Bulwark defensive satellite

The Bulwark defensive satellite, known as the AN/SLE-159 in UNSC service, was a piece of technology developed by the Alliance of Sangheili Clans specifically for use by the United Nations Space Command, as a short term, rapidly deployable answer to the problem of UNSC ships' vulnerability to Covenant energy weapon fire. The Bulwark satellite was roughly fifteen metres in diameter and was deployed by Sangheili Defence Force and UNSC Navy warships, where it would remain stationary and project a round, one-way shield 'disc' three hundred and fifty metres across. This shield would allow a UNSC warship to fire on Covenant vessels while itself remaining protected from Covenant return fire. While intended as an ultra short-term solution (it was expected that UNSC capital ships could be retrofitted with Sangheili shields by the end of 2553) to address the chronic weakness of UNSC vessels; Bulwark satellites continued to be used even after shipboard shields within the UNSC Navy were widespread. Later, smaller versions of the Bulwark were produced as deployable countermeasures for large ships, though only in small numbers and replaced after effective disposable systems were developed. The Bulwark saw its first operational usage during Operation: REAR GUARD, just weeks after it was put into production. The satellite received different designations by the factions who utilised it; named the Bulwark defensive satellite by its Sangheili designers and receiving the designation AN/SLE-159 in UNSC service. The satellite saw usage throughout the Remnant War and later, but had been replaced by dedicated countermeasure systems by the beginning of the Galactic War. The Bulwark had itself replaced the Tactical Intercept Station, an automated sacrificial platform based on the design of the .
The UNSC had already been experimenting with protective deployable shields by 2552, the most successful development being the employed by the of These devices, however, were extremely fragile as well as being prohibitively heavy, whilst also having a limited usage period due to power constraints. With the use of Sangheili technology, the Bulwark was far more advanced than its somewhat primitive predecessors, being able to directly protect UNSC warships from limited numbers of plasma torpedo and energy projector attacks, whilst maintaining long operating time, a 'one-way' effect and enhanced deployability.
Due to their prohibitively high cost per unit in the post-war years, Bulwarks were never deployed in any great numbers. Their use was therefore mostly limited to high-importance UNSC defence fleets, although some assault carriers acting as flagships also carried a limited number for protecting their escorts. Following the perfection of the Mark 4 decoy, a single-use deployable decoy directed at guided plasma bolts, remaining Bulwark satellites were withdrawn from service and their shield generators reused elsewhere.
Category:Space Stations