M274 Mongoose

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"Speed is the only protection this vehicle provides; it is unarmored, noisy, and prone to roll-over. It demands a level of skill from its operator that is impossible to expect...during combat conditions."

— Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman

The M274 Mongoose Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle (abbreviated M274 ULATV), and less commonly know as the M247 Mongoose High Speed Reconnaissance and Recovery Vehicle (abbreviated M274 HSRRV), commonly shortened to simply the Mongoose, is a United Nations Space Command(UNSC) ground reconnaissance vehicle. The Mongoose lacks weapons, but can carry two people, one of whom can shoot.

Introduction

The M274 Mongoose ULATV/HSRRV is one of the fastest and most maneuverable ground vehicles in the arsenal of the UNSC Marine Corps, making it a highly effective vehicle for reconnaissance, rapid transportation, swift tactical versatility and for shooting between positions. It is the smaller cousin to the ubiquitous M12 Warthog LRV, and is a small ATV with a driver located in the front seat and features a rear seat that could be used by a single passenger, however because it carries no armament of its own having a passenger riding shotgun is essential. Due to its smaller size, the Mongoose has become a difficult target for the enemy, instead of the Warthog who's size is somewhat substantial.

The Mongoose's high speed and light mass and armor makes it unwieldy and difficult to control at high speeds and over unstable terrain, making the ULATV/HSRRV vulnerable to destabilization, crashes, and flips. The driver and passenger are also completely exposed, and the Mongoose's design affords neither one of them any vehicular armor, making Mongoose operators extremely vulnerable to fire. Furthermore, the Mongoose does not incorporate any offensive or defensive capabilities, making the Mongoose's sole defensive capability an armed passenger. However, whatever defenses the Mongoose lacks, it compensates for in sheer speed. Thus, standard UNSC Marine Corps operating protocol in engagements against Covenant forces place a M41 Rocket Launcher-armed Marine in the passenger position to fire rockets against slow-moving hostile vehicles while the driver uses the Mongoose's superior speed to evade enemy return fire. In a last resort, the Mongoose can run over nearby enemies, but this is usually not an effective plan because of the low width and height of the vehicle make it very difficult to get a kill. But if you do get a splatter you will be rewarded the Mongoose Mowdown achievement.

The Mongoose can be transported by the Pelican Dropship or the Behemoth-class Troop Transport.

Furthermore, the Mongoose is believed to be analogous to the Covenant Type-32 "Ghost" Rapid Assault Vehicle, though the Ghost has a built-in weaponry system and is less agile and maneuverable.

Operation

A wireframe profile of the M274 Mongoose ULATV/HSRRV.

The Mongoose's light weight renders it capable of being launched from a Man Cannon.

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The Mongoose in Halo 3's multiplayer.

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The Mongoose's high speed makes it very useful for CTF games

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The Mongoose is a two passenger vehicle

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The Mongoose can take a beating from small-medium arms fire as long as the driver remains on Which Is Great.

The lack of weaponry mounted on the Mongoose makes the presence of an armed passenger often essential in combat zones. Engagements with enemy infantry or vehicles are often inadvisable in the absence of a passenger armed with heavy weaponry; the Mongoose's superior speed and maneuverability makes it best fit to slip through enemy lines. The Mongoose's speed makes it almost impossible to hijack at its full speed of 60 MPH, which is a vital advantage while trying to "splatter" enemies. However, conversely, the Mongoose's excessive maneuverability often makes it difficult to splatter enemies, and all but a head-on full-velocity impact on a shielded enemy will not splatter the enemy.

The Mongoose's lack of personnel-protective armor, however, makes the driver and especially the passenger vulnerable to ranged fire, especially from medium-long range weapons such as the BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. Although the Mongoose's maneuverability makes it difficult to destroy with heavy weapons such as the M41 Rocket Launcher, the Mongoose is acutely vulnerable to the Spartan Laser; even the Mongoose's high speeds still make it extremely easy to track with the Spartan Laser. Furthermore, in close-range engagements against a Mongoose, it is easy to stick or melee the operators.

Despite the Mongoose's acute vulnerabilities, its light mass and small profile give it interesting applications: it is possible to launch the Mongoose safely off of a Man Cannon, and the Mongoose can allow a driver "lowride" in one; to drive by balancing on the back two wheels.

Multiplayer

Due to the high-speed nature of the Mongoose, it is a very useful and effective vehicle for objective-based games, such as Capture the Flag or Assault. It is entirely possible in Assault for the attacking team for one player to drive a Mongoose while another player rides as the passenger with the bomb in-hand. It is also possible to use the Mongoose for rapid tactical transportation as well, to relocate players to critical areas, to reach weapon spawns before opposing players, or to prevent enemies from scoring a flag.

