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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 The subject of this article appears in Blackout
For the similar ability in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, see Boost Jump.
For the similar ability in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, see RCS Thrusters.

Thrust Jump is a gameplay mechanic in Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. It allows the player to boost themselves into the air for a short period of time. Unlike the Boost Jump from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the thrust jump is slower, won't get the player as high, and takes up a "thrust meter" which must recharge.

To activate, the player must double jump and hold down the jump button to activate the thrust. The thrust will only remain active as long as the button is pressed or until the "thrust meter" runs out. Thrusting continuously will allow the player to reach greater heights, while thrusting in small increments allows them to stay in the air longer.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

Data Vault[]

In the Data Vault for Black Ops III, the in-universe explanation for the Thrust Jump is revealed to be laser-propulsion systems. These can be seen on character's backs, particularly those of Specialists.

The following is from the Data Vault and takes the form of an in-universe journal article for a website called Computer Tech Insider

Future Battlefield Mobility[]

Author: Rich Tracey

Date: Nov 2059

Over the last 30 years we have witnessed a revolution on the battlefield. Wearable robotics in the form of exoskeletons ha given our human combatants unparalleled survivability in the field, granting them seemingly superhuman stamina, strength and enhanced agility, while the increasing role of autonomous combat robots over the last 20 years had led to the draw-down in the numbers of deployed front line combat troops.

Exos have allowed our troops to run further, jump higher, lift heavier loads and fight more fiercely than any soldiers in the history of armed combat. What could be better?

How about 30 meter jumps from standing, instead of 15 meter jumps from a running start? What about being able to boost jump over 20 foot high obstacles?

While those capabilities have been available to jump-troops outfitted with conventional military jet packs for years, the jump units have had a number of drawbacks; limited fuel loads, substantial bulk and explosive hazards to the wearer - as well as any soldiers standing near them in the event of a 'catastrophic malfunction'.

Enter the Laser-Based Propulsion system (LPS).

A Little History[]

At the turn of the last century, the US Army ran a series of tests at the White Sands Missile Range demonstrating the basic feasibility of a device known as a 'light craft'.

A titanium parabolic reflector as spun up to many thousands of revolutions per minute to provide stability, before a ground based high-powered laser (read:bulky and low-power by today's standards) was repeatedly pulsed into the reflector from below.

The parabolic shape of the 'light craft' reflected the incoming laser into its focal point, turning the air inside into a high-temperature plasma. This plasma expands rapidly pushing against the parabolic reflector while escaping downwards, proving enough thrust to propel the device upwards with each pulse of the rapidly strobing laser source.

In these tests the light craft attained flights lasting of 10.5 seconds, reaching heights in excess of 236 feet before falling back to earth.

Into the Now[]

Take those basic principles, and marry them to today's generation of solid-state laser power generation and storage technologies.

The wearable LPS system consists of a number of parabolic cones constructed from smart alloys positioned at numerous points around the wearer's body, providing multiple vectors of potential thrust.

The smart alloy parabolas can modify their shape in real time, changing their focal points and allowing for amazingly subtle fine control over direction of travel.

Solid State lasers in the low kilowatt range mounted around the rims of the reflectors pointing inwards, powered by rapid-charging super capacity chains and capable of firing at several hundred hertz, are able to generate substantial thrust before their power sources are fully discharged.

The necessary power sub-systems are easily incorporated into an exoskeleton's own, with no bulky fuel storage for conventional reactant mass for the jets, as the air through which the wearer moves is converted into thrust as needed.

And with none of the explosive risks of conventional jet packs.

Emerging Synergies[]

In addition to these capabilities the systems' designers are planning on integrating smart meta materials into the exo's boots and gloves; by applying control voltages to these materials, the user will be able to dynamically control the grip that they apply to the touched surfaces.

They will be able to exploit Van der Waals forces to gain traction allowing for wall running, or radically decrease friction to achieve sideways LPS powered 'juking' maneuvers or rapid forward slides.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4[]

Thrust Jump returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 where it is playable in the Blackout mode, Heavy Metal Heroes.

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