MJOLNIR armor

The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor is a state-of-the-art UNSC power armor system developed under the direction of Dr. Catherine Halsey of the Office of Naval Intelligence for use by the Spartan-II supersoldiers.

Development
Each "Mark"-designated generation is its own iterative platform, and each of them evolved considerably over the years, both generation-wide and individually. The Marks were paradigm shifts that completely overhauled both the suit's hardware and software, and for the most part required their own unique production lines and procurement chains. In addition to the best-known changes, there were numerous tune-ups and adjustments to every Mark-designated platform, both internal and external. The more notable changes within each generation are sometimes referred to as "phases", though these do not always fully reflect the true gamut of variety within those generational platforms, especially amongst individual suits. Due to the realities of military logistics and funding, as well as select benefits unique to given platforms, different models and subcomponents sometimes remained in use in parallel by different Spartan units for some time.

The MJOLNIR system pioneered numerous technologies later applied in other fields in a more piecemeal fashion. It was fitted with the smallest fusion reactor ever built at the time of its creation, was one of the first pieces of UNSC technology to use fully-conformal energy shielding, and the piezoelectric liquid crystal used to enhance the wearer's movements would later see numerous applications in both power armor and various industrial uses. The AI-processing distributed datacrystal layer introduced in the Mark V was the most compact computing substrate ever built, with conventional armored matrices paling in comparison. The titanium-ceramic composites used in the armor plating are perhaps the most widely-adopted technology pioneered by the MJOLNIR suit, with most UNSC body armor systems having adopted some variant thereof by the end of the Human-Covenant War; the helmet-integrated high-bandwidth neural interface system has likewise seen widespread adoption following its introduction in non-MJOLNIR systems, particularly in the suits used by vehicle operators and pilots.

While Dr. Halsey served as the overall head for Project: MJOLNIR and the visionary behind its conception, many of the technicalities of the suit's day-to-day development were carried out under the oversight of Materials Group's head engineer Augustus Lehto. Engineer Abraham Hannaford prominently contributed to the later-generation Mark IV and Mark V suits, as well as the later-phase Mark VI models.

Marks I-III
Non-MJOLNIR mechanical exoskeletons; retroactively named. Later spun off into various parallel programs.

Mark IV
The Mark IV was initially only known as Project MJOLNIR, as Dr. Halsey saw the suit as distinct from the Materials Group's earlier HRUNTING exoskeletons. Still, as with the name of the SPARTAN-II program itself, she acknowledged her armor's lineage to its considerably inferior (and almost entirely technologically unrelated) predecessor, which would still spawn its own offshoot program over the course of the coming years.

The first-phase Mark IV was first upgraded before the suit was even widely issued, adding a refractive iridescent coating to disperse directed-energy strikes. This was the first in line of UNSC-wide improvements refocusing armor from protecting primarily against ballistic attacks to plasma and particle beam damage. Still, the first version of the coating was fairly rudimentary, due to the little data available on Covenant weapon damage at the time, and did little to defend from all but glancing blows. Further iterations would improve the coating based on data gathered in the field, and more underlayers would be added, including a superconducting mesh designed to distribute incoming energy to a wider area as well as an outer thermal regulating layer.

Phase 1 (2525)
While a quantum leap in technology for its time, the Mark IV was quickly found to have numerous teething troubles and issues beyond the designers' control: the suit was fine-tuned for fighting human insurrectionists with ballistic weaponry, not aliens with energy weapons. In addition, the suit was pressed into service faster than originally planned due to the threat of the Covenant, which led to various issues. Even the refractive coating was hastily applied in the final weeks of development based on sparse data from early encounters with the Covenant, and was considerably inferior to its later successors.

The issues led to the rapid field-iteration programs Projects COBALT and CRIMSON between 2526-2528. Rather than all-new suits, these projects were parallel rapid field-testing and iteration projects of several individual suits over the course of two years, culminating in the second-phase overhaul of the Mark IV suit.