However, as aforementioned, the Mongoose is extremely vulnerable. Explosives such as grenades or even the Brute Shot can effortlessly flip over this low-mass vehicle, and the Mongoose is an obvious target for snipers and gunners, and even at close range players can easily disable the Mongoose with a charged Plasma Pistol shot or just use suppressive fire to kill the highly vulnerable operators.

On the Sandtrap map, you can use it to drive through the minefield indefinently around the perimeter. While opponents are usually concentrating on the center of the map, you and a buddy can grab a sniper rifle.

Another advantage of the Mongoose is the weapon load out, a smart team can use one Mongoose to disable a Wraith or Warthog with a plasma pistol, while a second or third Mongoose will use grenades against the downed vehicle, or will use some kind of anti-vehicle weapon. But one must not forget that an overcharged plasma pistol bolt can shortly disable your vehicle too.

Appearances

Halo 3 Campaign

The M274 Mongoose ULATV/HSRRV is a frontline recon and rapid-response vehicle of the UNSC Marine Corps, and thus it is commonly featured in Halo 3's campaign.

• The Storm: Four Mongooses with SPKNr Rocket Launcher-armed Marines were part of a UNSC counteroffensive against the Covenant occupation of Voi in the Battle of Voi in the Second Battle of Earth. SPARTAN-117 led the initial Mongoose assault on a Covenant-held lake bed which featured two Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery Wraith tanks that were obstructing the UNSC aerial offensive. After the initial Covenant garrison was eliminated, Kilo 23 arrived with another pair of Mongooses as reinforcements. Not only were Mongooses essential in the destruction of the Covenant AA Wraiths, but after a Covenant Scarab walker attacked Voi, the Mongooses led an offensive to weaken the walker's joints with rockets, while using their superior maneuverability to evade enemy fire.

• The Ark: One of the six Pelican Dropships deployed by the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn onto Installation 00 was carrying a Mongoose. It crashed under heavy fire, but later its crashed hulk and the Pelican's surviving crew were recovered by an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper offensive led by SPARTAN-117. It was manned by Marine(s), and Mongooses played a role in the UNSC vehicular offensive.

• The Covenant: The UNSC Marine Corps/Covenant Separatists assault on the Citadel's island on Installation 00 involved multiple Mongooses to rapidly transverse large amounts of enemy-held terrain. In the strike on the first Barrier Tower, Kilo 23 deployed both a Mongoose and a Warthog to assist SPARTAN-117 and his allied ODSTs and Marines in the assault on the first tower. After the tower was secured, a second Mongoose was deployed by unknown means to aid SPARTAN-117 in his trip from the tower back to the Hornet LZ on the island's beachhead. Later, after the third Barrier Tower had been secured, the UNSC Marine Corps organized a large vehicular force to press forward towards the Citadel, and thus prevent the Prophet of Truth from activating the Halos. The attack force included a Mongoose with a Rocket Launcher-armed passenger Marine.

• Halo: Apparently, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn deployed another Mongoose ULATV/HSRRV in Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson's trek from the landed frigate to the rebuilt Installation 04's Control Room. It can be found after SPARTAN-117 reaches the initial Warthog by taking the left snowy path, and instead of venturing right towards the rest of the level, taking the first immediate left turn. A Mongoose is secluded by the cliffs on the left hand side, and can be used to transverse the rest of the level. And when you do the jump at the end, it turns into the Warthog because of the programming.

Halo 3 Multiplayer

The Mongoose appears naturally on several Halo 3 multiplayer maps, but can be artificially added to any multiplayer map by Forge.

• High Ground: One Mongoose spawns at the beachhead, and is often useful for charging the base in objective gametypes, or for securing the valuable weaponry between the base and the beach. Two Mongooses spawn at the back of the base, and can be useful in Capture the Flag defense for stopping the opposing team from scoring the flag back at the beach.

• Isolation: One Mongoose spawns above each base, for a total of two Mongooses. However, in the cramped confines of Isolation, Mongooses are often vulnerable to close-quarters combat and also the Rocket Launcher and Sniper Rifle.

• Last Resort: Two Mongooses spawn at the beachhead, and two others spawn at the base. They are useful for seizing the Active Camo tower and also the sniper rifle, which spawns at Camp Froman. Mongooses are useful in CTF and Assault matches to quickly carry the objective, although all Mongooses are acutely vulnerable to the Spartan Laser, especially when it is atop the wind wheel.

