MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor [GEN3]

MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN3)
Production overview
Type:	MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor GEN3
Technical specifications
Feature(s):	Energy shielding; SPDR counterintrusion measures; Holographic emitters;

The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor [GEN3] is the third system-wide generation of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.^[3] As of 2560, Generation 3 MJOLNIR has been adopted by nearly all active Spartans serving in the United Nations Space Command.^[4]

Design details

MJOLNIR GEN3 arm component diagnostic.

Design and features

The conceptual design framework incorporates lessons from the MJOLNIR [GEN2] line of Mjolnir, while also using performance and higher levels of protection given by the MJOLNIR [GEN1] line of Mjolnir.^[3] Subsequently GEN3 weighs twice as much as GEN2 at 400 kilograms.^[5]

The armor features a survival mode that can keep the occupant alive for at least six months in the vacuum of space with no food, water, or other things vital to life aside from the suit's oxygen supply. After a burst of power was used by Fernando Esparza to bring John-117's armor out of survival mode, the armor's fusion reactor almost instantly recharged Echo 216's depleted batteries in return, restoring functioning to the Pelican's internal lights and systems.^[6] John later told the Weapon that the next thing that he remembered after getting thrown into space was waking up on the Pelican six months later, suggesting that he had been kept unconscious by the armor for the entire time.^[7] The GEN3 Mark VII armor, even in a damaged and failing state, combined with his augmentations, kept Spartan Tomas Horvath from dying of exposure when he was comatose for a day on a mountainside.^[8] After Horvath was impaled and severely wounded by an alloy shard between his intestines and spleen, his biomonitors kept him in a semicomatose state while the armor's medical systems regenerated his torn insides, and the armor kept him alive until he could hunt for food using its emergency high-calorie nutrient supplements.^[9]

Unique to the GEN3 variant of the Mark VI armor, John-117's armor contained holographic emitters in the palm of the hand, allowing him to display an avatar of the Weapon over his hand, a feature not previously seen with his GEN1 and GEN2 suits while he was working with Cortana. The Weapon was able to transfer herself directly into systems by having her hologram walk off of the armor's hand and into the terminal in question.^[2]

John-117's armor displayed the ability to remotely link to the systems of Echo 216 and then activate the ship's autopilot at his request to fly to a chosen destination.^[10]

It was possible for the users to effect field repairs by removing and reconfiguring some of the plating to compensate for the damage, but the sheer weight of each piece and the complexity of the process was a severe limitation without the right equipment.^[11]

It contained a distress beacon capable of signaling UNSC forces in range.^[12]

Development history

MJOLNIR Mk VI variant being assembled and marked.

Although the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) meant a radical simplification of the Mjolnir platform, to the point it could be mass-produced, some in the Spartan Operations branch were dissatisfied with its minimal performance improvement over the old GEN1 systems. By that reason, the UNSC decided to manufacture the next generation of Mjolnir armors.^[13]

Around October 17, 2558,^[14] the Mark VII was used as the testbed for the GEN3 improvements, but it remained uncertain if manufacturers would adopt the standards and cost accounting by the Unified Earth Government.^[3]

On February 10, 2559, four months after the rise of Cortana and the Created, the Materials Group began to manufacture GEN3 armor.^[1] The Swords of Sanghelios have also become involved in the manufacture of some material for the GEN3 platform, such as the Anubis-class helmet, which is "grown" within Sangheili assembly forges.^[15] While not strictly part of the GEN3 platform, the GEN1 Mark V[B] platform and its variants have been refit to be roughly equivalent to newest generation. Though this technology dates back to the Covenant War, it has been fully reconditioned and upgraded with newer and more optimized components, giving life to older technology at an integral time, and offering a new generation of Spartans the opportunity to take to the battlefield outfitted in the same style of armor that some of their own heroes once donned.^[16]^[15]

On October 7, 2559, John-117 and Blue Team were deployed on a covert mission to CASTLE Base using the GEN3 Mark VI armor.^[5] During a subsequent battle in New Mohács, Spartan IVs in GEN3 were deployed by drop pod.^[17] Several months later on May 28, 2560, the armor was used by John-117 during a conflict on Installation 07.^[18]^[2]

In the wake of the Created uprising, there were certain places where the GEN3 armor wasn't, or simply couldn't have been, rolled out. As a result, the GEN3 Mjolnir had yet to see full implementation in the Spartan branch, with some Spartans still using the GEN2 Mjolnir by late 2559.^[19]^[20]

Armor variants and upgrades

Variants

The following is a list of major variants of the GEN3 platform.

Anubis - A variant made by Sangheili, upgraded from GEN2
Argus - A variant with an increase in situational and threat awareness, upgraded from GEN2
Armet - A variant used to test new technologies
Artaius - A variant of combat exoframe, compatible with GEN3
Aviator - A variant tailored for use by cybernetically augmented aerospace pilots, upgraded from GEN2
Barrister - A variant undergoing testing by select military police and security forces
Brawler - A heavily fortified variant utilizing hyperdiamond armor sheets
Cavallino - A variant used by fireteam leaders, trainers, and observers
Celox - A variant based on the GEN2 Scout
Cohort - A variant used by Fred-104
Courier - A variant made for cyberwarfare
Deadeye - A variant designed for sniper, upgraded from GEN2
Enigma - A variant for tank crews
Firefall - A variant designed for orbital insertion
Flanker - A variant designed for deep reconnaissance
Hermes - A variant used for orbital raids, upgraded from GEN2
ISR - A variant for intelligence collection
Linebreaker - A variant utilizing commercially available components
Mark V Zeta - A variant used by ONI's Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group
Mark VI - A variant based on the GEN1 Mark IV and Mark VI
Mark VII - A variant based on the GEN1 Mark VII and the GEN2 Decimator, designed specifically to testbed GEN3

