M32 mortar

The M32 Infantry Support Weapon is the standard infantry-portable mortar used by the UNSC Army during the Human-Covenant War.

Design
While the M32 can be effectively used by a single man, it is more common for them to be deployed in teams of two or three. The second man handles the shells, while the third watches for attackers and collects spare ammunition when it is starting to run low. All mortarmen are normally incorporated at the company level, segregated into their own small section.

Ammunition
The M32 is designed to use next-generation 60mm shells, one of the driving forces that led to it being developed in the first place. These have a small navigation system and control surfaces along the fins to guide themselves to their target, which is supplied via the sighting computer on the mortar. The actual travel is calculated aboard the shells or laser guidance; the Army procurement board decided to cut compatibility with the UNSC Battle Network due to costs and concerns that jammers could be developed to throw them off-course. All shells can have up to four attachable propellant charges to further increase range if needed, as well as a thruster kit for use in low-gravity environments.

The M32 is most commonly supplied with high explosive, fragmentation shells, which excel at defeating infantry and lightly-armored vehicles. Others common options include:
 * Illumination
 * Electric smoke, whose coloration can be selected between red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and purple.
 * Sonic screamers
 * Chemical
 * Incendiary
 * Empty capsules for carrying small remote-controlled drones.
 * Ionic for use against energy shielding.
 * EMP
 * Guided missiles