M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle
In the UNSC’s fleet of ground vehicles, the M274 ULATV, or Mongoose, is fairly unique in that it bears no formal armament. The Mongoose is usually deployed for transportation of personnel or cargo across relatively short distances and is particularly useful in areas where the terrain is varied and otherwise unnavigable by traditional vehicles.
The M274 touts a 1000cc liquid-cooled, longitudinally mounted, four-stroke, hydrogen-injected internal combustion engine, allowing it to maximize its speed at 96kph (60mph), even in varied terrain. The Mongoose is second to only the Warthog in swift and nimble transportation, sometimes superseding the Hog due to its maneuverability in tightly confined environments, whether that be a dense urban city, a rocky, canyon floor or even the equipment hangars of capital ships.
At just over three meters in length and approximately 400 kilograms, the Mongoose seats one driver and sports a rear cargo rack which can carry weapons, equipment and, if the stirrup tracks are engaged, a passenger. In this configuration, the passenger can fire a weapon from the rear of the M274, effectively arming the vehicle. Field observations have indicated that when two Spartans are operating a Mongoose in this way, it becomes truly formidable, eclipsing its role of basic transportation and becoming something more akin to a force application vehicle.