Mercury - A variant made from records recovered from a Created data archive
Menachite - An improved Mjolnir variant
Rampart - A variant noted for its ease of production
Rockeye - A variant of the RK-I heavy combat helmet made compatible with the GEN3 Mjolnir using a simplified version of GEN2 Maverick hardware
Security - A variant designed for shipboard and station defense, based on the GEN1 Mark VI Security
Soldier - A variant that features a new revision of Materials Group's combat catalyst firmware, upgraded from GEN2
Stormfall - A variant with a fire direction system
Talon - A variant compatible with the GEN3 platform
Torchbearer - A variant based on the Hellbringer armor
Trailblazer - A variant based on the GEN2 Recon
Trendlock - A Mjolnir spinoff of the helmet used by Emerson's quick reaction forces
Viper - A variant that increase aggression levels and improve reaction times via its neural interface
Volant - A variant based on the GEN2 Air Assault
War Master - A variant designed with multi-functional configuration for almost any combat scenario
Zvezda - A variant with a programmable phase array antenna grid

Upgrades

The following is a list of armor accessories and modules compatible with GEN3 platform.

AAP
CNM
TAC

TAS
RS
UA

Attachments

The armor system is built to support a variety of attachments and equipment which increases the level of combat effectiveness. Some of them have been reverse-engineered from Covenant technology.

Armor components

The MJOLNIR GEN3's startup BIOS.

PANSPEC Energy shielding: A protective barrier that surrounds the armor and protects the user from harm.^[1] This energy shield was designed by Henry Glassman and Catherine Halsey, and was based on Watershed Division's latest iteration of shaped-energy shield. This type of shielding is unique to John-117's armor.^[21]
Project JULIA Compact fusion reactor: Designed by Naoto Technologies^[21], this experimental fusion reactor is the most essential part of the MJOLNIR system, as it provides power to all equipment on the armor—the reactor is built into the suit and allows for nearly unlimited movement.^[1]
Magnetic weapon holder strips: The MJOLNIR armor features very small, yet powerful magnets placed on the legs, waist, and back of the suit that are used to hold any equipment or any weapons with a magnetic property.^[1]
MJOLNIR GEN3 BIOS^[1] The next-gen V12.22.12 BIOS was created by Doctor Halsey's hand-coded branch of the Materials Group's firmware.^[21]
Waterfall VISR^[21]
Force-multiplying circuits^[1]
Motion tracker: Shows movement of friendly and enemy units within the system's radius.^[1]
Pressure seal: The pressure seal is a vital component to the MJOLNIR system, it keeps the system airtight, underwater or in space.^[1]
Hydrostatic gel: On top of the inner skinsuit is a gel-filled layer, which regulates the temperature of the suit and can change its density to conform to the wearer's shape. The temperature inside the suit is controlled by the moisture absorbing cloth suit underneath the hydrostatic layer. The hydrostatic gel layer can also be pressurized to various levels to potentially save the wearer's life should the wearer be subjected to high G forces or a high velocity impact. Spartans in Gen 3 can avoid blacking out in conditions up to 38 g.
Thruster pack: Located at the back of the armor, this component provides the ability to propel the wearer over short distances and to maneuver in low-gravity environments.^[22] Similar to earlier GEN2 models the user requires an additional externally equipped thruster module to perform more advanced movements in higher-gravity environments.^[2]
SPDR counterintrusion measures: Generally placed in UNSC AIs, MJOLNIR [GEN3] is the first generation of Mjolnir armors to include them.^[1] This also includes a weapon containment device, possibly to store Created AI's for later analysis.
Holographic emitters: The suit is capable of displaying the holographic avatar of an AI over the palm of the hand.^[2]
GEN3 techsuit: A nanocomposite bodysuit with embedded crystaline computational matrix capable of hosting a high-tier AI.^[21]

Notes

In Discover Hope, while John-117's armor BIOS is activating, a line in the HUD reads "Preparing A.I. Intrusion countermeasures". This is likely to prevent AI intrusion following the rise of the Created.^[1]

Gallery

Concept art and illustrations

Members of Blue Team wearing the GEN3 Mark VI armor with different variants of helmets on Reach in Halo: Shadows of Reach.
Early concept art of MJOLNIR GEN3 for Halo Infinite.
Concept art of the GEN3 techsuit for Halo Infinite.
Concept art of GEN3 Mark VII for Halo Infinite.
Concept art of various GEN3 armor pieces.
Early concept art of GEN3 helmets for Halo Infinite.
More early helmet concepts.
More early helmet concepts.
More early helmet concepts.
Concept art of various GEN3 helmets.
More helmet concepts, including ISR, Anubis, and Enigma.
The previous helmet concepts as seen from the front.
Finalized concept art of some of the previous helmets.
Concept art of Zvezda and Firefall-class helmets.
Concept art of various helmet attachments for Halo Infinite.
Concept art of gloves usable with the GEN3 platform in Halo Infinite.
More glove concepts.