MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V | |
|---|---|
  Mark V on the GEN1 (left) and GEN2 (right) platforms.
| |
| Production overview | |
|
Manufacturer(s): |
|
|
Testing site(s): |
|
|
Type: |
|
|
Role(s): |
General combat |
| Technical specifications | |
|
Feature(s): |
Energy shielding |
- "This—is everything I had always dreamed it could be."
- — Dr. Catherine Halsey
The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V was the second major version of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor series. The initial version of the Mark V powered exoskeleton, designated as Mark V [B],[1] was issued to the SPARTAN-IIs and several SPARTAN-III commandos on November 24, 2551,[2] while the second version of the armor was unveiled for Operation: RED FLAG on August 29, 2552.[3][4][Note 1] The Mark V armor was in service until October 2552, when it was replaced by the MJOLNIR Mark VI.[5] It could still be requisitioned by SPARTAN-IV personnel as late as October 2558, albeit upgraded to function with the MJOLNIR [GEN2] suite.[6][7]
Development history and design[edit]
In 2542, seventeen years after the MJOLNIR Mark IV entered service, production began on the next generation of MJOLNIR armor. A team under the leadership of Chief Scientist Dr. Catherine Halsey would spend the next ten years developing the suit. Using data collected from the Mark IV, hundreds of minor technical improvements and several major changes were made to the Mark V; most notably, the suit's armor plating underwent a total redesign and better materials were developed for its use. Separating the Mark V from the previous version of the system were two major breakthroughs in the ways in which the suit improves its wearer's combat effectiveness.[4]
The first major breakthrough, which was introduced with the first generation of the Mark V, was the addition of a self-recharging energy shield system, reverse-engineered from captured Kig-yar point defense gauntlets,[8] which repel objects and energy bursts, plus any other hazardous elemental energies. While impacts on the shield place a substantial drain on the system's power supply, the system's energy regenerates once the user is no longer under fire. However, the adaptation of the shield covering the entire body weakens the magnetic field, making the Mark V's shield system vulnerable to sustained fire. Energy shield technology was first tested on the Mark IV, though such tests were not especially successful.[3][9]
The second major advancement, which was not implemented until the second generation of the suit,[3][4] was the addition of a layer of computer memory superconductor that would allow an artificial intelligence to piggyback into the field with the operator to both provide and gather real-time intelligence. The synthesis of an artificial intelligence with a human brain is not possible without an upgrade to the user's already-specialized neural interface. Like the standard neural interface, the specialized neural lace translates electrochemical signals to digital code and routes them through an interface connection at the rear of the skull. Through this interface, the user's thoughts command the armor's movement and weapons, and input from the on-board sensors is fed directly to the user's mind. In addition, an AI personality and processing matrix can be carried by the armor and delivered to the suit via the specialized neural lace and on-board storage in a crystal data chip no larger than a personal credit card. Without the armor, a Spartan's reaction time is charted at twenty milliseconds; with the Mark V, and an AI on-board, the time required to translate thought into motion is rendered almost instantaneous.
The suit also possesses other upgraded features that enhance its wearer's abilities. It has an upgraded heads-up display linked to sensors that project shield strength and an improved motion detecting system in addition to providing other numerous readouts, including allies' vitality and shield status. These features are maintained and initialized by the Mark V BIOS firmware.
In its second phase, the Mark V MJOLNIR battle armor weighs 321.3 kilograms,[10] The SPARTAN/MJOLNIR combination is designed to be the most devastating intelligence tool ever created, as the AI can greatly increase the wearer's reaction time and vastly improve intelligence gathering capacity.
John-117 was the first Spartan to test the second-generation MJOLNIR Mark V with a smart AI implemented within the armor during a "live-fire" combat scenario.[3] His test was to ring a bell after going through an obstacle course. This course involved ten Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, a minefield with Lotus anti-tank mines, three automated 30mm chain guns, a forest of wooden poles, and an unexpected SkyHawk jumpjet utilizing four 50mm cannons and Scorpion missiles. This test showed that an AI could vastly improve the armor's reaction times.[8]
After the Human-Covenant War, the Mark V MJOLNIR components were adapted for the use of the SPARTAN-IV in the MJOLNIR (GEN2) armor. The GEN2 variant of the Mark V was tested at the Damascus Testing Facility in Vhalkem on Chi Ceti IV, a significant MJOLNIR development site for several decades.[11]
In his work as a private military contractor for ONI, James Solomon continued to use his old Mark V armor.[12]
Armor variants[edit]
GEN1[edit]
A large number of variants of the Mark V were manufactured for use in the field. In ad