Phase 2 (2528)
The formalization of the rapid-iteration and field-testing Projects COBALT and CRIMSON, the Phase-2 Mark IV was a generational upgrade that brought the suit fully up to speed with data and experiences gathered from engagements with the Covenant, including the effects of their weaponry. The upgrade was implemented gradually over the course of several months between 2528 and 2529.

Improvements:
 * Enhanced refractive coating, with further incremental upgrades applied over time
 * Enhanced thermal regulation layer, heat sink and superconducting EM mesh
 * Easier partial disassembly/assembly of bodysuit/techsuit to facilitate field repairs and first aid
 * Improved vacuum survival package with integrated sealant foam dispensers and improved EVA navigation system; introduction of purpose-built EVA variant/conversion kit (MJOLNIR/V)
 * Finalized reactor design, various fixing power issues
 * Armor plating optimized for countering plasma strikes
 * Numerous upgrades to the internal and external electronics and firmware, e.g. enhanced target acquisitions database
 * Preliminary pilot programs to incorporate increased variability and modular components, with select non-classified materiel shared to other branches and contractors for innovation programs.

In 2535, Halsey was forced to segment Project: MJOLNIR into neat generational models for budgetary reasons, as opposed to her prior approach of applying constant - and often costly - upgrades and overhauls to the suits. In 2535-2536, the existing MJOLNIR suits in service received their final mid-life upgrade including thorough maintenance, enhanced blast-resistant plating and padding insets, overhauled techsuit and exo-frame design with further fall damage mitigation, and increased armor coverage to defend against DEW attacks. After this, Halsey began working on the next intragenerational overhaul of the suit, whose new plating architecture was first field-tested by the Spartans of Gray Team. Since the third phase Mark IV would be the last major version of the Mark IV generation, potentially for years, Halsey sought to make sure it could stand the test of time by incorporating, for example, further modular features and the option for rapid iteration at a lower cost than the current platform.

Phase 3 (2540)


First field-tested with Gray Team and later in piecemeal with various other teams, with Phase 3 Mark IV suits represented a transition to a newer type of plating architecture that was both designed from the ground up to counter plasma and energy weapon strikes, along with accommodating increased modularity and field repairs. It also introduced primitive "proto-shielding" in certain areas, an electromagnetic impeller system contained within the plating designed to mitigate the effects of plasma weapons by disrupting plasma bolts' containment fields before impact. However, this was still far from full-fledged energy shielding. In many ways, the Phase 3 was the prototype for what the Mark V would become, pioneering many of the technologies used other than energy shielding.

Improvements:
 * Overhauled plating architecture as a full transition to an "anti-plasma" schema, fixes to oft-reported ergonomics issues
 * Bodysuit construction overhaul; introduced separate, purpose-built inner skinsuit and exterior techsuit to improve ergonomics and comfort for wearer.
 * Streamlined design for increased variability, field repairs, upgrades and individual specialization, including increased compatibility with other UNSC gear, partly due to the Spartans being increasingly spread out across dozens of light-years and often operating on their own. Introduction of versatile lines of "Up-Armor" components and modular hardpoints for the attachment of webbing, UA components, and external electronics/sensor modules.
 * New materials and outer padding in bodysuit, designed for enhanced protection and thermal management
 * Improved life-support system, more versatile gel layer with hyperpressurization capability for emergencies
 * Embedded proto-shield/dispersal field modules
 * VISR/firmware updates and improved onboard computer; tests with enhanced "dumb" AI routines to improve operator awareness and avoid perceptual clutter

The Phase 3 also saw the emergence of the MJOLNIR's first private-sector variants and "off-brand" versions developed by Watershed Group for use by the Spartan-IIIs without Halsey's authorization or knowledge. A handful of defense contractors began to produce suit components, both as proof-of-concept prototypes for later development and for purpose-built variants for the MJOLNIR suits themselves.

Starting in 2545, the UNSC began a collection of discrete rapid iteration and field testing programs on the Mark IV platform to pilot novel energy shielding solutions on individual suits, some of which saw the first field-tests with external shielding modules. These pilot programs also led to the creation of the "armor lockup" module, a design based on a specific type of Covenant overshield. The system immobilized the wearer in order to tap into the full power output of the suit's reactor, which caused various power issues and presented an obvious obstacle for mass adoption. As such, the armor lockup was deemed unstable and virtually unusable in all but emergency conditions.

