Spartans are supersoldiers trained to be the best of the best on the battlefield, receiving augmentations and incredible technology such as their MJOLNIR armor and armor abilities to enhance their combat performance. They’re taskmasters on the ground.
So, why is there a need for Spartan Aviators? I understand that the Spartans are now their own branch and it makes sense to have a good supply of pilots, but when you place a Spartan in a Broadsword, they will not be able to take full advantage of their MJOLNIR armor (consider shielding systems), skill wielding weapons, and athletic and combat abilities. Aside from having a faster, sharper mind, a Spartan Aviator should not be much better than a regular UNSC pilot without augmentations and MJOLNIR armor in a vehicle unless the driver or gunner is put in an exposed position such as the gunner position on the Scorpion.
I love aviation, I love Aviator armor, and I love that 343 has incorporated Spartan Aviators into the Halo Universe, but I don’t see the UNSC having much demand for them.
Wasn’t Noble 6 trained to be a Longsword pilot though?
No they wouldn’t get much use out of their armor, but they might get some use out of the heightened reflexes and perception. Probably making accurate missile shots and maneuvers a marine wouldn’t be able to - or easily be able to - without an onboard AI helping them out.
At least that’s my take on it ^^
Edit Actually come to think of it, their armor might be specialized for assisting them in their piloting, like the Gungnir armor is supposedly supposed to aid in aiming the Galilean? Their specific armor might integrate the fighter’s targeting systems into their HUD or something.
Probably for the same reason Jedi made great pilots, great reflexes and the ability to “meld” their minds to create nigh-unbreakable links between pilots that increased their skills. Obviously Spartans can’t meld their minds, but I bet they would make a better squadron than a normal pilot. Specialized MJOLNIR kits for pilots could be icing on the cake.
> Wasn’t Noble 6 trained to be a Longsword pilot though?
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> No they wouldn’t get much use out of their armor, but they might get some use out of the heightened reflexes and perception. Probably making accurate missile shots and maneuvers a marine wouldn’t be able to - or easily be able to - without an onboard AI helping them out.
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> At least that’s my take on it ^^
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> Edit Actually come to think of it, their armor might be specialized for assisting them in their piloting, like the Gungnir armor is supposedly supposed to aid in aiming the Galilean? Their specific armor might integrate the fighter’s targeting systems into their HUD or something.
Noble Six was indeed a pilot, but not a Longsword pilot. He was a test-pilot in the Sabre Program. The opening page of the Halo: Reach manual referenced this, and we also got the chance to play as Six piloting a Sabre in one of the campaign missions.
That’s what I thought too, but it doesn’t seem worth the time, effort, and cost to augment the Spartan, train to specialize in Aviation (when the Spartan could be working in another field), and then send the Spartan into vehicular combat where he/she probably has a greater chance of getting killed. It’s not worth it in my opinion, when you can get a pilot nearly as good as the Spartan Aviator (or more pilots in general) and when the Spartan can be completing missions on the ground, or even EVA tasks.
Then the Aviator armor sounds like it can easily be converted into armor for regular pilots as it does not enhance or need to enhance speed and strength.
Thanks for your reply, by the way. I really appreciate it. This has been a topic that I have always wanted to discuss.
> Probably for the same reason Jedi made great pilots, great reflexes and the ability to “meld” their minds to create nigh-unbreakable links between pilots that increased their skills. Obviously Spartans can’t meld their minds, but I bet they would make a better squadron than a normal pilot. Specialized MJOLNIR kits for pilots could be icing on the cake.
The only Spartan Aviator we’ve seen in the Universe so far is the Spartan on the last page of Halo: Initiation, and we didn’t even get to see him in action as of yet. I hope somebody at 343 unveils the Aviators’ skills soon, as I don’t think the expensive cost of creating a slightly more advanced pilot is justified.
For all we know, these Aviators could totally kick -Yoink- in space.
