M4A2 Body Armour

The M4A2 Body Armour is the standard body armour for UNSC frontline and support personnel. Important changes has been made to the armour since its original conception during the Innsurection. The armour is a mixture of light weight composite plating and kevlar padding that provides both agility and protection for the user. While it uses existing UNSC CTC, HUD and protection technology, it makes use of a light weight shield generator to give the user protection from enemy fire for a limited time.

The armour consists of a chest cuirasse, encompassing both the chest, the sides and the back of the user. This armour consists of composite sandwhiched materials, with titanium alluminide the surface, acting as a structural support, giving limited balistic resistant properties and acting as a ablative defence against energy weapons, doubling as underneath that is a core of consisting of a layer of boron carbide resin bonded to a layer of graphite  composite carbon fibre. Boron Carbide is a incredibly tough ceramic material that acts as a pack up to the titanium alluminide as a ablative defence against energy weapons and as a projectile defence, shattering solid projectiles on contact and deforming to form a conoid base to absorb the impact. The carbon fibre layer absorbs the impact by absorbing the energy across a small area, protecting the user. The internal layer is 1cm of kevlar diamond weave which provides a last ditch protection and padding for the user. The chest piece holds a secondary articulated plate that covers further down the body.

The helmet, collar guards, shoulder pads, knee pads, elbow pads and boot covers are all made from the same composite armour, with a covering of nanofibres to allow it to change the camoflauge pattern. The standard issue boots are made with leather uppers with breathable nylon sections and thermal regulation liningand with plates of diamond weave Kevlar and uses nano mechanics with bi polymeric technology to give the user increased stamina recovery and damage that could potentially be taken from a fall by absorbing energy from it into the boot and dispersing it outwards. The sole also has resin boded micromesh kevlar that gives soem resistance to foots and anecdotal sources beleive it may have some marginal defence against landmines. The Armour unit also holds a kevlar 'waistband' to give the abdomen some protection. Kevlar plates are used to cover the legs. The gloves are made of tough and resistant polymers with kevlar wrist guards.

The helmet is the 'central nervous system' of any soldier, interfacting with their neural interface to provide 'whole' combat situation. It not only holds the CTC, IFF and their motion detector system but also carries their communication gear, with a extendable boom mike installed. The helmet comes with the ability to add receddeing eye pieces, including organ ballistic goggles, phased suglasses and singular eye pieces. This displays their HUD systems and displays any camera feeds installed. The helmet also patches them into the UNSC War Net, allowing them to easily designate targets, pick up objectives and target enemies engaged by comrades or UAVs.

Thanks to the design of the armour, it is naturally stealth, which is backed up by infrared absorbing paints.

The armour comes with a number of a 'clip on points' for extra equipment, such as pouches for ammo and equipment on the chest piece, attach points for bags, attachment points for M101 Radio Packs, G-PACKS, G/J-PACKs and fire arms.

The shield generator is held in the back plate, being a small fusion core delivering a controlled shield pulse to transmitters on the forearms, shoulders, chest, helmet, thighs and shins. This gives them the ability to be protected from fire for a time, with a strength similar to that of the Sangheili Minors.

Along with this armour, normal combat Battle Dress Utilities (BDUs) with out any uncomfort. The BDUs interface with the armour so their camo patterns are the same. The armour is also comfortable enough to enable balaclavas, caps in exchange for helmets (supplemented by HUD supported goggles, ballistic glasses or military issue sunglasses and throat mikes to keep them in communication), scarfs, cloaks and panchos as well, without hindering performance of either the armour or the user.