W59 Kroni Nuclear Warhead

The W59 Kroni Nuclear Warhead is a low-yield tactical nuclear weapon developed by the UNSC Army for use against Covenant ground forces during the Human-Covenant War.
== Background ==
=== Development ===
The W59 Kroni was developed by the UNSC Army to serve as a ground-support thermonuclear weapon. Due to the UNSC's continuous nuclear attacks against Covenant ground forces on many colonies, the W59 was designed to serve as a less devastating weapon, while still provoking heavy casualties on the enemy side. The blast radius of the device was consideratly also lessened, allowing for lower civilian deaths and and less damage to infrastructure.
The warhead had two variants, both of which served nearly the same purpose. The Mk. I was designed to be fired from ground vehicles such as the M14 Self-Propelled Gun while the Mk. II was designed to be fired from atmospheric attack craft such as the C709 Longsword Attack Fighter.
=== Combat Use ===
The W59 has been used in combat situations a total of three times, all of which occured during the Human-Covenant War. The first such incident was during the Battle of Jericho VII in 2535, when a Marine Force Reconaissance Battalion set one off to prevent a massive Covenant advance.
This tactic was once again used during the devastating Battle of Draco III in which a Colonial Militia soldier set one off in a last ditch effort to stop the murderous Grunt unslaught.
Finally, during the Fall of Reach, a small contigency of Army soldiers set one off on the island of New Sacramento outside of Manassass. The nuclear explosion destroyed nine city blocks and did considerate damage to both allied and enemy forces in the region.
== Design ==
The warhead is 102 centimeters long, 203 millimeters wide, and comes in at a weight of 90 kilograms. It is typically armed onboard an AGM-379 missile to allow for launch from atmospheric aircraft. It has a blast radius of 1.9 kilometers and a fallout radius of 3.7 kilometers.
The W59 was designed as a composite pit and utilizes both Plutonium and Uranium. A sealed pit design consists of a solid metal barrier that is formed around the nuclear material components inside a nuclear weapon. This protects the weapon from enviromental degradationn and reduces the chances of a leak during an explosion or fire near the device.
== Trivia ==
*The warhead's name comes from Kroni, a figure of evil in Ayyavazhi mythology.