User:Delta Team Curt/Hummingbird Counter Missile

The Hummingbird class of counter missiles are a new tool of war for the UNSC brought on by the current conflict with the United Colony Command.

Usage in the Human-Covenant War
Earlier versions of the Hummingbird-class counter missile, namely the Sparrow-class, were used before the Human-Covenant War in the First Human Civil War; however they were quickly found to be totally ineffective in their role when first brought up against Covenant capital vessels and their armaments.

For obvious reasons the counter missiles were completely useless against the Covenant’s only guided ship-to-ship weapon, the deadly plasma torpedo. As such, the launchers and their payloads were rapidly phased out because of lack of use, as the vessels current defensive armaments for use against parasite craft was more than adequate, along with the fact that there was no known defense against plasma torpedoes.

As older vessels were phased back into service in the later stages of the War they still had their old Sparrow-class systems on them, and due to time constraints they were never removed. They saw occasional use towards the end of the War but were still ineffective.

Modern Usage
In modern times the counter missile has come back into service with great effect. Thanks to the UNSC-UCC War, otherwise called The Second Human Civil War, large salvos of missiles were once again a main weapon of warfare. After several engagements where new missile classes completely out-performed the standard MLA PD cannons on UNSC warships, commanders throughout the fleet began asking for a new counter missile system. They were answered well.

Thus the Hummingbird-class was born out of necessity, and it was rapidly brought into service and retrofitted to all current UNSC vessels, although most of the vessels present at The Third Battle for Earth were not fitted with the counter missile systems.

Missile Description
The counter missile contains mostly propulsion systems, making it incredibly fast and capable of high-G acceleration, while a small explosive warhead assures it can destroy any missile or fighter they engage. It relies more on being able to physically ram into a target rather than the warhead to destroy it, hence the large propulsion system. However, the warhead is also a valuable tool, being able to be detonated, before, on or after contact as the situation demands.