Jiralhanae Jumper

"Death from above!"

- Jiralhanae Jumpers during the Second Ark Conflict.

Jiralhanae Jumpers, also known as Jump-Pack Jiralhanae, were a specialist rank for Jiralhanae serving in the Covenant and are a specialist role in the Banished's military. They are airborne troops that utilize jump packs. The Jiralhanae believe that there are few honors higher than serving in a Jump Pack unit.

Overview
Jiralhanae Jumpers wear a specialized variant of Jiralhanae power armor, fitted with jump packs for increased mobility. They serve as the Jiralhanae counterpart to Sangheili Rangers, but unlike the Rangers, Jumpers are not capable of complete aerial tactical maneuvering. Instead, their jump packs propel them in one jump at a time across a great distance.

There are two main subclasses within this rank: Jumper Major and Jumper Ultra.

Operational history
"Jet Pack Brutes! Don't let 'em get behind us!"

- Edward Buck during the Battle of Mombasa

Jiralhanae Jumpers served as part of the Covenant's vast military during its genocidal campaign against the human race. Following their arrival at the Etran Harborage on February 21, 2531, the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction deployed ground forces onto the surface of the shield world. A number of Jiralhanae Jumpers, along with several Choppers and other infantry, set up a defensive position near the location where the UNSC Spirit of Fire was deploying several Elephant reconnaissance teams. One of these teams, lead by Sergeant John Forge, soon engaged the Covenant position. Soon after, Spartan Red Team dropped in behind the Covenant forces. The combined UNSC attack soon resulted in the elimination of the Jumpers, along with their support.

During the Battle of Mombasa on October 20, 2552, following the departure of the Prophet of Regret from the city, Jiralhanae-led Covenant reinforcements sent by the Prophet of Truth arrived to assume control of the battle. A group of Jiralhanae Jumpers was deployed onto the roof of ONI Alpha Site as part of the Covenant attack on the facility. However, a group of NMPD officers—along with the ODSTs Taylor Miles and Michael Crespo—arrived on the rooftop via elevator after setting explosive charges throughout the base to deny the Covenant access to information pertaining to the Portal buried beneath the city. The Jumpers fought against the human forces, killing the remaining NMPD personnel before they were all slain by the ODSTs. Several more were deployed onto the rooftop of the NMPD headquarters but were wiped out by ODSTs Edward Buck and Kojo Agu as they made their way through the upper levels of the facility in order to rendezvous with the rest of their squad, whose Pelican had been shot down by Banshees. Using an array of heavy weaponry, Alpha-Nine furiously defended the Pelican crash site from waves of attacking Banshees and Phantoms. One Phantom attempted to deploy a force of Jumpers onto the rooftop, but they were promptly slain by the superior firepower of the ODSTs.

By nightfall on October 20, New Mombasa had been completely overrun by Covenant forces, with virtually no human resistance left. Jonathan Doherty, a lone ODST thought dead by the rest of his squad, awoke from his drop pod, which had crash-landed into a building in the Mbaraki district of the city, knocking him unconscious six hours prior. While searching for clues as to the whereabouts of his squadmates, he encountered various Covenant patrols in the darkened streets of the city, including many Jumpers. After receiving a distress call from Captain Veronica Dare, the Rookie was forced to fight through a large group of Covenant infantry, including Jumpers and a War Chieftain in order to find the entrance to the city's data center. Shortly after Yanme'e in the data center raised the alarm in response to the human intruders, a squad of Jiralhanae Jumpers arrived to stop the humans. However, due to energy shielding provided by the defecting Huragok Quick to Adjust, the ODSTs were able to wipe out the Jumpers easily.

On the morning of October 21, Jiralhanae Jumpers were deployed onto the Waterfront Highway as part of the extensive array of defenses there. They were wiped out by the Rookie and Edward Buck, who commandeered several abandoned UNSC vehicles as they escorted Veronica Dare's Oliphant along the highway. During their holdout at the entrance of the Uplift Nature Reserve, the ODSTs held out against waves of Covenant forces as they waited to evacuate Quick to Adjust out of the city. A force of Jumpers were deployed along with a Jiralhanae Chieftain as part of a final offence against the ODSTs but they too fell, and Alpha-Nine was successful in leaving the city in a captured Phantom just as Covenant ships began to glass the area.

Many Jiralhanae Jumpers were present on the Prophet of Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought as it departed from High Charity during the fall of the Holy City amidst the chaos of the Great Schism. However, Spartan John-117 managed to infiltrate the ship via a conduit connecting the ship to High Charity. While the Dreadnought made its way to Earth, the Spartan made his way towards the Prophet of Truth, killing any Covenant he came across. After unsuccessfully attempting to assassinate the Hierarch with a Covenant Carbine, John-117 was forced to kill a massive group of Jiralhanae, including a number of Jumpers, to continue.

