EOD-class Mjolnir

The Mark VI MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/EOD variant, more commonly known as Explosive Ordnance Disposal Armor, and abbreviated as EOD Armor, is a variant of the standard Mark VI MJOLNIR powered assault armor.

Development and History
The MJOLNIR/EOD variant was created at the UNSC Damascus Materials Testing Facility on Chi Ceti 4. The helmet was designed to channel the pressure wave of a nearby detonation around the user's head, significantly reducing the likelihood of decapitation in the event of an explosion. The MJOLNIR/EOD variant's pauldrons and chest plate were designed specifically to reduce the number of grabbing edges on the armor, decreasing the likelihood of dismemberment, and protecting Spartans during operations involving the handling of explosive ordnance (e.g., clearing/planting land mines, demolishing enemy structures/material and, or planting/defusing bombs).

Helmet Characteristics
Unlock: Unlock the Campaign Complete: Legendary achievement.

The helmet is mostly squared off with two separate eyepieces, rather than a visor. They are more akin to a pair of goggles unlike the other MJOLNIR armor variants that are visor-adorned. In actual combat, this would highly increase protection to the face but also reduce the field of vision considerably. The helmet also has a single plate over the nose and mouth and a pair of rectangular objects along each cheek, assumed to be jowls protectors or lengthy re-breathers.

Shoulder Characteristics
Unlock: Complete The Ark on Legendary difficulty.

The shoulders are large and rounded. They have been optimized for EOD missions and are designed to decrease the chances of dismemberment if the wearer is caught in a blast.

Chest Characteristics
Unlock: Complete Tsavo Highway on Legendary difficulty.

The chest plate is thicker than the other chest permutations, and has a broadly curved front with a steep backcurve on the sides. This construction is intended to increase the survivability of the wearer by providing greater projectile resistance and by deflecting concussion waves around the body and to the side.

Trivia

 * The EOD helmet shares similarities with several different helmets from other fictional games and/or universes. Aside from being similar to a respirator, it has a resemblance to the Storm Trooper, Dark Trooper, and Shadow Trooper helmets from Star Wars, along with Darth Vader's helmet. It is also similar to Helghast soldiers in the game Killzone and the COG soldiers in the game Gears of War, and it bears a slight resemblance to the Combine Overwatch soldiers from the game Half-life 2. The Level 6 Suit, from the survival horror game Dead Space, has a helmet that bears a strong resemblance to the EOD helmet. The helmet and shoulders largely resemble the helmet and shoulder pieces of the Space Marines from Warhammer 40k as well. Also, the helmet bears a resemblance to the power armor helmet from Fallout 3.
 * The EOD chest plate bears a very striking resemblance to the armor design of the MJOLNIR Mark V armor’s chest plate (from Halo: Combat Evolved). Because of this, many players use it in conjunction with the Mark V helmet and Mark VI shoulders to create an accurate replica of the original Mark V armor from Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * It will be (or at least the shoulders) in Halo: Reach.