Cruiser

"The Cruiser is the biggest starships built by the UNSC."

                                                                                -Halo : The Fall of Reach The Cruiser is a type of heavily-armed and armored capital warship in both the UNSC and Covenant fleets, emphasizing weaponry and armor over starfighter compliments.

Role
Even though both major fleets possessed warships of such classifications, the tactical philosophies of the two species were different. The Covenant, while possessing many different cruiser classifications, used carriers as the powerhouses of their fleets. The UNSC, on the other hand, used cruisers as their heaviest warships.

However, it should be noted that Covenant cruisers dwarfed their UNSC counterparts and are much more powerful. For example, even the smallest Covenant cruisers contain powerful shields that are capable of withstanding several MAC rounds. (see Wallace and his encounter with a small cruiser).

Sub-classifications
Furthermore, there are likely to be different sub-classifications of cruisers: light cruisers, medium cruisers, heavy cruisers, battlecruisers, and supercruisers, in order of increasing tonnage and power.

Covenant Cruisers

 * Covenant Supercruiser - 3600+ meters


 * - 3000 meters


 * - 1782 meters


 * Covenant Cruiser - 300-1455 meters


 * Covenant Light Cruiser - 300 meters

UNSC Cruisers

 * - 1192 meters
 * - 1170 meters