During the later stages of the Battle for Earth, Covenant forces invaded the UNSC base Crow's Nest in Kenya, Africa. The overwhelming nature of the attack forced Commander Miranda Keyes to issue an evacuation order for the base, while a bomb was prepared to destroy the base once all UNSC personnel had left. While waiting to evacuate personnel from the base, Pelican Kilo 023 was beset from all sides by Jiralhanae Jumpers, who tried to sabotage the thrusters of the stationary Pelican. Fortunately for Lieutenant Hocus and her crew, John-117 arrived with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and several Marines. The Jumpers were soon wiped out by the surprise attack. A number of Jumpers were part of a Covenant force that attacked a UNSC outpost near the top of a rise near a pumping station along Tsavo Highway. The attacking Covenant were slain by a group of Marines led by John-117, who were using the highway to regroup with the embattled human forces in the nearby city of Voi. The Covenant sent several packs of Jiralhanae to attack the outpost, including a number of Jumpers. They attempted to use nearby rises to pick off humans with Carbines, and even a Wraith, but all of them were eliminated by the Master Chief and the Marines. A final blockade of Covenant including Jumpers defending a tunnel into Voi was later attacked and wiped out by the Chief, allowing the UNSC force passage into Voi.

During the Battle of Installation 00, a large Jiralhanae pack including Jumpers and Stalker units was deployed into one of the installation's Cartographer facilities. Led by Chieftain Cethegus, the pack was charged with halting the Master Chief's progress as the human left the facility. Even as the Spartan proceeded to attack the Stalkers of his pack, Cethegus taunted the human before retreating to an exterior platform where he regrouped with his Jumper packmates. As the Master Chief approached the Jiralhanae after wiping out the Stalkers in a previous room, the Prophet of Truth communicated with Cethegus via a nearby holo-pedestal; the Chieftain was to defeat the "Demon" by himself. The Jumpers retreated to the outer rim of the platform, allowing the two to do battle. Despite his best efforts, Chieftain Cethegus fell. The Jumpers sprang into action, vainly attempting to avenge their fallen commander, but they too were slain. A group of Jumpers were among the last remaining Covenant soldiers defending the Prophet of Truth within the Citadel. Unfortunately for them, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam made an alliance with the Flood forces that were simultaneously infiltrating the Citadel. This combined force spelled doom for the Covenant defenders; the Jumpers soon fell along with their comrades. The Prophet of Truth himself was slain by the Arbiter, bringing about the end of the Covenant.

Following the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War, the Jiralhanae and Sangheili typically did not work together, at least not as equals. This was due to their hatred of each other being further stoked by the Great Schism. For reasons unknown, a few Jiralhanae Jumpers were depicted to have joined the newly formed splinter faction of the former Covenant led by Sangheili Zealot Merg Vol. This new "Covenant" attacked the UNSC research colony world of Draetheus V and its moon X50 in 2554, in direct violation of the Treaty of 2552. The simulation of events depict Spartan Sarah Palmer making her way through a rapidly-disintegrating UNSC base, engaging a few Jiralhanae Jumpers and other panicking forces of Merg Vol as she went. Eventually making it to a jetpack armory, Palmer was able to destroy the doors with explosives while fending off the repeated attacks of Vol's Covenant, few of which contained Jumpers. A few Jiralhanae Jumpers, led by Sangheili alongside Kig-Yar forces, attacked the besieged Marines at Faraday Base. Depicted near the end of the simulation, Spartan Palmer fought to secure a landing zone by destroying several Anti-Aircraft Cannons, Vol's Covenant forces including Jiralhanae Jumpers attempted to stop her, to no avail. Some more also fought to prevent her entry into the Cistern. While Palmer destroyed several Forerunner power cores that would allow her entrance to the shrine, a few Jiralhanae Jumpers—led by Stealth Sangheili and aided by Yanme'e—attempted to stop her. Palmer pushed through and was able to enter the shrine.

The Banished, a violent mercenary organisation that rose to power after the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War, was known to utilize Jiralhanae Jumpers in an exclusively anti-fortification role. Armed with gravity hammers, groups of Jumpers could lay waste to buildings at an incredible rate. Jiralhanae Jumpers were deployed during the Second Ark Conflict in 2559 against the forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire.

Equipment
Jiralhanae Jumpers within the Covenant donned a distinctive dark blue power armor. Jumpers used jump packs to propel themselves in the air. Jiralhanae Jumpers were often equipped with a wide variety of weapons, including Type-25 Brute plasma rifles, Type-25 plasma rifles, Type-25 spikers, Type-25 Brute shots, Type-51 carbine, Type-33 fuel rod guns and Type-2 spike grenades.