> > Wasn’t Noble 6 trained to be a Longsword pilot though?
> >
> > No they wouldn’t get much use out of their armor, but they might get some use out of the heightened reflexes and perception. Probably making accurate missile shots and maneuvers a marine wouldn’t be able to - or easily be able to - without an onboard AI helping them out.
> >
> > At least that’s my take on it ^^
> >
> >
> > Edit Actually come to think of it, their armor might be specialized for assisting them in their piloting, like the Gungnir armor is supposedly supposed to aid in aiming the Galilean? Their specific armor might integrate the fighter’s targeting systems into their HUD or something.
>
> Noble Six was indeed a pilot, but not a Longsword pilot. He was a test-pilot in the Sabre Program. The opening page of the Halo: Reach manual referenced this, and we also got the chance to play as Six piloting a Sabre in one of the campaign missions.
>
> That’s what I thought too, but it doesn’t seem worth the time, effort, and cost to augment the Spartan, train to specialize in Aviation (when the Spartan could be working in another field), and then send the Spartan into vehicular combat where he/she probably has a greater chance of getting killed. It’s not worth it in my opinion, when you can get a pilot nearly as good as the Spartan Aviator (or more pilots in general) and when the Spartan can be completing missions on the ground, or even EVA tasks.
>
> Then the Aviator armor sounds like it can easily be converted into armor for regular pilots as it does not enhance or need to enhance speed and strength.
>
> Thanks for your reply, by the way. I really appreciate it. This has been a topic that I have always wanted to discuss.
Sabre Program, right… How did I get that mixed up? ^^
True, I suppose that with the Spartan III’s and IV’s they’d be more willing to specialize them in aviation or at the very least give them extended training in that field. An understanding of a wide variety of vehicles and weapons is a given, but focusing on the operation of aircraft and spacecraft like the Longsword/Sabre/etc might be a very… Thinly used field perhaps, but who knows? Now that the war is pretty much over, maybe Spartan aviators are more common?
It would be interesting to see what 343 has to say about the Aviator line, and how many Spartans specialize in this field and what their line of work entails.
Pretty sure Spartans were trained to have at least a basic knowledge of all UNSC and some Covenant equipment and vehicles.
I mean, one kid already figured out how to fly a Pelican by watching the pilot on his flight to the training camp after his abduction.
If they discovered a Spartan had a real talent for aviation, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t let him fly. A Spartan is a priority kill on the ground or in the air. Besides, a Spartan pilot wouldn’t even need to worry about ejecting or getting his chute shot out. He could just ditch from a reasonable altitude.
There are plenty of specialized Spartan IIs. Grey Team for their behind the lines missions and Linda as a sniper to name a few.
Maybe they can be specialized Pelican pilots that if shot down can have a decent chance to survive on their own in a hostile environment.
Think of it as the movie ‘Behind enemy lines’ but with both the pilots having Mjolnir armor and easily surviving through all that.
It’s a good idea for Spartans to be versatile - knowledgeable in flight, strategy, etc. Definitely.
For example, B320 was very tech saavy, and B213 was a skilled pilot.
But at the same time, Spartans make the biggest, and most crucial splash on the front-line. If they were to all be put into a “secondary” (yet high risk) position such as a pilot, where their life-time of combat training, augmentations and high-tech power armour makes little-to-no difference?
Well…
that’d be a gross misallocation of valuable resources.
It’s a successor to standard Airforce gear, as such Recruit is also based on either an earlier Mark V (Beta model?) or the Hornet Pilot variant seen in Halo 3.
Realistically, Training a Marine and Training a fighter pilot are two totally different things.
a Pilot needs to be able to make fast decisions based on fast action, something a normal soldier can’t do.
Considering that a Spartan has both the Reflexes AND the physical strength, they should be put to ground use, not air use.
What can you give a Spartan that you can’t already provide to a Pilot? a Suit? you don’t need Mjolnir in space, waste of recourses.
