Project VAJRA

The upper echelons have always had a very clear idea of what Powered Armour should be - compact, producing unbelievable strength, speed and endurance, and cheap. While the MJOLNIR met two of those requirements, it is certainly anything but cheap, and required augmented SPARTAN-II personnel to operate; and while the bulkier Cyclops exoskeleton was well within the price range of HIGHCOM, and was available to the rest of the UNSC's infantry for easy compatability, it failed to meet their high expectations in terms of performance and size. As Doctor Halsey's MJOLNIR Project began the last phases of the Mark IV prototypes, HIGHCOM commissioned a second project to develop an effective combat assault exoskeleton for use by UNSC personnel.

Project VAJRA was, in many respects, an imitation of past attempts. Most of the developers were brought on from the Cyclops project, and their experience was put to effective use. While MJOLNIR would pioneer the use of advanced materials, such as the high-density metal alloy used for ballistic protection and the momentum-amplifying liquid-crystal layer, the VAJRA used off-the-shelf technology, though with a small number of basic improvements. Lessons were learned from the Cyclops project - rather than focussing on sheer size and strength, the designers crafted a suit that made maximum use of its power while remaining compact enough for field use. Strength and speed were augmented by an array of pistons and other muscle-analogues, controlled by a sophisticated Third Generation artificial intelligence housed in a data crystal matrix housed throughout the suit, perhaps the first of its kind to do so - the later MJOLNIR Mark V and VI would incorporate a similar but unrelated design feature. Working together, the wearer and AI increased the combat performance of the wearer substantially - strength and reaction time were effectively doubled, and speed was increased by one third - the machinery gave the wearer effectively unlimited stamina, and the entire exoskeleton was protected by a ceramic-titanium composite ballistic blating, reinforced with internal layers of Tyrfind metamaterial explosive protection. The Tyrfind, while crude by todays standards, was perhaps the first metamaterial able to manufactured for use as infantry combat protection, and though it would prove ineffective against Covenant DEW's, would prove to HIGHCOM that the potential such technologies was great.

The VAJRA never entered combat service, with the project ending in 2524 due to budget restrictions by FLEETCOM - the promising development of the MJOLNIR Mark IV under Halsey was enough to convince many that only one Powered Armour project was sufficient. Members of the VAJRA development staff pointed out that, while expensive and lacking the qualities of MJOLNIR, their prototype was more than enough for standard infantrymen, and requested testing for their two prototypes, the jīngāng and the dojê, to be field tested in combat conditions - when the Covenant attacked Harvest, FLEETCOM were eager to agree to their request, assigning the suits to a Naval Special Warfare team, and deploying them in combat. Corporal Grant Wallace and Private First Class Amanda Vasquez would demonstrate the potential for the armour in the Battle of Lefenyal, single-handedly conducting a civilian rescue mission and assassinating a Covenant Prophet. Difficulties int he design emerged - the sophistication of the strength- and reaction-enhancing machinery defied easy field maintenance, and while the armour proved quite effective, political differences amongst FLEETCOM leadership saw funding diverted to other Powered Armour projects, such as improvements to MJOLNIR and the HAYABUSA Project. The two prototypes were donated by the VAJRA team to NavSpecWep, and reverse-engineered to assist in other projects. The Tyrfind would be modified into the more durable Olyndicus metamaterial, while the data crystal network would be cannibalised to improve the suits of the Spartan-II Indigo Team, allowing them to carry Tinuviel. The shells would be mounted in ONI's CASTLE BASE facility on Reach, an example of the technological development that they wished to impress casual visitors with. These were eventually destroyed in 2552 when the Covenant devastated the planet, without even being used to defend it - an ignominous end to such revolutionary suits.