They were occasionally armed with radar jammers, flares and trip mines, flying in and dropping them near their opponents. Their jump packs did not break down with the rest of their power armor when heavily damaged, so they were able to continue their airborne assaults until they were killed.

Jiralhanae Jumpers serving in the Banished wore deep crimson armor and were armed exclusively with Type-2 gravity hammers, which they used to demolish enemy fortifications. They often used their jump packs to soar through the air before delivering crushing blows with their gravity hammers.

Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST
Jiralhanae Jumpers will often use their high mobility to get behind and out-flank their enemies. As such, it is imperative to listen for the sounds of their jump packs and quickly locate and eliminate them. One of their main weaknesses is they generally stay in the same position upon landing and before take off. The large number of blue lights on their chest can betray a Jiralhanae Jumper's position and are a good aiming aid for a player, particularly when one is using a more accurate weapon, like the BR55HB battle rifle, or Type-51 carbine. Also, when flying, they appear unable to fire their weapons. They can, however, begin throwing a Type-2 spike grenade before lifting off, completing this action when airborne.

Jiralhanae Jumpers normally use such weapons as spikers, Brute shots, and more often than not, carbines. It would be smart to bring mid-to-long range weapons, such as a carbine or battle rifle. Even better is to obtain a sniper rifle or beam rifle, and then kill as many as you can before entering the area.

Upon being defeated, if the final shot or melee attack makes contact with the jump pack, the jump pack will malfunction and rocket the Jiralhanae forwards a short distance. This also works when they are sniped out of the air, and when assassinated.

Tips
Jiralhanae Jumpers are not extremely challenging in small numbers, though they can be overwhelming in large groups, especially when the catch skull is activated. They will often fly, land, throw grenades or fire their weapons, and fly off again. Quick reflexes are required to counter this, especially on higher difficulties. Sniper weapons or the noob combo are effective at quickly taking a jumper out when he lands. Their jump is very predictable, so the player can easily look up and run under the Jiralhanae, then assassinate him when he lands. It is recommended for you not to use an automatic weapon while they are jumping through the air, but they can be shot out of the sky relatively effectively with a Battle Rifle or Carbine while in mid-flight. Turrets are also very useful in taking them out. Also, Jiralhanae Jumpers often have trip mines, and placing one down under the spot where they are about to land is usually an instant kill. However, players can accidentally step on their own activated trip mines.

Halo Wars
Jiralhanae Jumpers are exclusive to the Avitus and can be built at the Covenant citadel for 150 resources, 1 population slot, and a minimum tech level of 1. Armed with T-25 Brute Shots the Jiralhanae are well-rounded units capable of fighting vehicles and aircraft. Upgrades include:
 * Jump Pack Ability: Enabling the Jiralhanae to become Jumpers and allowing the Jiralhanae to use the jump jet as their ability. Requires 500 resources and a tech level of 2.
 * Electric Shock: A passive ability that will periodically EMP vehicles. Requires 800 resources and a tech level of 3.

Halo: Spartan Assault
Jiralhanae Jumpers in Halo: Spartan Assault will throw trip mines at the player very often. All are armed with T-25 Brute Shots, and while they are airborne, the player cannot attack them.

Halo Wars 2
Awakening The Nightmare Unlike their Halo Wars counterparts, Jump Pack Jiralhanae in Halo Wars 2 use Type-2 gravity hammers, can be built at the Raid Camp by every Banished leader besides Colony and Ripa 'Moramee, and are anti-building units. In the Awakening The Nightmare mission The Archive, a unit composed of three Jump Pack Jiralhanae can be purchased from the teleporters. Unupgraded Jump Pack Brutes perform well against structures, okay against infantry, poorly against vehicles, and cannot attack aircraft. Once the Dark Skies upgrade has been researched, Jump Pack Brutes will do okay against vehicles. In Blitz Jump Pack Jiralhanae cost 20 energy.
 * Info: Melee combat unit, Anti-Building, Short range, Cannot attack air
 * Tier: 0
 * Cost: Population 3, Supplies 90, Power 50
 * Jump Pack Brute upgrade: Dark Skies
 * Info: Add 1 Brute to the squad
 * Tier: 2
 * Cost: Supplies 0, Power 600
 * Info: Melee combat unit, Short range, Cannot attack air, comes in three unit
 * Tier: 0
 * Cost: Population 9, Supplies 100, Power 0

Trivia

 * If one is infected by the Flood, it will lose its jump pack. This is because there are no separate models for the different types of Flood combat forms. However, a Flood combat form would most likely be able to use such technology, if the Flood had absorbed enough Jiralhanae that know how to operate the jump packs.
 * In Halo 3, if a Jiralhanae Jumper is infected dead or alive, zero Flood biomass will grow out of it's body, this is mostly caused by a glitch.
 * If a Jiralhanae Jumper goes berserk, it will fly at the player and try to land a melee attack.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach