I’ve been working on building concepts for a Halo fanfiction story I’ve been writing, and one of the centerpieces is this concept for a UNSC testbed ship that uses multiple new technologies original to the story. I’m including the stats on the ship here, as well as a link to some basic,quick concept art I put together with Microsoft Paint.
UNSC Guardian basic concept
I’d appreciate any input, thoughts, comments, or critiques I can get; my knowledge of details is a little rusty compared to a lot of people on here. If there are any details that don’t make sense or need clarification, please let me know. Thanks!
UNSC Guardian (CVH-224)
Heavy carrier-cruiser hybrid technology testbed, Helena-class (prototypical, capable of in-atmosphere deployment)
Tier 2 craft
Length: 3,304m (10,839ft)
Width: 640m (2,099ft)
Height: 650m (2,132ft)
Power units: McCann-Wyss-Davidge MSC-14 matter conversion reactor (Dark matter conversion), 2 backup conventional fusion reactors
Propulsion units: MWD PPU-22A.1 Particle propulsion drives, emergency chemical thrusters, experimental slipspace anchoring system (enables in-atmosphere suspension, based on Forerunner artifacts recovered during second Requiem campaign)
Slipspace drive: Repurposed Covenant slipspace drive (appropriated from scuttled Covenant cruiser Gleam Of Devotion)
Hull: 410cm Titanium-A3 plating, energy shielding
Sensor systems: Radar, long-range BAR-01A (background radiation) optics, spectroscopes, slipspace probes
Shipboard AI capacity: 2 AIs, Edison (starship navigation, weapons) and Falstaff (Backup AI, internal systems, ONI monitor systems)
Armament: 3 Plasma-based Magnetic Accelerator Cannons (P-MAC), Shiva-class nuclear missiles, 8 Havok tactical nukes, 300 M42 Archer missile pods, 120 Harquebus M77 point-defense laser turrets
Complement: 2 Charon-class light frigates, 1 squadron Broadsword fighters, 1 squadron Longsword interceptors, 30 Pelican dropships, 20 Hornet VTOL dropships, 18 Scorpion tanks, 15 Wolverine artillery vehicles, 5 Elephant battle transports, 40 Warthog LRVs, 35 Gauss Warthog LAAVs, 41 Mongoose ATVs, 81 lifepods
Personnel: 1,960 Navy crew, 1,115 UNSCMC soldiers (800 UNSC Marines, 270 ODSTs, 45 SPARTAN-IVs)
NOTE: Low personnel numbers are due to the vessel being deployed on a test mission, lack of available personnel, and emphasis on efficiency over accommodations
Roles: Single-ship carrier, heavy combat cruiser, exploration, special ops, ground ops support
Commissioned: April 11, 2559, Reyes-McClees shipyards, Mars
As an interesting side note, the title Guardian is actually an amazing coincidence; I decided to call this ship the Guardian for use in a fanfic I had titled Halo: Freefall. This was well before either Halo 5: Guardians or Halo: Nightfall were announced. Kind of strange…