Lance

"They're in standard formation, little bastards up front, big ones in back."

- Malta Station defense coordinator

A Lance is the second smallest known organization of Covenant military units, with a File being the smallest known group.

Standard
A Lance is usually commanded by a Minor Elite or a Minor Brute. The Lance also contains a File of four Minor Grunts and one Major. Sometimes a Major Elite or Brute will oversee the command of three Lances into a battle.

Variations
There are other variations of the Lance, including those of the Kig-Yar and the Yanme'e species.

Kig-Yar
A lance of Kig-Yar usually consists and comprises of a group of four to six simple infantry Jackals, with one or two of them being Majors and the rest being Minors. Jackal lances are sometimes led by an Elite commander, though this is not always the case.

Yanme'e
A lance of Drones is usually nothing more than a swarm of around a dozen or so soldiers. As they are very mobile and constantly airborne, Drone lances don't need to be commanded by a Sangheili. To Humans, no commander can be distinguished within them.

Trivia

 * In the ancient world, a lance consisted of "a long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging."