The RCS-class armored cruiser is a Covenant capital warship classification.[1]
Specifications
The RCS-class armored cruiser was first commissioned when Covenant energy shielding technology was far more limited. An older class of cruiser, the class lacked both the firepower and robustness of the CCS-class battlecruiser.[2] The armored cruiser's primary roles are patrol and planetary occupation. The RCS is 2,000 meters long, 1,000 meters wide, and 296 meters tall. It is the second-largest cruiser of the former Covenant fleet, overshadowed only by the ORS-class heavy cruiser. Armed with plasma torpedo turrets, pulse laser point-defense cannons, and a ventral energy projector, it is also outfitted with a stasis enfolder system;[1] this technology is presumably a much larger version of the stasis cannon used by the Type-29 Vampire.[3]
The "R", or Reverence, in the cruiser's three-letter classification code, "RCS", indicates that the cruiser is capable of conducting reconnaissance missions and is capable of excavating Forerunner artifacts. The "S", or Salvation, denotes that the RCS-class armored cruiser is a dedicated warship capable of destroying its opponents with an energy projector.[4]
Operational history
The RCS's use during the Human-Covenant War was largely overshadowed by the CCS-class battlecruiser, the mainstay of the fleet.[5] At the dawn of the Great Schism, many armored cruisers played an important role in many remnant factions of the Covenant Empire.[2] Following the end of the war, many surviving battlecruisers were commandeered by Kig-Yar scavengers or independent Sangheili factions. As a result, the RCS-class armored cruiser took on a more predominant role in Jul 'Mdama's reformed Covenant.[5]
Several RCS-class cruisers were assigned to Jul 'Mdama's fleet occupying Requiem in February 2558, escorted by a much larger number of comparatively diminutive CRS-class light cruisers.[5] One was destroyed when the UNSC Infinity emerged from slipspace and rammed it. Another fled the shield world after 'Mdama set the planet on a collision course with the local star.[6]
Gallery
The UNSC Infinity rams through an RCS-class armored cruiser.
An RCS cruiser and its CRS escort flee Requiem.
List of appearances
- Halo 4
- Spartan Ops (First appearance)
Sources
- ^ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEVG - ^ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameduniverse - ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 200
- ^ Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder: Have S'moa
- ^ a b c Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide
- ^ Halo 4, Halo: Infinity