Mark V
The Mark V was an iterative platform that came in two major phases, the first introducing its shielding and the second adding in the AI housing substrate.

Phase 1 (2549)
The launch iteration of the Mark V armor, called Codename BULWARK by Dr. Halsey, not only brought the MJOLNIR suits' aging design architecture up to date with advances made in materials science and power transmission during the war, but also introduced early energy shielding as an integrated fixture of the suit. While experimental variants of the Mark IV had been fielded previously with external shield units, these were error-prone, imprecise and cumbersome. The first-phase Mark V was first fielded in 2549 as an extended field-testing project, though Halsey, ever the perfectionist, was hesitant to dub it "Mark V" until the full AI support could be added; nevertheless, this pseudo-Mark V — in fact more like a Phase-3 Mark IV/Mark V transitional phase — would continue to be called "Codename BULWARK" by Halsey even as she had named it Mark V in official procurement documentation to justify the increased funding required. Though the Phase I Mark V proved itself in the field, its shields still had various issues which would be remedied in the Phase 2 and further refined in the Mark VI.

Improvements:
 * Firmware & onboard computer updates & preliminary AI crystal substrate tests in preparation for the final phase
 * Integrated first-generation energy shielding
 * Improvements to piezoelectric liquid crystal layer
 * Overhauled power system and reactor design

Aside from numerous tweaks and tune-ups, the greatest difference between the Mark V [B] suit and the final-issue Mark V is the former's inability to host a "smart" AI due to its lack of an AI-processing nanocrystal layer. The Mark V [B] is only capable of running a simple "dumb" AI or scaled-down aspect of a more powerful one aboard its standard onboard computer, though its processing capability can be augmented with an external computing module. As "smart" AIs require far beyond the processing power of such platforms, they cannot run within the Beta's hardware. The addition of the AI support delayed the Mark V's production considerably: the integrated shield system was finished long before the AI substrate layer and interface, which would remain the armor's most expensive component. This is also why Mark V (B)-derived systems would remain in mainstream use for some time even after the war, with AI-supporting suits reserved only for Spartans who strictly needed them.

The Phase-1 Mark V included a similar modular design as the Phase-3 Mark IV, and many components were largely cross-generation compatible. While favored by many within Materials Group's team and among the Spartans, Halsey was dissatisfied with the need for piecemeal upgrades and sought to realize the Phase-2 Mark V as a more unified, all-in-one solution.

In 2551, the Watershed Group operating under Colonel Ackerson's Asymmetrical Action Group developed a streamlined "off-brand" version of the Phase-1 Mark V armor, known simply as Mark V(b), with the suits issued for a handful of off-company Spartan-III teams operating under UNICOM. The suit was largely based on the Mark V suit albeit with cheaper components, and like all of AAG's activities, its existence was hidden from Dr. Halsey.
 * Mark V(b)

Phase 2 (2552)
The second or final phase of the Mark V added a functioning AI processing memory-crystal layer, which remains the single most expensive addition to the MJOLNIR platform. It contained numerous lesser upgrades, yet omitted just as many that Halsey did not have time to incorporate before Admiral Stanforth and the rest of FLEETCOM forced her to finish her work on the suit and initiate Operation: RED FLAG. In many ways, the Phase 2 Mark V was an all-new suit, though one still built on the Phase 1's hardware - something that had already been surpassed by the Mark VI team on Earth, but did not unfortunately make it for RED FLAG.


 * Processing memory crystal layer
 * Upgraded life support and survivability suite with embedded biofoam injectors
 * Updated onboard computer, firmware, embedded dumb AI routines and target recognition software & VISR
 * Enhanced gel layer
 * Second-generation shield system
 * Integrated wavespace uplink for Covenant battlenet infiltration

In practice, the Mark V Phase 2's service life was a short one. Halsey and her team were forced to cut many corners before pushing it into service for RED FLAG. More of the hardware was ported over from the old Mark IV-based architecture than Halsey would have liked, causing various power issues in the long run. The optics package of the system could easily burn out in the kinds of sustained operations the Spartans routinely engaged in, as demonstrated by John-117's operations on Installation 04 and afterward. The shielding technology remained immature and as it partly relied on legacy hardware, its sustained use in conjunction with the smart AI processing layer would result in the power system wearing down within weeks, necessitating replacement and maintenance.

