M650 Mastodon

"Fuel tanks check, Marines check."

- A Mastodon pilot during the Banished occupation of Installation 00

The M650 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), commonly known as the Mastodon, is an armored personnel carrier of the United Nations Space Command, primarily utilized by the UNSC Army and colonial defense forces.

Design details
As an armored personnel carrier, M650 Mastodons have large troop compartments that allow them to carry heavy infantry, such as several Spartans in MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. Additionally, their protective armor shields them from most heavy weaponry. Each Mastodon is armed with an M41 Vulcan in a remotely operated weapon station, but the vehicle's primary offensive utility comes from the troops it can carry. Passengers can fire their weapons through the APC's firing ports. However, their size makes Mastodons difficult to deploy, and they lack the mobility of smaller troop carriers, such as the far-less protected M831 Troop Transport Warthog.

Operational history
"Frontline express let's go."

- A Mastodon pilot on Installation 00

The M650 Mastodon was widely used by the UNSC Army and colonial defense forces. During the conflict on Installation 00 between the Banished and the crew of, Jerome-092 sought to initiate the production of Mastodons to minimize infantry casualties, as troops were in short supply and reinforcements were unlikely. At least one Mastodon was present at Fort Jordan, and served to provide transport for a small group of marines, ODSTs and a Hellbringer following the base's destruction by the Warlord Ristyx.

Halo Wars 2
Mastodon Upgrade: Infantry Capacity Mastodons are exclusive to Jerome-092 and can be made at the Firebase once the leader power has unlocked them. They perform okay against infantry, but poorly against vehicles, aircraft, and structures. Due to their low offensive power, Mastodons benefit greatly from a complement of Marines. If the Mastodon is destroyed, the passengers will survive, but will take damage. With proper upgrades from Marines, the Mastodon can become one of the most effective all-rounder units in the battlefield. In Blitz, Mastodons cost 60 energy.
 * Info: Mobile Garrison, Can carry infantry, The infantry being transported provide supporting fire, Equipped with light machine gun
 * Tier: 1
 * Cost: Population 3, Supplies 250, Power 75
 * Info: Increases unit capacity from 3 infantry squads to 4.
 * Tier: 3
 * Cost: Supplies 0, Power 700

Pro

 * Very effective with varieties infantry inside Mastodon.
 * Can heal each other if each Mastodon was loaded with Marines with the full upgrade.
 * Veterancy stacks with units participated in eliminating enemy units.
 * Infantry upgrades take effects inside Mastodon.
 * Cheap population and resources to build.
 * Strong durability and strong enough to withstand a high-destructive leader power with Vehicle Research upgrade.

Cons

 * Cannot operates without complement due to weak offense.
 * Must be complemented with proper infantry for maximum efficiency.
 * High risk of having large loss of infantries if the Mastodon was destroyed in the middle of the fight.
 * Badly wounded units will be guaranteed to be killed instantly if Mastodon was destroyed.
 * Slow mobility.
 * Total cost, including Mastodon itself, can be up to 675 Power (With full Cyclops aboard) or 850 Supplies (With full Marines aboard), making it very risky.
 * Any passengers inside Mastodon will be automatically kicked out if Isabel is using Ghost In The Machine Leader Power or enemy Spartan succeed in hijacking it.

Trivia

 * Following the UNSC tradition of naming ground vehicles after animals the M650 is named after the Mastodon, an extinct relative to the Elephant.
 * The Mastodon is seemingly based on the cut Cougar from Halo Wars, and the Kodiak from Halo: Reach.
 * The Mastodon is similar to GDI Armadillo from Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, where both are equipped with Machine guns and allow infantry units to be garrisoned into the vehicle, enabling them to be mobile when garrisoned.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars 2