Plasma Torpedo

The Plasma Torpedo is a Covenant starship-launched, super-heated bolt of plasma. They are mounted on the lateral areas of a Covenant starship and are used on most Covenant Starships - Frigates, Destroyers, Carriers and certain classes of Cruisers..

Plasma is heated in a pinched magnetic field by energy supplied from the ship's reactors. The atoms that are on an appropriate trajectory between the Covenant starship and its target are then herded towards the mouth of the torpedo tube by magnetic pulses. Then the plasma torpedo is fired and is subsequently moved towards its target by a long-reaching magnetic field projected by the tube. They can track moving targets effectively, even at long ranges. They are extraordinarily accurate. Upon impact, the torpedo penetrates the target starship, burning through internal decks and structures and causing heavy damage on the target. These plasma torpedoes travel at a speed of 150,000 kilometers per second (half of light speed) and can easily burn through 60 cm of Titanium-A plating.

Trivia

 * The attacking ship must lower a section of its shield in order to fire the torpedo, otherwise it would detonate inside the protective barrier.
 * Occasionally, plasma torpedoes can miss their target and not reacquire them if the target is moving towards the launcher at an oblique angle and high speed. Even though they are considered very accurate, they can frequently be evaded by smaller starships, such as Pelican dropships and Longswords.
 * Volleys of plasma torpedoes are frequently the first attacks launched by Covenant Fleets when engaging enemy UNSC forces at long range. They often decimate enemy ranks upon impact. They emit visible radiation, giving them an amber color, but massive volleys can be visually akin to solar flares due to the sheer number of torpedoes. A single volley can destroy a MAC platform.
 * If the firing ship is destroyed, all torpedoes guided by its magnetic fields are detonated prematurely or fly about aimlessly until they hit something.
 * On board the Ascendant Justice, Cortana reprogrammed the (relatively inefficient) plasma torpedo cannons to fire long, thin streams of super accelerated plasma. Although it drained plasma very quickly, the results were devastating-one hit would pierce the shielding and penetrate the hulls of even the largest of Covenant vessels, bisecting it easily. It is mentioned that Cortana used this weapon to literally slice a pair of destroyers in half, like a scalpel.
 * This type of weapon is also used in the glassing of planets, where the ship bombards the ground with torpedoes. Rtas 'Vadum tried using this against the Citadel's shield to distract Truth while a ground force deactivated the shield generators.
 * The UNSC has not been able to reverse engineer this weapon like they have the pulse laser because of their lack of understanding how this technology works. Where as the laser technology is well understood, the plasma on the other hand is not, but it is strange that the UNSC use plasma fusion cores, but doesn't use plasma as a deadly weapon.