Project AQUILA (2556)
AQUILA was a corporate-manufactured offshoot program designed with the intent of creating a leaner and more cost-effective MJOLNIR variant, produced a battlesuit platform built on the core architecture of the Phase 1-era Mark V, omitting the prohibitively expensive AI substrate layer while incorporating some of the optimization upgrades of the Mark VI to replace the aging first-gen Mark V suits. Still, it includes the option for an external armored data matrix as a plug-in module, though the system remains more cumbersome than the integrated one in the Marks V and VI. The AQUILA suit was issued mostly to SPARTAN-IIIs and SPARTAN-IIs operating without integrated AI, though it would eventually be phased out in favor of the second-phase Mark VI as the crystal-substrate layer technology became cheaper to manufacture.

Mark VI
Largely developed in parallel with the Mark V, with development starting in Earth's Seongnam and Chiron over Mars in 2551, the Mark VI began as a radical innovation splinter program that overtook the main one after the destruction of Reach and Halsey's disappearance.

The final Mark VI suit did not add major features like its predecessor had, largely focusing on optimizing the technologies developed for the Mark V and integrating them more thoroughly into a coherent whole. While advanced for its time, the Mark V's shield system was still relatively wasteful and crude in light of new advances made over the past two years. As well, the AI crystal layer had been hastily added to the Mark V suit that still partly relied on legacy technology, causing issues with power management in particular. The introduction of the second-phase Mark VI several years later would partly remedy these issues, though the armor would remain prodigiously expensive for some time due to the complex manufacturing process required for the unique symbiosis of exotic technologies.

While mostly developed in parallel with the Mark V, the final iterations to the Mark VI's design were made with an exceedingly hectic pace in the weeks since the fall of Reach. Internally, the Mark VI differs quite little from the Mark V, outside some alternate materials choices and technical solutions, essentially being the product of a competing Materials Group team with only external input from Dr. Halsey. Because Halsey was extremely ambitious about the upgrades made to each MJOLNIR generation, she would have been against differentiating the Mark VI from the Mk. V suit in the first place; there probably are fewer functional differences between the Mark V and Mark VI than a Mark IV suit from 2535 and one from 2549. Regardless, Halsey wasn't there when Navy procurement bureaucrats decided to call the suit Mark VI, some time before the Gettysburg survivors returned to Earth. Indeed, the final upgrades to the upcoming Mark VI suits were made based on data from said survivors' experiences on Reach, Halo and the Unyielding Hierophant.

In terms of design and architecture, the Mark VI was designed with the potential for future mass-production in mind, with a streamlined manufacturing process as well as increased modularity, based on the example of the Phase-2 Mark IV. Consequently, specifications of the suit were partially divulged to a handful of defense contractors tasked with developing use case-specific variants.

As one notable change to the Mark V, the Mark VI relies more on its shield than the physical armor, using a lighter, more streamlined plating architecture and slimmer techsuit to allow for increased mobility. This decision was made by the Materials Group's Seongnam contingent in contrast to Halsey's team on Reach, who preferred a bulkier and more robust plating setup. Aside from that difference in schools of thought, the Mark VI's shield and power system are unquestionably better, if damage-prone; the shield-shaping waveguides in particular can be damaged quite easily.

The Mark VI's passive stealth system, EVA features and core sensor package have also been improved from those of the Mark V.

One of the most notable differences between Marks V and VI is that the former (particularly the [B] variant) is more robust and easier to repair and upgrade in the field; whereas the Mark VI is a fine-tuned high-tech instrument that requires frequent maintenance by a dedicated crew. In terms of electronics, the Mark VI opts for a contact-based rapid data interface that can transfer an entire AI in a mere second. While an ambitious show of technological prowess, this can compromise the suit's cybersecurity much easier than the Mark V's data-transfer system, which relies on more robust and reliable physical transfer along with more hardened electronics.

