Human Entry Vehicles
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A Human Entry Vehicle was a small pod used by the UNSC to deploy an individual soldier from high orbit to the ground. HEV usage was popularly associated with Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.
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[edit] Doctrine
HEVs allowed for the rapid deployment of ground assault troops near or right onto an objective. Their smaller profiles made them more difficult to destroy by defensive fire than conventional dropships. The large number of pods dropped at once also increased the probability of some of the attack force surviving to the land. Each pod bore the name of the soldier inside; amongst other things this identification could be used to identify the unfortunate occupant of a destroyed pod.
ODST doctrine required the command unit of an HEV-facilitated assault to land first to minimize the period of disorder that might occur as pods landed and soldiers deployed. Command unit HEVs were equipped with additional features, including high-powered imaging gear and the Class C military AI required to operate it.
[edit] Reentry
An HEV resembles a boxy raindrop and is made of Titanium-A, Lead Foil, and a ceramic skin. The skin burns away during atmospheric reentry, protecting the rest of the pod and its occupant from the worst of the considerable heat. However, even with this ablation it is not unknown for passengers to be killed when tolerances are exceeded.
Once within the atmosphere a metal drag chute deploys for a short while before detaching to steady the descent, keep the pod on course, and provide some deceleration. A more conventional backup chute is provided for landing, although final deceleration is often accomplished using retro rockets forcing the passenger to experience significant g-forces. Needless to say, failure of any combination of components could be fatal.
[edit] Cargo
In addition to the trooper, the HEV necessarily carried other supplies, such as weapons, ammunition, rations, and a cubicle for shelter. This allowed a trooper to fight from the HEV without need for immediate resupply.
[edit] Radio
The HEV has at least two radio frequencies, a command frequency and what is probably a regular troop frequency, which was often used to play the ODST anthem before entry to a planet's atmosphere.
[edit] Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod
An offshoot of the HEV was the Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod which came into service around 2545. The long range pods featured a Stealth Ablative Coating and could be launched from Slipspace.
