It can be carried on a Pelican and can be stuck on a surface. The Mark 2521 Medium Fusion Destructive Device is an excavation-grade variant of the weapon. The Variant V HAVOK is a warhead that is attached to a missile and can be launched from either the ground or from a ship. The Variant V HAVOK is designed to maximize the thermonuclear yield in the vacuum of space.

Nuclear weapons like the HAVOK are employed often but not always, and are only used when all civilian and military populations have been either evacuated, or compromised in a target area. However, there are situations where the UNSC will use a HAVOK to eliminate Covenant ships deploying infantry and equipment. The HAVOK mine is used in situations where the UNSC must eliminate enemy forces in an area already claimed by them, or to prevent an area from falling into their hands. The mine can only be detonated by a remote signal, and if the device is placed underneath thick concrete and steel, or other objects that may cause interference, a ground-return receiver must be set up to allow the signal to reach the device. The bottom of the unit contains bonding strips that allows the HAVOK to be attached to any type of surface. It is described as looking like a small black half sphere, and does not contain any external indicators the device only contains a thin slot on the unit's face to allow the detonation key to be inserted. The HAVOK tactical nuclear mine is one of the most powerful ground-based nuclear ordnance in the UNSC arsenal, and has a thermonuclear yield of 30 megatons. Several variants of the HAVOK nuclear device have been developed for use in different tactical situations, from ordnance deployed by ground forces to missile-based delivery systems.

Unsc frigate