The Mark VI's power distribution was one of the first UNSC systems to use Covenant-derived superconducting metamaterials, as well as a fine-tuned waveguide array to optimize the energy shields' shape in much more detail as well as reducing power consumption. This required a complete overhaul of the suit's internal architecture, which enabled several further improvements to the AI processing layer. However, the system was more also delicate than that of the Mark V, and required more frequent maintenance.

MJOLNIR development and innovation ground to a relative halt in the decade following the war. Over the last two decades, the numerous high-end features the MJOLNIR system had accrued made it one of the most complicated and expensive pieces of human technology at the time. As the UNSC gradually wound down from war footing, Section Three's research and development budgets were significantly downsized, and Project MJOLNIR faced increased scrutiny due to its astronomical development and upkeep costs, especially in light of the small number of remaining Spartan-IIs. With the disappearance of the project's primus motor, Dr. Halsey, largely responsible for maintaining the project's tempo during the war, Project: MJOLNIR passed under new management within Section Three, and the refocusing of Section 3's budgets saw many of its surviving personnel reassigned to work on offshoot projects. These projects focused on developing less expensive and less high-end suits that incorporated some of the technologies and lessons learned from MJOLNIR, but eschewed prohibitively expensive features like the AI crystal layer or full conformal shielding. A base staff was retained to maintain the core features of the Mark VI suits still in service, while the production and maintenance of variants and add-on modules was largely given over to private contractors. Although the AI processing layer and several elements of the shield and power distribution systems remain proprietary to Materials Group, the most significant innovations to the Mark VI platform in the post-war era have originated in the private sector, rather than Materials Group.

The initial production run of Mark VI suits remains as spares and for specialist uses by the Spartan-IIs and select Spartan-IIIs. For the bulk of the IIIs, the MIRAGE Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor is deemed an acceptable alternative as its manufacturing process is much more easily scalable to mass production, sacrificing the bleeding edge of power armor technology in favor of a less technically impressive but more economical compromise.

Phase 1 (2552)
New plating structure and layer construction, optimized shielding and power management suite.

Phase 2 (2559)
Cybersecurity upgrades, along with a limited run of suits with an upgraded plating architecture.

Later, metamaterial coatings derived from the SPI armor's chameleoflage were applied on some Mark VI suits.

Mark VII
Introduced in the 2580s with the SPARTAN-IV project, the MJOLNIR Mark VII is the next major shift in the MJOLNIR line, developed specifically for the next generation of Spartans. Features include:


 * Next-generation manufacturing process with Covenant-derived hybrid technologies
 * Next-generation cybernetic suit/operator interfaces, AI port, and processing layer
 * Overhauled inner bodysuit and piezoelectric movement-enhancing exoskeleton mesh
 * Covenant-derived lightweight nanolaminate alloys for armor plating
 * Advanced energy shield shaping and management for optimized power use; AI-controlled active shielding
 * Full stealth coating through adaptive-texture metamaterials
 * Targeted paragravitics engine for fall damage and shock mitigation

The Mark VII's physical design reflects its state-of-the-art nature, with a smooth, minimalist, and nearly organic design.

Variants and components
Many variable MJOLNIR components, such as helmets, shoulder pads and various UA plating components, are intercompatible between MJOLNIR generations as well as some non-MJOLNIR personal armor systems, though electronics and firmware upgrades are usually required when using legacy or external components. In addition, as MJOLNIR is superior to the majority of other UNSC armor platforms in most ways, there is generally little incentive to use external components, barring cases of extreme specializations that lack dedicated MJOLNIR subvariants.

The addition of conformal energy shielding in the Mark V generation made backwards compatibility of older components more difficult, as even the armor plates now had to be fitted with internal waveguides. The Mark VI's waveguide network is designed to be more streamlined, but retains some of the same issues; the system can be configured for legacy helmets, for example, but the lack of waveguides results in less precise shield coverage.