F-99 Wombat

The F-99 Wombat, colloquially known as the "drone fighter", is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle used by the UNSC Defense Force.

Operational history
During the Battle of Mombasa in October 2552, numerous F-99 UCAVs were deployed in reconnaissance elements numbering two to three aircraft to the city of New Mombasa, presumably from aircraft carriers just off the coast. They provided air support for embattled Marines across the city, particularly the Uplift Nature Reserve. The collective optical feeds provided by the individual F-99s could also be accessed by ground forces in the form of the "bee-net". One of these drones crashed into a statue in front of the Reserve and its ejected optics package was later found by a lone ODST.

Behind the scenes
The F-99 Wombat was originally going to be featured in Halo 3. Though they were omitted from the final game, they were redesigned and featured in Halo 3: ODST. Drones of a different model, which are based directly on concept art, appear in the background of the multiplayer map Longshore. However, given the depiction of the craft in Longshore as distant background details, it is possible that these are simply meant to be low-detail renderings of the F99.

List of appearances

 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Reach