Antimatter charge

"The Covenant must have brought something with them. A bomb."

The antimatter charge.

An antimatter charge is a Covenant weapon utilizing antimatter as an explosive. Sizes and uses of antimatter charges vary, with some being a counterpart to the UNSC's tactical nuclear weapons.^[1]

Description

Little is known of the smaller variant used by Covenant troops to breach UNSC vessels, though a larger variant has been seen with more frequency. The charge's appearance is that of a long bulbous shape with many spikes protruding from it. It has a central control hub located at the top of the bomb. It utilizes the annihilation of matter and antimatter to create an explosive.

Some warships, such as the SDV-class heavy corvette Mayhem, are armed with antimatter mines which are supposedly a specialized form of antimatter charge.^[2]

Operational history

Several antimatter charges were utilized by the Covenant during Operation: WARM BLANKET, with charges being placed within a number of CCS-class battlecruisers as decoys designed to vaporize the attacking Spartan-IIs. One of the Spartans, Solomon-069, was successfully lured onto one of the battlecruisers and subsequently killed by the antimatter charge onboard.^[3]

In another event, Cortana believed Covenant boarding parties used an antimatter charge to disable the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's Magnetic Accelerator Cannon during the opening stages of the Battle of Installation 04.^[1]

A number of these weapons were used during the early stages of the Battle for Earth to destroy Earth's orbital defense platforms. Covenant boarding parties manually delivered the ordnance and detonated them from a safe distance, destroying both Athens and Malta stations. The bomb destined for Cairo Station was secured by John-117 and Cortana. John-117 later performed a micro-gravity maneuver to deliver the device to the Covenant CAS-class assault carrier Day of Jubilation, entering a breach in the ship's hull created by a pair of Longswords. The charge was activated within the ship's reactor core, and John launched himself from the vessel shortly before its destruction.^[4]

During Operation: FAR STORM, N'tho 'Sraom ordered that his SDV-class heavy corvette Mayhem deploy a collection of low-yield antimatter mines against attacking Retriever Sentinels.^[2]

Trivia

Jason Jones of Bungie referred to the antimatter charge as a "giant Covenant space pickle".^[5]
The antimatter charge was not originally going to be included in Halo 2. Instead there was to be a level called Covenant Ship, where the Master Chief would board the Covenant assault carrier and destroy it from within. Due to time constraints however, the level was cut and the antimatter charge was instead included as a means of destroying the carrier.^[5]
It is unlikely that the entire charge is filled with antimatter, as such an explosion would be inconceivably large. It is more likely that the bomb's bulk is due to the fact that antimatter must be kept in a vacuum and prevented from coming in contact with ordinary matter, possibly through use of a force field. Even a small amount of antimatter would need to be safely contained in order to prevent a premature detonation.

Gallery

The antimatter charge in Halo 2.
Alternate view of the Antimatter Charge.
John-117 removing a bomb from Cairo Station.
John-117 delivering a bomb to a CAS-class assault carrier's fusion reactor.
Master Chief John-117 arming the Covenant antimatter charge.
The antimatter charge detonates, completely destroying the assault carrier.
Athens Station is destroyed by an antimatter charge during the opening stages of the Battle for Earth.
Solomon-069 in front of an Antimatter Charge in The Package.
The known countdown of an Antimatter Charge in The Package.
The arming screen of an Antimatter Charge in The Package.
The antimatter charge's arming screen, just prior to detonating.
The antimatter charge's arming screen, detonating.
Master Chief dragging the antimatter charge, as it appears in Halo 2: Anniversary.
John-117 with the antimatter charge inside an assault carrier in Halo 2: Anniversary.
John-117 arms the antimatter charge in Halo 2: Anniversary.