous (iron) core. Super MAC platforms accelerate MAC rounds to over 40% of the speed of light or about 267,840,000 miles per hour with twenty-three linear accelerator coils, while ship-based MACs have a lower velocity. Super MAC platforms can also reload a round in 5 seconds , where as ships will need several minutes .

The UNSC Frigate Gettysburg is quoted as firing a 600 ton shell at 30 kilometers per second. Before Reach fell, the Pillar of Autumn was equipped with a modified MAC that could quickly fire three lighter projectiles in succession instead of just one heavier projectile. It was originally intended to allow the Pillar of Autumn a better chance of disabling a Covenant ship, which was a feature required for a mission that was later scrubbed following the Battle of Reach.

Almost all UNSC warships are equipped with Archer Missile pods for ship-to-ship engagements, which prove most effective against unshielded targets. A common tactic among UNSC ships is to disable the target's shields with MAC rounds and then pummel it with Archer missiles. UNSC ships in 2525 carried Fusion Missiles as an offensive weapon. They seem to have been removed or replaced in later years. UNSC ships may also carry "Shiva" nuclear warheads. In addition, the UNSC mounts 50mm auto-cannons on its ships for defense against enemy fighters and boarding craft, controlled by shipboard AIs.

UNSC warships also carry significant Marine detachments for internal security, boarding actions, and planetary assault, and carry all the equipment and materiel needed by Marine forces. It is implied that a significant portion of the interior of UNSC warships are devoted to this purpose, as there are armories and barracks that hold these supplies.

Ships of the UNSC navy also carry a number of C-709 Longsword Interceptors. These are armed with 110mm Rotary Cannons and ASGM-10 Missiles, and sometimes a Moray Space Mine system or even a single Shiva-class Nuclear Missile. They can also be remotely-operated and used to carry a remotely-detonated Shiva missile, which, when detonated, effectively destroys both the Longsword and its selected target.

Despite all of this firepower, however, UNSC warships have great difficulty defeating Covenant ships even with a numerical advantage. It typically takes multiple hits from a ship-based MAC weapon to disable a Covenant ship's shields, although larger, ODP-based Super MACs can fire a round that can literally shatter Covenant capital ships. Archer Missiles must be used in tremendous amounts to breach Covenant shield systems. Even with their shields down, Covenant ships have been noted to remain operational after multiple direct hits from normal MAC rounds. This advantage in firepower and shielding gives the Covenant an effective 3:1 ratio and better against UNSC ships.

"Wet Navy"

An Aircraft Carrier near the Mombasa Quays.

Far into the 26th Century, the UNSC Navy continued to use terrestrial ships to patrol the seas. Little is known about this Naval arm other than Earth's Mombasa Quays and the fortress world of Reach are known to be bases for it. Other than that, it is known that the Navy possessed numerous UNSC Aircraft carriers with a full complement of F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles, suggesting that they were constantly kept at a high-level of alert.

Other than participating to some extent during the Battle of Mombasa, the wet Navy may have also been involved with a mission to the Yucatan peninsula, where the SPARTAN-II Blue Team attacked a Covenant excavation force under the Gulf of Mexico.

Navy Ranks

Main article: UNSC Navy uniforms

Identified UNSC Vessels and Stations

Vessels

Carriers UNSC All Under Heaven - Unknown, presumed active UNSC Atlas - Unknown, presumed active UNSC Magellan - Unknown, presumed active UNSC Musashi - Destroyed UNSC Stalingrad - Destroyed UNSC Trafalgar - Supercarrier, Destroyed

Cruisers UNSC Chares - Unknown, presumed active UNSC Dawn Under Heaven - Halcyon-class- Destroyed UNSC Everest - Super-Heavy Cruiser (likely Marathon-class)- Unknown, presumed Destroyed UNSC Hannibal - Marathon-class- Destroyed UNSC Io - Marathon-class- Destroyed UNSC Leviathan - Marathon-class- Unknown, presumed Destroyed UNSC Pillar of Autumn - Halcyon-class- Destroyed UNSC Prophecy - Marathon-class- Destroyed UNSC Say My Name - Marathon-Class, Unknown, presumed active

