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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.[1]
Technology
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-class nuclear missiles. 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 GA-TL1 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.[2] 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.
Into the 26th century, the UNSC Navy continued to use maritime ships to patrol the seas. Little is known about this Naval arm. It is known, however, that 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 aircraft carriers with full complements 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 was likely involved with a mission to the Yucatan Peninsula, where the SPARTAN Blue Team attacked a Covenant excavation force under the Gulf of Mexico.
- Main article: UNSC Navy uniforms
Identified UNSC vessels and stations
Vessels
Carriers
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Cruisers
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Destroyers
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Frigates
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Prowlers
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Corvettes
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Colony ships
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Other ships
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Stations
Orbital Defense Platforms
Other orbital facilities
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Mobile stations
Remote scanning outposts
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Medical stations
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- See UNSC Naval personnel 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 Naval traditions.
Gallery
The refit station Anchor 9 during the battle for Reach, the frigate UNSC Savannah is docked with the station.
- UNSC Savanah.jpg
A UNSC heavy frigate during the Fall of Reach.
The Marathon-class cruiser was one of the most powerful vessels in the entire UNSC fleet.
The predecessor to the mighty Marathon-class was the Halcyon-class cruiser, although outdated, updated ones like the Pillar of Autumn could pack quite a punch.
The most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the entire UNSC, an Orbital Defense Platform could destroy Covenant ships in a single round.
List of appearances
Sources
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, level Pillar of Autumn
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 297
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedflood - ^ Halo: First Strike, page 92