MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN3)

The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor [GEN3] is the third system-wide generation of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.

Early history and development
Although the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) meant a radical simplification of the Mjolnir platform, to the point it could be mass-produced, some in the Spartan Operations branch were dissatisfied with its minimal performance improvement over the old GEN1 systems. By that reason, the UNSC decided to manufacture the next generation of Mjolnir armors.

Around October 17, 2558, the Mark VII was used as the testbed for the GEN3 improvements, but it remained uncertain if manufacturers would adopt the standards and cost accounting by the Unified Earth Government.

On February 10, 2559, four months after the rise of Cortana and the Created, the Materials Group began to manufacture GEN3 armor. The Swords of Sanghelios have also become involved in the manufacture of some material for the GEN3 platform, such as the Anubis-class helmet, which is "grown" within Sangheili assembly forges. While not strictly part of the GEN3 platform, the GEN1 Mark V[B] platform and its variants have been refit to be roughly equivalent to newest generation. Though this technology dates back to the Covenant War, it has been fully reconditioned and upgraded with newer and more optimized components, giving life to older technology at an integral time, and offering a new generation of Spartans the opportunity to take to the battlefield outfitted in the same style of armor that some of their own heroes once donned.

On October 7, 2559, John-117 and Blue Team were deployed on a covert mission to CASTLE Base using the GEN3 Mark VI armor. During a subsequent battle in New Mohács, Spartan IVs in GEN3 were deployed by drop pod. Several months later on May 28, 2560, the armor was used by John-117 during a conflict on Installation 07.

Design and features
The conceptual design framework incorporates lessons from the MJOLNIR [GEN2] line of Mjolnir, while also using performance and higher levels of protection given by the MJOLNIR [GEN1] line of Mjolnir. Subsequently GEN3 weighs twice as much as GEN2 at 400 kilograms.

The armor features a survival mode that can keep the occupant alive for at least six months in the vacuum of space with no food, water, or other things vital to life aside from the suit's oxygen supply. After a burst of power was used by Fernando Esparza to bring John-117's armor out of survival mode, the armor's fusion reactor almost instantly recharged Echo 216's depleted batteries in return, restoring functioning to the Pelican's internal lights and systems. John later told the Weapon that the next thing that he remembered after getting thrown into space was waking up on the Pelican six months later, suggesting that he had been kept unconscious by the armor for the entire time.

At the very least, John-117's armor contains holographic emitters in the palm of the hand, allowing him to display an avatar of the Weapon over his hand, a feature not previously seen with his GEN1 and GEN2 suits while he was working with Cortana. The Weapon is able to transfer herself directly into systems by having her hologram walk off of the armor's hand and into the terminal in question.

John-117's armor displayed the ability to remotely link to the systems of Echo 216 and then activate the ship's autopilot at his request to fly them to a chosen destination.

Variants
The following is a list of major variants of the GEN3 platform.

Upgrades
The following is a list of armor accessories and modules compatible with GEN3 platform.


 * AAP
 * CNM


 * TAC
 * UA

Attachments
The armor system is built to support a variety of attachments and equipment which increases the level of combat effectiveness. Some of them have been reverse-engineered from Covenant technology.
 * Active camouflage
 * Grappleshot
 * Overshield
 * Repulsor
 * Shroud Screen
 * Threat Sensor
 * Thrusters

Armor components

 * PANSPEC Energy shielding: A protective barrier that surrounds the armor and protects the user from harm. This energy shield was designed by Henry Glassman and Catherine Halsey, and was based on Watershed Division's latest iteration of shaped-energy shield. This type of shielding is unique to John-117's armor.
 * Project JULIA Compact fusion reactor: Designed by Naoto Technologies, this experimental fusion reactor is the most essential part of the MJOLNIR system, as it provides power to all equipment on the armor—the reactor is built into the suit and allows for nearly unlimited movement.
 * Magnetic weapon holder strips: The MJOLNIR armor features very small, yet powerful magnets placed on the legs, waist, and back of the suit that are used to hold any equipment or any weapons with a magnetic property.
 * MJOLNIR GEN3 BIOS The next-gen V12.22.12 BIOS was created by Doctor Halsey's hand-coded branch of the Materials Group's firmware.
 * Waterfall VISR
 * Force-multiplying circuits
 * Motion tracker: Shows movement of friendly and enemy units within the system's radius.
 * Pressure seal: The pressure seal is a vital component to the MJOLNIR system, it keeps the system airtight, underwater or in space.
 * Hydrostatic gel: On top of the inner skinsuit is a gel-filled layer, which regulates the temperature of the suit and can change its density to conform to the wearer's shape. The temperature inside the suit is controlled by the moisture absorbing cloth suit underneath the hydrostatic layer. The hydrostatic gel layer can also be pressurized to various levels to potentially save the wearer's life should the wearer be subjected to high G forces or a high velocity impact. Spartans in Gen 3 can avoid blacking out in conditions up to 38 g.
 * Thruster pack: Located at the back of the armor, this component provides the ability to propel the wearer over short distances and to maneuver in low-gravity environments. Similar to earlier GEN2 models the user requires an additional externally equipped thruster module to perform more advanced movements in higher-gravity environments.
 * SPDR counterintrusion measures: Generally placed in UNSC AIs, MJOLNIR [GEN3] is the first generation of Mjolnir armors to include them. This also includes a weapon containment device, possibly to store Created AI's for later analysis.
 * Holographic emitters: The suit is capable of displaying the holographic avatar of an AI over the palm of the hand.
 * GEN3 techsuit: A nanocomposite bodysuit with embedded crystaline computational matrix capable of hosting a high-tier AI.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
 * Become
 * Step Inside
 * Unspoken
 * ''Project Magnes
 * Lightbringers
 * Carry On
 * Forever We Fight
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Halo Infinite: Memory Agent
 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Rubicon Protocol