Semi-Powered Infiltration armor

Semi-Powered Infiltration armor is a UNSC combat armor system designed and developed by the Watershed Division and used by the Spartan-III commandos and Project HAYABUSA shock troopers.
== Overview ==
The SPI armor is environmentally sealed and features an enclosed helmet with a heads-up display. The undersuit comprises several layers, including a cushioning layer of liquid nanocrystal that provides more ballistic protection than three centimeters of Kevlar diamond weave. The hardened composite armor plates, though advanced compared to standard UNSC infantry armor, can take only a few glancing hits from energy weapons before failing. The armor – both the original MIRAGE suits used by Spartan-IIIs and the skunkworks SHINOBI suits used by Hayabusa soldiers – features an integrated tactical cloak, an active stealth system developed from reverse-engineered Covenant active camouflage systems. The system is not perfect, being unable to compensate for sudden changes in lighting conditions and physical impacts, nor impervious to close observation. A faint translucent distortion is the only tell of the wearer's location while the system is active.
Though more advanced than ODST body armor, the SPI armor is less powerful than the MJOLNIR armor originally issued to the Spartan-IIs. Its main benefit being a drastically lower production cost than MJOLNIR. It is much lighter than the MJOLNIR armor, and the plating material is also less durable: Kelly-087 dented a Spartan-III's chest plate with her fist when first encountering them in 2552.
Although the SPI suit provides modest enhancements to the wearer's strength and mobility, this amplification is not as drastic as that afforded by the MJOLNIR. Consequently, the SPI armor can be worn by any individual and does not require augmentation.
The baseline SPI armor lacks an energy shielding system, making the user far more vulnerable to enemy fire. However, the Spartan-III Headhunters wore experimental armor that was equipped with energy shields due to their elite nature and value. However, due to power requirements, the shields must be deactivated when using tactical cloak and vice versa, resulting in a short delay between deactivation of one system and (re)activation of the other.
== Operational history ==
Although early versions of the SPI system were tested by Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, the armor was most prominently issued to the Spartan-III supersoldiers. With over 2,000 units of SPI armor (officially) manufactured during the Great War, the SPI armor had been mostly phased out of use by Spartan-IIIs by 2558 in favor of MJOLNIR. However, SPI continues to fill a usage niche in covert roles, particularly within ONI; the Spartan-IIIs in Veta Lopis' Ferret team often used SPI due to the former's superior stealth capabilities. Lian-G059 wore a MIRAGE suit during her mission to New Llanelli in 2558. The tactical cloak technology has also seen limited but successful use by ODST black operations units.
Category:Daisy-023
Category:Body Armor