All you need is a Vacuum suit. Because either way, the guns and ramming force of another spacecraft will kill anyone stranded in space, Mjolnir or not.
what else? Super reflexes? if a pilot has the mind reflexes of a foot soldier, he’s not going to go anywhere. There’s not much you can give to a Spartan here that’s already given to a highly-specialized pilot.
anything else? Super Strength? why? to he can break the Craft’s Steering Wheel?
> Realistically, Training a Marine and Training a fighter pilot are two totally different things.
>
> a Pilot needs to be able to make fast decisions based on fast action, something a normal soldier can’t do.
>
> Considering that a Spartan has both the Reflexes AND the physical strength, they should be put to ground use, not air use.
>
> What can you give a Spartan that you can’t already provide to a Pilot? a Suit? you don’t need Mjolnir in space, waste of recourses.
>
> All you need is a Vacuum suit. Because either way, the guns and ramming force of another spacecraft will kill anyone stranded in space, Mjolnir or not.
>
> what else? Super reflexes? if a pilot has the mind reflexes of a foot soldier, he’s not going to go anywhere. There’s not much you can give to a Spartan here that’s already given to a highly-specialized pilot.
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> anything else? Super Strength? why? to he can break the Craft’s Steering Wheel?
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>
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> Spartans are better used on the ground
My point exactly. As others have said, it makes sense for Spartans to be trained as pilots. They should be flexible and have the skills to be battle-ready for anything. But it doesn’t make sense for Aviation to be the primary focus of a Spartan at all. All of that training, augmentations, MJOLNIR armor, physical strength and agility, and combat skills are of no use in a Broadsword. Spartans need to be put in positions where they can take full advantage of their advantages (technology, physical prowess and skill set).
We don’t need Spartan Aviators to drop behind enemy lines in a Broadsword. Sure Master Chief did in the Halo 4 campaign, but Aviation is not his specialty. If you need a Spartan to drop behind enemy lines, the UNSC will pair the Spartan with a capable pilot like how they have done in Spartan Ops.
Aviation is and should be a secondary focus of Spartans, not a primary one. If there are Spartan Aviators, protocol should allow them to train in another Spartan field as well as own an additional suit of armor for non-vehicular combat. For example, a Spartan Aviator specializes in another field and dons the Warrior armor on foot.
Aviator is essentially a budget-effective, more focused version of the Air Assault variant, in other words they’re only different in superficial appearance I believe.
It was already noted as redundant on Halopedia, but again there’s a budget thing going on in the UNSC so it isn’t surprising redundant kits exist…
> Aviator is essentially a budget-effective, more focused version of the Air Assault variant, in other words they’re only different in superficial appearance I believe.
>
> It was already noted as redundant on Halopedia, but again there’s a budget thing going on in the UNSC so it isn’t surprising redundant kits exist…
Yes, there are several armor sets that have very similar functions… Recruit, Warrior, and War Master sets have very similar roles.
But Air Assault and Aviator are sets with a completely different purpose. I found this on Air Assault on Halopedia:
“AA variant was originally developed for the UNSC Army’s airborne division and incorporates specialized optics along with a head’s-up display capable of showing real-time satellite imagery and other information useful for operating in an airborne scenario.”
Air Assault armor is pretty self-explanatory, it’s purpose is for air assault.
Wikipedia states:
“Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces. In addition to regular infantry training, air-assault units usually receive training in rappelling and air transportation, and their equipment is sometimes designed or field-modified to allow better transportation within aircraft.”
Air Assault Spartans are not pilots who specialize in Aviation.
I see your point Oompa. The Spartan can only fly the potential the Sabre/Longsword has, which a well trained Marine or whomever could probably do. The only advantage would be the Spartans critical thinking/reflexes, but is that alone worth the higher death risk? Only in a Spacecraft designed for them specifically, you know, to utilize their reflexes, eyesite and all that