• Sandtrap: Two Mongooses spawn at each base; one on the sand dunes, and the other within the front compartment of each Behemoth-class "Elephant" Troop Transport.

• Valhalla: Two Mongooses spawn at each base, and are especially useful for charging the weapons in the middle of the map; namely the Spartan Laser and the Machinegun Turret. A fifth Mongoose spawns next to the UNSC communications post at the Machinegun Turret.

• Avalanche: It is not yet known where abouts the placements of the Mongooses are on this map. This is due to the fact that information of the map (Avalanche) has only just been officially released. However the Mongooses on this map have changed colour. They are the new Snow Mongoose, which is basically repainted to suit the snowy terrain, which it is in.

If the player manages to splatter an enemy player with the Mongoose in a ranked free-for-all Xbox Live playlist in Halo 3, the player will earn the Mongoose Mowdown achievement and 5 gamerpoints.

Behind the Scenes

Involvement in Halo 2

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An early Halo 2 prototype of the vehicle.

The Mongoose modded into Coagulation in Halo 2.

The Mongoose was originally intended to be put into Halo 2, but was eventually cancelled. The Mongoose prototype did not fulfill Bungie's expectations for Halo 2, and although Bungie attempted to add dual coaxial machine-guns to it or an armed passenger, it remained unbalanced and didn't fit into the gameplay. Other Warthog-related vehicles proposed in Halo 2 were also not featured in the final game.

Modding

Modders have been able to insert the Mongoose into Halo 2 and also certain Halo: Custom Edition maps. In Halo: Custom Edition, often many modders, instead of making the driver weaponless, made the driver drive with one hand and fire a weapon with the other, and stand up and throw grenades as well.

Red vs. Blue

The Mongoose was also featured at the end of the 100th episode of Red vs. Blue. Sarge called over Simmons and Grif to help him name the new ATV he created from "old Warthog parts we had lying around", which happens to be a Mongoose. This is mainly notable because this episode was shot using Halo 2, where the Mongoose did not appear legitimately. This was done by a silouette picture put in the background, a common special effect in machinima.

Trivia

• Like other UNSC vehicles, the Mongoose closely resembles the animal of its namesake. "Ears" jut out on each side of the front and "eyes" are in the windshield. Its agility, speed, and small size are also characteristic of the real-life Mongoose mammal.

• The mongoose is drivable in certain maps for Halo: Custom Edition. The first map to use it was called "Yoyorast Island," a map that was essentially a race course. Now that Halo 3 has come out, this early creation is often acclaimed for how realistic it is to the Halo 3 counterpart.

• It is possible to have a player drive at full speed to an on-foot player, and if the soon-to-be splattered player melees at the right time, (at a moment JUST before collision) the meleeing player will lunge towards the driver and take off his shields, while positioning himself at a good location; behind the driver. It makes Mongoose splattering increasingly difficult, considering the fact that most people just jump out of the way.

• The Mongoose has a yellow instruction sticker on the deployable passengers seat stating maximum weight for the driver and passenger. It is interesting to note that the driver can weigh about 500 kilograms, the average weight for an actual Spartan-II soldier. The passenger can also weigh up to 450 kilograms, so carrying around another Spartan-II soldier as a passenger is possible however it would seriously damage the mongoose's suspension under hard acceleration or braking and even the smallest bump or drop would render the mongoose useless.

• Fans often refer multiple Mongoose as a Mongeese or Mongi, this is also much easier to say than Mongooses.

• It's possible for an enemy to board a Mongoose and become the passenger. If this occurs, the driver is encouraged to dismount, as the enemy passenger is capable of meleeing them to a humorous death.

• The Mongoose was cut out of Halo 2. See the Halo 2 DVD.

• Just in front of the Mongoose's seat is a yellow sticker warning people that the fuel is pressurized and the players should be careful when removing the fuel cap.

• A snow camouflaged version will be available in the Legendary Map Pack this spring.
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  Snow Mongoose

• A good anti-vehicular strategy is to have a passenger armed with plasma grenades and stick vehicles with them. Most people don't remember that passengers can use grenades. This doesn't work well against infantry because the mongoose jumps a lot and people are just to small of a target.

• If landed right, it is possible to drive this vehicle forward in a permanent wheelie, permanently until you reverse.

Related Articles

• Ghost - The Covenant Separatist equivalent of the Mongoose.

• Brute Chopper - The Covenant Loyalist equivalent of the Mongoose.