Equipment drop pod
| This article is based on canon information, but the article's title is conjectural and/or uses descriptions as the title, as there is currently no official name for the subject. |
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Equipment drop pod |
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Specialised drop pods are utilised by the United Nations Space Command for the purpose of delivering larger equipment from an orbiting warship to the ground of a planet, without the need to use a dropship or other heavy-lift craft. They can be launched in a wave of regular infantry-carrying drop pods to carry supplies, equipment, and even small vehicles for use in planetary assault operations.[1]
These equipment pods are broadly similar in nature to the smaller ordnance pods which can be deployed by aircraft. However, they are much larger and can be deployed from an orbiting starship.
Operational historyEdit
During the Battle of Metisette in 2535, UNSC Midsummer Night launched an equipment drop pod alongside a wave of ODST pods to support the UNSC forces deployed on Metisette. During the fighting on the ground, SPARTAN-II Adriana-111 found a landed equipment pod and opened it, only to find a Mongoose ATV inside it. Bemoaning the uselessness of the Mongoose for fighting the Covenant on the ground, she ended up using the Mongoose as an improvised melee weapon.[1]
During Operation: GREY VEIL in 2544, an equipment pod was launched from UNSC Kronstadt, a Diligence-class destroyer, alongside five M8900 SOEIVs carrying Master Sergeant Cortez and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. When the team landed on the service of Heian, O'Brien's pod landed in a body of water, leading to Cortez instructing Dutch to retrieve equipment from their equipment pod to save O'Brien's pod from flooding. However, the SPARTAN-II Cal-141 was able to lift O'Brien's pod out of the water, making the equipment unnecessary.[2]
Production notesEdit
While never specifically called out, the equipment pod's design is alluded to in The Babysitter short. After crash-landing in a pool of water, Cortez instructs Dutch to "go and get the gear", implying some sort of heavy-lift or other similar equipment that can be used to save O'Brien. In a discussion on halo.bungie.org, Frank O'Connor provided this quote to confirm the pod's purpose in which fans had speculated the nature of the pod.[3]
GalleryEdit
UNSC Kronstadt launching its drop pods. The equipment drop pod can be seen in the midst of the crowd, with a distinctly different design to the M8900 SOEIVs.
The underside of an equipment pod in flight.
Another view of the drop pod launch, showcasing a top-angled view of the equipment pod.
Cal-141 and her team resting near the equipment drop pod.
List of appearancesEdit
- Halo: The Cole Protocol (First appearance)
- Halo Legends
SourcesEdit
- ^ a b Halo: The Cole Protocol, chapter 62
- ^ Halo Legends - The Babysitter
- ^ halo.bungie.org, Re: More *SP* (Retrieved on Aug 4, 2024) [archive]