Created parallel to the
SPARTAN-II program by the
Office of Naval Intelligence's
Materials Group, the Mjolnir armor is the most advanced piece of tactical military hardware in human hands. Each suit alone costs as much as a small starship. Ostensibly the brainchild of
Dr. Catherine Halsey, MJOLNIR is an attempt to create a powered exoskeleton capable of taking full advantage of the physical capabilities of a Spartan. MJOLNIR's development actually came about due to a millennia-old
geas that manifested itself within Halsey. Near the end of the
Forerunner-Flood war, the
Librarian planted genetic directives that would lead to the development of powered armor, along with the creation of the Spartans and sophisticated
artificial intelligence. This was done in preparation for humanity's task of reclaiming the
Mantle.
Spanning over three decades of development, Project MJOLNIR encompassed more then just a suit of armor, but as a pioneering effort intended to shatter current technological barriers. In its final iteration, Mjolnir is a highly advanced suit capable of further enhancing the Spartans' physical performance while also doubling as a platform capable of handling an artificial intelligence network.
Unlike the powered exoskeletons that preceded it, the Mjolnir battlesuit was designed from the ground up as a suit of armor; its design philosophy would serve as a basis for all future powered and semi-powered armor system designs.Each generation of the Mjolnir battlesuit is composed of major fundamental components; construction of the suit is done in overlapping layers and has been remarked of it being akin to a giant three-dimensional puzzle. The armor's shell is composed of a multilayer alloy of remarkable strength and has been augmented with a refractive coating capable of dispersing a limited amount of Covenant
energy weapon strikes. The suit contains a gel-filled layer underneath a thick black armored bodysuit. The gel layer regulates temperature and can reactively change its density. The inner skinsuit is made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to an environment control computer and the occupant's UNSC-issue
neural interface.
The battlesuit is a sealed system, capable of
extra-vehicular activity for a limited amount of time or operations in toxic atmosphere. It is hardened against
EMP and
radiation, and has filters that are completely effective at removing toxins and bacteria from local atmosphere. Between the external armor and the internal padding is the most devastating weapon the suit carries: a layer of
polymerized lithium niobocene, a liquid metal crystal that deforms along a preferred axis when exposed to an electric charge. Woven by molecular tools into a capillary system, this layer is amorphous, yet amplifies force, doubling lifting capability and increasing reaction time by a factor of five. Because the Mjolnir system is so reactive, it can only be worn by a physically augmented human; ordinary people are unable to use the suit without injuring themselves.
The Mjolnir battlesuit's greatest advantage, however, is a super-dense optical computer memory. This revolutionary solid-based crystalline layer forms a network within the suit's frame of proper size and capability of housing the types of artificial intelligence usually reserved for starships. Essentially a piggyback system, an AI can be delivered to the suit via a
data crystal chip storage device no larger than a personal credit card. The AI's personality and processing matrices can be carried by the armor and in conjunction with the user, can neurally link with a being that has nearly unfettered control over mathematics, information and body control. Such technology did not exist when work began on the Mark I prototypes.
The functionality of the Mjolnir system is unprecedented. Rather than being a traditional suit of body armor, the Mjolnir battlesuit works on a biomechanical level, allowing for direct user-controlled movement. Each human being has a molecular fiber network called the nervous system within their brain. Upon induction, all military personnel are issued a
neural interface, which is implanted at the base of the
skull and cannot be removed. Spartan-IIs received a
modified version of the neural lace specifically for the Mjolnir armor. This neural lace, which consists of two core processor chips which is linked to receptors in the subject's brain, which is connected to a interface connection at the rear of the skull; reads the electrochemical signals sent from the brain and then translates these chemical signals into digital code. As the electrochemical impulse travels down the axon to the muscle, the digital code is routed through the interface connection, to the suit's on board sensors, the input from the sensors is then read by the onboard computer and then like the human body itself sends an electrical impulse through the suit, as the impulse from the motor neuron hits the muscle, the electrical impulse from the suit causes the polymerized lithium niobecene to deform along a preferred axis, overlapping each other more, so that the layer gets shorter and fatter. When the impulses from the suit stop, the polygonal pieces slide back to their original positions. At the same time, as the muscle fibers are responding to the impulses, signals are sent to the suit that this is occurring, as the muscle twitches the force being applied to the suit is accelerated through force-multiplying circuits, which amplify the force of the muscular twitch by a positive feedback loop in the armor. The end result is a fully neurally linked machine, the user's thoughts move the suit and in return the suit moves the user. The synthesis of machine and mind is so fast that it is almost impossible to chart reaction time.
