Belltower Associates

Belltower Associates or Belltower Group is an umbrella group of private military contractors who provide a maximum spectrum private military/security solution.

Background
The company was incorporated in 1997 beginning life as a security consultant and close protection agency. In 2019 Belltower started their augmentation program named Plan Infinity. Under the terms of this plan Belltower offers their soldiers immediate augmentation while deferring payment for as long as they remain active employees of Belltower. Despite critics' claims that this amounts to little more than indentured servitude, the program is a great success and is adopted as standard procedure.

Their headquarters in England is a skyscraper with all the capabilities of a military base and situated in the London Sink; other key facilities include a maritime base on the US Gulf Coast and a training facility in Bangalore, India. Currently the company has offices in: Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Iraq, Kenya, India, Australia and United States with a group of soldier deployed in Heng Sha.

In the beginning of the novel Deus Ex: Icarus Effect, Ben Saxon is the squad leader of Belltower's Strike Team Six deployed in Australia. In the comic series, Katrina Sutherland reveals that she had worked in the past with Belltower.

Belltower is a registered and active contractor for the UN.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Belltower are a major enemy faction in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Not only are their elite Spec Ops soldiers part of the force that attacks Sarif Industries in the beginning of the game, but Spec Ops squads hound Jensen throughout the game, and he will regularly run into their normal soldiers as well.

Belltower's typical operatives come in three varieties: light, medium, and heavy. They can be easily identified by their gear and weaponry.

The light troopers wear caps and uniforms emblazoned with the Belltower insignia, and are typically equipped with pistols and machine pistols. These men are commonly employed as low-risk security guards and street police.

The medium troopers wear combat vests and utility gear, and light head guards. They typically carry shotguns, combat rifles and machine pistols. They are deployed in combat operations.

The heavy troopers wear full combat armor, including heavy head guards. They carry heavy rifles and are slow moving as a result. Deployed only in situations that require the heaviest of firepower.

Spec Ops
Belltower also employs elite Spec Ops troopers. These men are equipped in advanced infiltration suits with red shoulder guards, and use shotguns, combat rifles, sniper rifles, and machine pistols. The rank and file Spec Ops wears a distinctive black kevlar balaclava, but unlike the rank and file medium troops, it offers little to no protection from headshots.

Some Spec Ops squads are supported by Shifters'''. '''These troops remove the balaclava and instead wear a cap and sleeveless version of the uniform. They exclusively utilize sniper rifles for long range combat, and use pistols when confronted up close.

Another version of the Spec Ops is the Sneaker. These advanced covert agents can be easily identified by their augmented legs and high-tech infiltration helmets. Sneakers not only move faster then generic Spec Ops, but can cloak for brief periods in a manner similar to Jensen's own cloaking augmentation. They are typically equipped with machine pistols.

Another elite version of the Spec Ops is the Ogre. These brutish augmented soldiers wear the same outfit as the normal Spec Ops troopers, but are easily identified by their size. While they move more slowly, they have subdermal armor much like Jensen's own augmentation, and can take more damage then any other human enemy in the game (barring bossfights). They exclusively carry heavy rifles, and along with Belltower Heavy Troopers and Harvester Heavies are the only ones to do so.

Trivia

 * Belltower has a viral marketing website
 * A commando of the Belltower Spec Ops support the Tyrants during the Sarif Industries attack.
 * Their name, logo, business type, and founding year suggests they are based on the real life private military company Blackwater. In fact, according to an eBook in the Detroit Police Department, private contractor companies such as Belltower formed in the wake of Blackwater's disentigration.