Zashk-pattern Draugr

The Zashk-pattern Mobile Fortress, more commonly known simply as the Draugr, is a gargantuan mobile fortress employed by the Covenant military as the centrepiece in a large ground campaign.

Design details
The Draugr is a massive vehicle employed by the Covenant, featuring a gravity lift and heavy-duty energy shielding. It is among one of the largest and most powerful land vehicles of the Covenant, with only the Harvester and Kraken surpassing it in scale.

Armament
The Draugr is equipped with five focus cannons.

Operational history
The Draugr was seldom seen during the Human-Covenant War. One appearance of the craft was during Operation: OFFSET EYE in 2551 on Concord, where it was attacked and destroyed by Noble Team.

Usage
The Draugr is employed by the Covenant as the centrepiece of their largest mobile field armies, where they are flanked by Scarabs for protection. They can house legions of combat troops inside their shield dome, and thus make a useful tool when the Covenant wish to completely annihilate a well-entrenched enemy.

Production notes
The Draugr was initially conceived by Isaac Hannaford under the working name "Siege Engine" during the production of Halo: Reach. At the time, the vehicle was to be the centrepiece of a cut level later in the game and can be seen in several pieces of concept art. Hannaford designed the vehicle based on the H-K Tank from Terminator.

The vehicle was later brought back and canonised in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition).

Trivia
A Draugr is a type of undead creature from Norse mythology, akin to zombies. This is to keep in the Covenant's tradition of naming most of its vehicles after undead mythological entities.

List of appearances

 * Winter Contention