Halberd-class destroyer (Sev40)

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"With dual MACs and twenty-six pods of Archers, you can count on this ship to bring the heat to any engagement. The Shivas are just the cherries on top."

- Commander Knud Poulsen

The Halberd-class destroyer (: DD) is a well-armed warship model that has been used by the throughout the. Brought into service to phase out the ad hoc Gorgon-type destroyers, the Halberd is a modular starship that's designed to put down any civil wars it participates in any condition. These destroyers have become a favourite of many UNSC captains, being considered the most powerful and balanced warship of it's type ever to be manufactured. As the first destroyer to be fitted with two, the Halberd is capable of delivering unavoidable destruction even at long range, and it's unusually-thick hull allows it to easily brush off the firepower from any destroyer before it. This does not mean it's slow however, as it's equipped with a powerful set of which ensures it's capable of chasing down Insurrectionist vessels before they can jump to safety.

The Halberd-class destroyer was first introduced in, when won the contract to manufacture the UNSC's next-generation fleet of destroyers. Operating in rapid-response units led by the, they would quickly become synonymous with the UNSC's military might. Once the began their genocide against humanity, the Halberd would become one of the UNSC's most abundant defender, their arrowhead silhouette becoming an icon of the Human-Covenant War. Despite their solid construction and capabilities, the sheer technological superiority of Covenant weaponry led to these ships suffering some of the highest casualties of all vessels used by the. Very few Halberds would survive the war, and while they continued to serve, they would largely be supplemented and replaced by the.

Development
"My team weren't designing a ship; we were designing the future of the UNSC."

- Dr. Johannes Rafferty, during a press release.

The origins of the UNSC's most successful line of destroyers lies in. The had proven time and time again to be a game-changer in naval operations, displaying a level of versatility and reliability that no other ship has ever exhibited before. Despite this, the Gorgon was not without it's issues. It's design borrowed heavily from the old, which as proven by the lead ship's experiences against the , was not manoeuvrable enough to effectively utilise it's MAC against smaller threats. As a result, the UNSC recognised that an original-new design was needed in order to spread the MAC technology across their fleet of frigates and destroyers. Seeing their previous endeavour had resulted in the adaptable, the UNSC released another competition for a well-armoured destroyer equipped with two MACs. It was required for all designs entered to be a generalist ship that's effective against targets of all sizes and is capable of participating in escort and assault operations. They also stressed that the new ship had to be cheap and require a small amount of manpower to operate.

As expected, SinoViet Heavy Engineering would jump on this competition, placing Doctor Johannes Rafferty in charge of the development of the new destroyer. Although not the oldest or most experienced person within SinoViet's design division, Rafferty held a reliable history with his most recent success being the. However, he was forced to work with up-and-coming engineers he had never worked with before, as Rafferty's previous team were reassigned to other projects or lobbied for heightened influence in the corporation. As a result, Rafferty's team was directionless and divided, taking different paths on how the final product should look and perform. These issues would be seen throughout all of 2511, although fortunately he had enough experience with the strengths and weaknesses of those below him. This meant that once he decided on the final specifications and design brief, he divided up the work based on how it suited each of his subordinates' skill sets.

Development would not finish up until, with the last section being finished up is the very front. This portion changed from the characteristic pylon from the standard frigate to a far better-protected arrowhead structure that would become iconic with the class. With the blueprint finalised by Rafferty, the plans were handed over to the primary SinoViet manufacturing facilities above for fabrication. The prototypes were constructed under the careful watch of Senior Engineer Cosima Daniell, and none of the upcoming ships suffered any delays during it's construction.

The original prototype christened the Halberd was launched from it's drydock on July 28th,, and was sent to the UNSC Navy for evaluation. The evaluators discovered that the submitted Halberd-class was not only cheap and easy to man, but it was an effective warship by itself. These qualities saw the UNSC Navy contracting SinoViet to produce 1,340 destroyers to bolster their fleet.

Layout
Stockier yet somehow more compact to many other light-tonnage ships after it's introduction, the Halberd-class' hull structure has more in common with larger ships. It's sloped bow, for example, is clearly reminiscent of the, while it's lack of conformity to a stripped-down design is born from larger cruisers. This maximises it's reactor volume and increases it's structural integrity at the cost of additional mass. In fact, this focus on protection permeates through the entire destroyer's design; while it does have some obvious design oversights such as the vulnerable position of it's bridge and hangar, it's missile silos, engines, escape pods and crew segments are all hidden behind protruding slabs of armour. This makes them less vulnerable at most angles and means that certain sections can be protected with a minimal change in the destroyer's course.

At the very front of the Halberd is it's primary communications and sensory equipment. Containing a variety of antennae and lens for identifying and processing information at various ranges, these are obvious targets and vulnerable; as a result, most of this equipment is able to be retracted into the hull during close combat, only emerging for calibrating targeting solutions or after the threat has left. Just above this and still on the forward 'face' are the two barrels for it's MAC battery. Interestingly, it is possible to tell which block a particular ship is from, as the organisation can either have the two MACs placed horizontally or stacked on top of each other, with even the barrel tips being different from block-to-block. As these are key to the majority of the Halberd 's firepower, massive slabs of Titanium-A battleplate line the bow's sides and top. The bottom is reinforced, but this is covered over with state-of-the-art gravity generators which are capable of de-accelerating dropships and fighters from astonishing speeds. Taking over the bottom half of the bow is a modestly-sized is a large hangar which holds two. A is fitted within the centre of the hangar segment, with a  relay mounted on the bottom that assists in the coordination of planetside assets.

Role
Unlike frigates and corvettes, the Halberd-class destroyer is intended for one purpose only; combat. This is reflected in it's deployment, where it's generalised well-rounded weapons outfit are effective against both large warships and agile fighter-craft. This makes it useful as a workhorse combat vessel, where it excels in groups; this can be either in escort duties where it would screen fighters, gunboats and missiles approaching the carriers, acting as the ship-of-the-line in large fleets and even leading frigates in rapid-response flotillas. In these instances, the Halberd will usually attempt to close the distance to make itself a more frustrating target, drawing the fire away from the fragile frigates and valuable capital ships. Unfortunately, this does mean that it cannot pursue it's own individual objectives without support, as it is too small to single-handedly route a group of warships by itself.

In the standard configuration, the Halberd ' s only real contribution outside of combat duties is medium-range reconnaissance, as it lacks much in the way of endurance. Fortunately, it's superstructure is modular and can be easily reconfigured at a large-enough drydock to meet the needs of specific jobs. It can be outfitted with the likes of larger cargo-bays for replenishing the consumables of stations and assault groups, or be equipped with more advanced sensors for searching for hostiles in contested systems. As seen on the, extensive retrofits can allow them to carry a substantial ground force, although this is an unpopular choice and has largely been reserved for the thirteen specialist ships built above Chi Rho.