The Phantom MPV Looks Fit for a Fight Against the Covenant in Halo

Because of this the world's defense industries are booming, with more and more weapons being produced by the behemoths activating in this field all across the planet. But there are also smaller companies and even startups that have boarded the arms race train.

One such company is Highland Systems. Based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the group is officially a "project management company," which basically means they're trying to come up with ideas the defense industry could use sometime in the future.

Highland became news a couple of years ago, and has constantly made the headlines since. Their portfolio of projects includes at the moment armored vehicles, a submarine, and a trimaran, but these guys say they are also in the business of re-equipping medium and heavy tanks.

Over the coming months we'll try to take a closer look at what this company (but also others) has to offer to the world, and we've decided to start with the Phantom, an armored multi-purpose vehicle that looks so appealing and good we kind of wish it was never designed as a tool to fight battles, but as a personal vehicle to be taken out for a spin.

Word of the Phantom first surfaced back in 2022, when the first sketches of it surfaced. I said at the time this thing looks like something that would have felt right at home in the soon-to-be-launched Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and I stand by my belief even after I've gone into the specifics of the thing while researching this piece. Only it now somehow feels a lot more suitable for a stint in Halo.

Before getting into it, let's address the elephant in the room. At the time when it was introduced the Phantom was nothing more than a design study and to my knowledge it remains so even to this day. That means you'll not get to see it anywhere in the world in physical form at the time of writing.

The thing was imagined as a B6 armored vehicle. As a reminder, B6 on a vehicle means it comes loaded with stuff that can take bullets fired from up close by assault rifles like the AK-47. And it can take them both in the body panels and in the glass.

On top of that, B6 also means underbody protection by means of steel plates which can take blasts from mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

It may not be the most effective form of armored protection. BMW, for instance, offers VR6 on its armored vehicles, and that means it the X5 for instance can survive blasts from DM51 hand grenades. But B6 comes with one major advantage, that of still being light enough to allow for a vehicle to remain as nimble as it should be.

And that's particularly useful over uneven terrain, where the Phantom was imagined to operate first and foremost. Loaded with all the armor, people, and gear, the vehicle is supposed to tip the scale at 6,000 kg (13,200 kg), which is about one-third of the weight of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) that's currently making the headlines.

The Phantom is about as long and wide as a BMW 7 Series, coming in at 5,300 mm and 2,300 mm, respectively, but a lot taller, sitting proudly at 2,200 mm. That means it's large enough to accommodate up to six people at a time.

Highland did not pinpoint exactly what kind of powertrain the vehicle would use, saying only it would be some kind of diesel–electric solution. It should provide the Phantom with impressive torque levels, no less than 12,000 Nm, and enough horsepower to handle pretty much anything: 1,600 hp.

The vehicle would be capable of operating in fuel, electric, and hybrid modes, and its useful operating time would be between 3.5 hours when using solely the battery to 18 hours when running hybrid.

The fighting machine would be capable of reaching a top speed of 160 kph (99 mph) in the best of road conditions. Where those perfect road conditions are not met, it will drive a lot slower, of course, but the key fact here is it will continue to drive, thanks to the 40 cm (16 inches) ground clearance.

If it ever gets made, the Phantom will be configurable, and it can be equipped and prepared for a variety of operations, run either by military or government organizations.

At the time of writing though, despite enough time having passed since it was first shown, the armored vehicle designed in the UAE is still not on the production lines. Until it gets there, maybe the higher-ups in charge of the Halo series take notice and find a role for it in one of the upcoming seasons. Seems like the right fit…