The suit also possesses other features that enhance its wearer's abilities. It has numerous clips, belts, and magnetic holsters for the attachment of additional weapons and ammunition; an advanced
heads-up display (HUD), linked to sensors in the gloves which can detects the type of weapons and devices held, and to project shield strength, ammunition count, a
targeting reticule,
waypoints, a
radio uplink for communication, health monitoring and restoration system, regenerative food materials and other helpful data.
In its final phase, the Mjolnir battlesuit weighs half a short ton, or 1,000 pounds, and is a fully neural-linked system. With an on board AI using the human mind for parallel processing, the Spartan/Mjolnir combination is designed to be the most devastating intelligence tool ever created.
The
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI was the third major version of the
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. The last mainline MJOLNIR GEN1 suit to be widely issued, the Mark VI was issued to the few surviving
Spartan-II supersoldiers in
October 2552, replacing the
Mark V. Shortly after the end of the
Human-Covenant War, it was replaced by the
Mark VII and
MJOLNIR [GEN2]. The Mark VI could still be requisitioned by
Spartan-IV personnel as late as
February 2558, albeit upgraded to function with the GEN2 suite.
The Mark VI is capable of taking full advantage of the physical capabilities of a Spartan. The suit is constructed in overlapping layers. It is environmentally sealed, capable of
extra-vehicular activity and operations in toxic atmosphere. It is hardened against
electromagnetic pulses and radiation, and has filters that are effective at removing toxins and bacteria from the local atmosphere.
The armor's shell is composed of a multilayer alloy of remarkable strength and has been augmented with a refractive coating capable of dispersing a limited number of impacts from Covenant energy weapons. The suit contains a gel-filled layer underneath a thick black armored bodysuit. The gel layer regulates temperature and can reactively change its density. The inner skinsuit is made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to an environment control computer and the occupant's
neural interface.
Spartans are implanted with a
unique model of the
command neural interface. This network translates electrochemical signals to digital code and routes them through an interface connection at the rear of the skull. Through this interface, the user's thoughts command the armor's movement and use of weapons, and input from the onboard sensors comes directly to the user's mind. The synthesis of machine and mind is so fast that it is almost impossible to chart reaction time.
Each suit of Mjolnir Mark VI armor contains a layer of superconducting computer memory. Envisioned by
Dr. Catherine Halsey, this revolutionary layer forms a network, capable of supporting the kinds of artificial intelligence usually reserved for starships, a piggyback system.The suits also contain a strength-enhancing layer. This marvel of engineering uses piezoelectric properties to enhance and assist a Spartan's already prodigious muscle power, and grant superhuman feats of might.
The Mark VI largely solves problems with the previous versions of Mjolnir armor. It has an improved energy shielding system, powered by a smaller fusion pack on the wearer's back. This shield system is much stronger and charges more quickly than the Mark V's. The suit also has denser yet less bulky armor plating. These streamlined plates have fewer grapple points than the Mark V so that an enemy has fewer advantages in close combat.
In addition, the Mark VI's liquid crystal and hydrostatic gel layers received significant improvements over the previous version. The liquid crystal layer increases the strength of the armor by a factor of five in addition to amplifying the user's reaction time by the same factor. The hydrostatic layer features a lock-down device, which protects the muscles and joints of its Spartan wearer from heavy-impact injuries.
In addition to major component upgrades the Mark VI introduce a number of smaller technical improvements to components, these included recoil-compensating actuators which handle weapon feedback, as a Spartan is firing a weapon in combat these actuators handle a weapons recoil reducing it without affecting the performance of the Spartan user. The Mark VI also possesses an improved computer system which continuously monitors weapons, biological functions, and motion through intelligent
motion tracker. The third stage in the MJOLNIR evolution, the Mjolnir Mark VI is a fully neural-linked system. With an onboard
artificial intelligence using the human mind for parallel processing, the SPARTAN-II/MJOLNIR combination was the most devastating intelligence tool ever created.
The Mark VI Mjolnir armor worn by MCPO
John-117 following the end of the Human-Covenant War was heavily upgraded by UNSC AI
Cortana during his five years of cryosleep aboard the
UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. Cortana used
nanomachines to repair and update John's armor. She rewrote the suit's firmware, altering the HUD as well as improving the suit's shield-recharge rate and its compatibility with Covenant and Forerunner
armor plugins.
