Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:49, June 14, 2007

HEV pod stats

A Human Entry Vehicle was a small pod used by the UNSC to deploy an individual soldier from high orbit to the ground. HEV usage was popularly associated with Orbital Drop Shock Troopers although SPARTAN-IIs were also fully qualified in their use^[1].

Doctrine

HEVs in action.

HEVs allowed for the rapid deployment of ground assault troops near or right onto an objective. Their smaller profiles made them more difficult to destroy by defensive fire than conventional dropships. The large number of pods dropped at once also increased the probability of some of the attack force surviving to the land. Each pod bore the name of the soldier inside; amongst other things this identification could be used to identify the unfortunate occupant of a destroyed pod.

ODST doctrine required the command unit of an HEV-facilitated assault to land first to minimize the period of disorder that might occur as pods landed and soldiers deployed. Command unit HEVs were equipped with additional features, including high-powered imaging gear and the Class C military AI (such as Wellsley^[2]) required to operate it.

The first UNSC troops on the ring during the Battle of Installation 05, John-117 and a platoon of ODST, were deployed by HEV from the UNSC In Amber Clad. In this case, the Class C AI was supplanted by the AI Cortana^[3].

File:ODST.jpg

HEVs preparing for launch on board the In Amber Clad.

Reentry

An HEV resembled a boxy raindrop and was made of Titanium-A, Lead Foil, and a ceramic skin. The skin burned away during atmospheric reentry, protecting the rest of the pod and its occupant from the worst of the considerable heat. However, even with this ablation it was not unknown for passengers to be killed when tolerances were exceeded^[4].

Once within the atmosphere a metal drag chute would deploy for a short while before detaching to steady the descent, keep the pod on course, and provide some deceleration. A more conventional backup chute was provided for landing, although final deceleration was often accomplished using retro rockets forcing the passenger to experience significant gee-forces. Needless to say, failure of any combination of components could be fatal.

Cargo

File:IAC-HEV1.jpg

Another HEV pod.

In addition to the trooper the HEV necessarily carried other supplies, such as weapons, ammunition, rations, and a Cubicle for shelter. This allowed a trooper to fight from the HEV without need for immediate resupply.

Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod

An offshoot of the HEV was the Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod which came into service around 2545. The long range pods featured an Stealth Ablative Coating and could be launched from slipspace.

Covenant Orbital Insertion Pod

File:ElitePod.jpg

An Elite emerging from his Covenant drop pod.

The Covenant had a HEV equivalent known as a Orbital Insertion Pod. These were used to deploy Elites during the Battle of New Mombasa^[3].

Similarities

File:Onipods.gif

HEVs bear some resemble to the blue and red objects (pictured at left) from Oni.

Popularly, the concept of dropping individual soldiers onto a planet from orbit in pods is attributed to Robert E. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers. HEVs in Halo act similarly to those described in the book. ODST doctrine of 'command unit first' also resembles Mobile Infantry doctrine of 'officers first'.

HEVs also have an similar shape to the much larger examples used by Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000, another franchise that drew inspiration from Starship Troopers.

Sources

^ Delta Halo (Level) cinematics
^ Halo: The Flood, page 47
^ ^a ^b Delta Halo (Level) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "dh" defined multiple times with different content
^ Halo: The Flood, page 35

[1] Delta Halo (Level) cinematics

[2] Halo: The Flood, page 47

[dh-3] Delta Halo (Level) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "dh" defined multiple times with different content

[4] Halo: The Flood, page 35

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[Image:HEV-tech.gif|thumb|right|HEV pod stats]]
-'''Human Entry Vehicles''' are small orbital insertion vehicles used by the [[UNSC]], and namely, the [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s. However, it should be noted that [[SPARTAN-II]]s are also fully trained and qualified in the use of such insertion vehicles.<ref>[[Delta Halo (Level)]] cinematics</ref>
+A '''Human Entry Vehicle''' was a small pod used by the [[UNSC]] to deploy an individual soldier from high orbit to the ground.  HEV usage was popularly associated with [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s although [[SPARTAN-II]]s were also fully qualified in their use<ref>[[Delta Halo (Level)]] cinematics</ref>.
-== Usage ==
+==Doctrine==
 [[Image:hevstohalo05.jpg|thumb|left|HEVs in action.]]
-HEVs are used to transport individual troops from a ship in a rapid assault and land them at an objective. Two advantages of these are that they are harder to hit with anti aircraft fire and they are faster and more efficient than assault boats or [[Pelican]] transports. Each pod bears the name of an individual trooper, for identification should the pod be destroyed, or should the information be needed for tactical reasons.
+HEVs allowed for the rapid deployment of ground assault troops near or right onto an objective.  Their smaller profiles made them more difficult to destroy by defensive fire than conventional dropships.  The large number of pods dropped at once also increased the probability of some of the attack force surviving to the land.  Each pod bore the name of the soldier inside; amongst other things this identification could be used to identify the unfortunate occupant of a destroyed pod.
-UNSC insertion protocols state that the command unit of an [[ODST]] mission must land first, so that the troops could be organized as quickly as possible. The HEV of a command unit is equipped with a lot of gear that the regular HEVs don't have, including high-powered imaging gear and the Class C military [[AI]] required to operate it. [[Wellsley]] was one such AI.<ref>[[Halo: The Flood]], page 47</ref> During [[Halo 2]], [[John-117]] along with an [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s platoon made a combat insertion onto Delta Halo and, as would be expected, Cortana was more then capable of taking the place of the Class C (and presumably 'dumb') AI in this role.<ref name="dh">[[Delta Halo (Level)]]</ref>
+[[ODST]] doctrine required the command unit of an HEV-facilitated assault to land first to minimize the period of disorder that might occur as pods landed and soldiers deployed.  Command unit HEVs were equipped with additional features, including high-powered imaging gear and the Class C military [[AI]] (such as [[Wellsley]]<ref>[[Halo: The Flood]], page 47</ref>) required to operate it.
+The first UNSC troops on the ring during the [[Battle of Installation 05]], [[John-117]] and a platoon of [[ODST]], were deployed by HEV from the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}}.  In this case, the Class C AI was supplanted by the AI [[Cortana]]<ref name="dh">[[Delta Halo (Level)]]</ref>.
 [[Image:ODST.jpg|thumb|right|HEVs preparing for launch on board the ''[[In Amber Clad]]''.]]
-== Composition ==
+==Reentry==
+An HEV resembled a boxy raindrop and was made of [[Titanium-A]], [[Lead Foil]], and a ceramic skin.  The skin burned away during atmospheric reentry, protecting the rest of the pod and its occupant from the worst of the considerable heat.  However, even with this ablation it was not unknown for passengers to be killed when tolerances were exceeded<ref>[[Halo: The Flood]], page 35</ref>.
-HEVs are vaguely box shaped and are made of [[Titanium-A]], [[Lead Foil]], and a ceramic skin. Some of this skin burns away during entry of the atmosphere. Because of that, the pods sometimes become fatally hot.<ref>[[Halo: The Flood]], page 35</ref> Trooper pods are seen in the level [[Delta Halo (Level)|Delta Halo]]. They use a parachute to allow for a softer landing, but they sometimes break away. The HEV automatically deploys a backup chute, but they aren't as effective, and deaths still result.
+Once within the atmosphere a metal drag chute would deploy for a short while before detaching to steady the descent, keep the pod on course, and provide some deceleration.  A more conventional backup chute was provided for landing, although final deceleration was often accomplished using retro rockets forcing the passenger to experience significant gee-forces.  Needless to say, failure of any combination of components could be fatal.
-== Content ==
+==Cargo==
 [[Image:IAC-HEV1.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Another HEV pod.]]
-The Human Entry Vehicles also contain ample supplies for an ODST to support himself or herself for quite some time. It contains an assortment of [[Weapons]], not limited to [[Assault Rifle]]s, [[Shotguns]], [[Battle Rifle]]s, [[SMG]]s, [[Sniper Rifles]] and [[Rocket Launchers]], as well as [[Grenade]]s.<ref name="dh"/> In addition, the HEVs contain a supply of [[MRE]]s for food and a [[Cubicle]] for shelter.
+In addition to the trooper the HEV necessarily carried other supplies, such as [[UNSC Weapons|weapons]], ammunition, [[MRE|rations]], and a [[Cubicle]] for shelter.  This allowed a trooper to fight from the HEV without need for immediate resupply.
-The command HEV contains some high powered imaging equipment and the Class C AI needed to operate it.<ref> [[Halo: The Flood]] page 47 </ref>
-== Long Range Pods ==
+==Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod==
-Human Entry Vehicles are designed for high-orbit launches. They were never intended for launches from deep space or [[slipspace]]. However, around [[2545]] upgraded HEVs came into service, called [[Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods]]. These pods are used only on stealth missions, and are equipped with [[Stealth Ablative Coating]]. Most importantly, they can be launched at a target from Slipspace.
+An offshoot of the HEV was the [[Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod]] which came into service around [[2545]].  The long range pods featured an [[Stealth Ablative Coating]] and could be launched from [[slipspace]].
-== [[Orbital Insertion Pod]]s ==
+==Covenant Orbital Insertion Pod==
 [[Image:ElitePod.jpg|thumb|An Elite emerging from his Covenant drop pod.|90px|right]]
-The [[Covenant]] eventually created their own type of HEVs, called Orbital Insertion Pods. It is unclear if there is a Covenant organization similar to the ODSTs. However, these HEVs are seen in the [[Halo 2]] level Outskirts, as well as the original Halo 2 2003 E3 trailer.
+The [[Covenant]] had a HEV equivalent known as a [[Orbital Insertion Pod]].  These were used to deploy [[Elite]]s during the [[Battle of New Mombasa]]<ref name="dh">[[Outskirts (Level)]]</ref>.
 == Similarities ==
 [[Image:Onipods.gif|200px|left]]
-The HEV pods show similarities to blue and red pod things in Oni.
+HEVs bear some resemble to the blue and red objects (pictured at left) from [[Wikipedia:Oni (video game)|Oni]].
-{{clear}}
+Popularly, the concept of dropping individual soldiers onto a planet from orbit in pods is attributed to [[Wikipedia:Robert E. Heinlein|Robert E. Heinlein]]'s novel ''[[Wikipedia:Starship Troopers|Starship Troopers]]''.  HEVs in Halo act similarly to those described in the book.  ODST doctrine of 'command unit first' also resembles Mobile Infantry doctrine of 'officers first'.
-The concept of dropping marines from orbit originated in Robert E. Heinlein's novel ''Starship Troopers'' (also the novel that introduced power armor); the Mobile Infantry of the book were literally shot out of a cannon from an orbital ship and onto the planet below. The HEVs of Halo act in a similar fashion to those described in the book. There are similar pods used by the of Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000.
+HEVs also have an similar shape to the much larger examples used by Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000, another franchise that drew inspiration from ''Starship Troopers''.
 == Sources ==