Destroyers UNSC Agincourt (Destroyer) - Destroyed UNSC Armageddon's Edge - Unknown UNSC Brasidas - Destroyed UNSC Calcutta - Unknown UNSC Clearidas UNSC Do You Feel Lucky? - Destroyed UNSC Iroquois - Unknown, presumed destroyed UNSC Glasgow Kiss - Destroyed UNSC Gorgon - Unknown, presumed active UNSC Heart of Midlothian - Destroyed UNSC Heracles - Destroyed UNSC Herodotus - Heavily damaged UNSC Iwo Jima - Destroyed UNSC Lancelot - Unknown, presumed destroyed. UNSC Minotaur - Destroyed UNSC Pioneer - Unknown UNSC Resolute - Unknown UNSC Seattle - Moderately damaged UNSC Tharsis - Destroyed UNSC Thermopylae - Moderately damaged Unnamed Destroyer - Unknown, presumed active

Frigates UNSC Aegis Fate - Active UNSC Alliance - Destroyed UNSC Andraste - Active UNSC Arabia - Destroyed UNSC Buenos Aires - Destroyed UNSC Commonwealth - Decommisioned, in the process of being scrapped during the Battle of Reach UNSC Euphrates - Unknown, presumed destroyed UNSC Fair Weather - Destroyed UNSC Forward Unto Dawn - Severed, rear section lost in space UNSC Gettysburg - Unknown, presumed undergoing repairs UNSC Gorgon - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC In Amber Clad - Destroyed UNSC Meriwether Lewis - Unknown, probably Destroyed UNSC Midsummer Night - Heavily Damaged UNSC Providence - Destroyed UNSC Paris - Unknown, presumed Destroyed UNSC Ready or Not - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Redoubtable - Unknown, presumed Destroyed UNSC Savannah - Unknown, active during Battle of Reach UNSC Tannenberg - Unknown UNSC Vostok - Destroyed

Prowlers UNSC Apocalypso - Destroyed UNSC Applebee - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Athens - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Circumference - Destroyed UNSC Dusk - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Edge of Umbra - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Lark - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Last Gleaming - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Razor's Edge - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Red Horse - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Tokyo Rules - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Wink of an Eye - Unknown, presumed Active

Corvettes UNSC Callisto - Unknown, presumed Scrapped UNSC Chalons - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Coral Sea- Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Pony Express - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Two for Flinching - Fast-attack Corvette - Unknown, presumed Active UNSC Bum Rush - Unknown, presumed Active

Colony Ships UNSC Spirit of Fire - Modified Phoenix-class Colony Ship - Unknown UNSC Skidbladnir - Phoenix-class Colony Ship - Scrapped UNSC Odyssey - Colony Ship - Unknown

Other Ships UNSC Agincourt - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Argo - Scout ship, Destroyed UNSC Armstrong - Unknown class, heavily damaged UNSC Austerlitz - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Basra - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Belfast- Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Brilliant Shores - Unknown class and fate UNSC Bunker Hill - Unknown class and fate UNSC Campo Grande - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Constantinople - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Excellence - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Final Summit - Unknown class and fate UNSC Glasgow - Unknown class and fate UNSC Hermes II - Unknown class and fate UNSC Lance Held High - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Lowrentz - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Maelstrom - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Mona Lisa - Cargo Freighter, Destroyed UNSC Midway - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Onan - Cargo Freighter, Unknown UNSC Point of No Return - Stealth Cruiser - Active UNSC Sacramento - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Texas - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Tharsis - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Troy - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Virginia Capes - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Walk of Shame - ONI Sloop, Unknown, presumed active UNSC Waterloo - Unknown class, Destroyed UNSC Witch Bucket - UNSC Vessel, Unknown Beatrice - Chiroptera-class - Decommissioned, later destroyed Coda - Shuttle Pod, Destroyed Han - Diplomatic Shuttle, Unknown CMA Season of Plenty - Colony ship, Unknown. Unnamed Stealth Spacecraft - Unknown

Stations

Orbital Defense Platforms Cairo Station - Heavily damaged Athens Station - Destroyed Malta Station - Destroyed Nassau Station - Active

Mobile Stations UNSC Cradle - Refit/Repair Facility, Destroyed Station Delphi - Shipyard, Decommissioned UNSC Hopeful - Hospital Ship, Unknown Anchor 9 - Unknown Reach Station Gamma - Orbital Drydock Tiara - Orbital elevator waystation Station Wayward Rest - Orbital Elevator waystation

Remote Scanning Outposts Fermion - Destroyed Democritus - Unknown Archimedes - Active Tripoli - Unknown

Medical Stations ONI Medical Facility - Unknown, presumed destroyed M25L Recovery Station - Unknown

UNSC Navy Personnel

See Characters for a list of UNSC naval personnel.

Trivia

• Many UNSC Navy traditions currently in use were also UN Navy traditions. Preceding the UN Navy, they were various United States Navy traditions.

• Naval personnel are sometimes referred to as "swabbies". The term "swabbie" can be a joke or a sign of disrespect.