HP57 body armor

The HP57 body armour was a set of personal combat armour most commonly used by special forces operators in the mid-22nd century, produced from 2136 to 2173. A famous symbol of the Interplanetary Wars, it was originally designed and manufactured by Hephaestus Industries, who supplied the United Nations Colonial Peacekeeping Force, and later the United Nations Space Command, with the combat armour during the Interplanetary Wars. It was rarely seen, as it was fairly expensive, and thus only provided to special operations units almost exclusively. Starting in 2158, Pflager Defence Manufacturing, a German corporation sympathetic to the Friedens, began manufacturing a similar, but lower quality version of the armour to be sold exclusively to the terrorist organization. After the conflict, the armour was manufactured for a few more years, but quickly fell out of favor due to the onset of the cheaper and better designed M61A body armour. It would later become a favorite for mercenaries and pirates on the black market. 
==History==
===Development===
===First Users===
===Use During the Interplanetary Wars===
===Decommissioning===
===Legacy===
The armour's unique design quickly became iconic, and became especially popular in the milsim community. Many designs that would arise later in history would take heavy inspiration from the armour, including early CMA uniforms, some URF designs during the Insurrection, and, most notably, the famous and equally iconic Helvetian armour that became popularised due to its widespread use by mercenaries from the gas giant's moons.
==Design==
The HP57 featured a fairly simple and straightforward design. Made up of composite steel plates that covered the shoulders, torso, back, groin, ankles, and feet, the HP57 was made to blend lightness, maneuverability, and protection as equally as possible. The left or right shoulder (depending on handedness) featured a larger armor piece to provide more protection when firing. 
===Advantages===
The HP57 was fairly light and maneuverable, making it ideal for special forces units. Its low weight also allowed the wearer to carry more gear and ammunition than previous full body armor designs. The gloves bore a thin steel outer layer, making it useful in close quarters and hand to hand combat. The helmet featured a communications antenna, allowing for long-range communication, especially useful for operations behind enemy lines. The visor's HUD also provided some useful tactical data.
===Disadvantages===
Due to trying to keep it lightweight and easy to move in, the designers opted to neglect adding armor to the wrists and thighs, leaving them vulnerable. The helmet's visor was also notoriously difficult to see through, leading some operators to forgo the helmet entirely. Most, however, became accustomed to the small field of view. The armour as a whole was incredibly expensive as well, and was the main reason it was utilised by special forces units exclusively.
==Known variants==
===UNCPF/UNSC===
The variant used by the UNCPF, and later the UNSC, was not very different from the standard design. The most glaring difference aesthetically was the blue visor, unique among UN-purchased armor sets. It also commonly featured a TACPAD, which provided the wearer with more data than the helmet's heads-up-display.
===Pflager PD57 "body bucket"===
The PD57 "body bucket", constructed and sold by Pflager Defense Manufacturing, was of much lower quality than the HP57. Aesthetically, it looked very similar to the original, although most bore a red colored visor. The visor, however, featured no heads-up-display whatsoever. On top of that, it was almost 20 pounds heavier, weighing in at 116 pounds. Despite this, it still provided the wearer with adequate protection, and became common among Frieden officers and veterans. 
==Notable users==
*Riley Doyle (UN variant)
Category:Armor
Category:UNCPF
Category:Valhallan Defence Forces