Armour Mark: Mk.VIII
Armour Name: Errant Armour
Manufactured: Mars, selected Forge Worlds
Used: Issued only in recent centuries Mk.VIII armour has seen limited use so far.
Features:Life Support - Excellent. Armour is completely enclosed and capable of long term operation in harsh environments (i.e. space, deathworlds), includes advanced waste recycling systems. Mk.VIII armour life support systems also include the improvements made to Mk.VI/VII suits to increase protection against chemical, viral and atomic weapons.
Protection - Excellent. Imperator(Eagle) armour has few flaws but they have been addressed by a series of minor upgrades to Errant Armour. These include the raised collar, modified helmet and increased fixed plate armour in the torso, these elements are designed to provide greater protection against area effect weapons and to prevent 'shell traps' being formed in the neck/head area.
Head - Very similar to the Imperator helmet, the Errant helmet has been modified to fit within the raised collar of the Errant Armour to ensure greater protection for the vulnerable neck/head area.
Torso -The Mk.VIII continues the attempts to protect the power cables and now with reinforced chest armour, all primary and secondary cables are enclosed within the armour
Arms - Virtually identical to Mk.VII arm plates.
Legs - Virtually identical to Mk.VII armour plates
Power - Uses the Mk.VII armour power pack
Integrated Systems: Life Support - Allows use in hostile environments (including vacuum) for extended periods, includes advanced food processing, water recycling and medicae equipment
AutoSenses - Mk.VIII helmets have redesigned autosense systems cater for the raised neck collar which can degrade the performance of earlier helmets if used in Mk.VIII armour. Autosense performance is almost identical to earlier marks despite this change.
Sense Enhancement - Ultra-violet and infra-red vision and targeting available via autosenses, audio senses are Mk.VI/VII standard, olfactory pick ups are also housed in helmet
Communications - The Mk. VIII features a superior voxcaster system compared to the Mk. VII, particularly in data transfer abilities
Mobility - Following on from the great enhancement of Mk.VI/VII armour to mobility, Mk. VIII features refined syntho-ligament actuators to further enhance the suit's surprising agility.
History: Errant Armour is the first serious change to Astartes pattern armour since the time of the Heresy, as such many Chapters, not to mention many of the Mechanicus, view the armour with some suspicion, preferring the battle tried and tested MkVI/VII suits to the newer type, combined with the current slow production rate this means Errant armour is rarely seen. Most frequently Mk.VIII armour is found in the hands of younger Chapters who are less entrenched in their ways and more open to change. Those Chapters which are utilising the armour have noted that the improved communications suite is most effective in the hands of officers and sergeants and as such the armour has become a symbol of rank within many of these Chapters.
Notes:Mk. VIII armour is rarely seen as a complete suit. As with both Corvus and Imperator suits Errant armour is designed to be compatible with as many components of other marks as possible. When seen the Mk.VIII helmet almost always accompanies the torso armour as Mk.VI helmets do not fit and even Mk.VII helmets require extensive modification to function properly.
