Type-46 Spectre

The Type-46 Infantry Support Vehicle (T46 ISV), commonly known as the Spectre, is a Covenant anti-infantry and transportation vehicle.

Service history
The Spectre was first encountered by UNSC Defense Force personnel at the Battle of Sargasso in 2546. The Spectre was used to fill a role between that of the Type-32 Ghost, a rapid assault vehicle, and that of the Type-26 Wraith, a heavy support tank. The Spectre competed in this regard with the relatively uncommon Type-52 Prowler, which was utilized exclusively by the Jiralhanae, though neither held popular favor; eventually, both were largely supplanted by the Type-48 Revenant. While the Spectre was used widely during the early stages of the Battle of Earth and during the Battle of Installation 05, it was entirely replaced by the now mass-produced Prowler in the final weeks of the Human-Covenant War.

Design
Like most Covenant vehicles, the T46 ISV utilizes a pair of boosted gravity propulsion drives for locomotion and features a sleek, bulbous design. The driver is seated in a lightly armored station at the front of the vehicle; a hatch provides limited protection to the driver's left and right sides, though the front is almost completely exposed. A single anti-gravity generator is mounted on either side of the vehicle behind the driver. A single-passenger seat is mounted above each anti-gravity generator, allowing two passengers to provide fire support. It is quite transportable and can be easily carried by a Phantom dropship.

The Spectre's main armament is a Class-1 light plasma cannon, mounted on a turret above the forward thruster at the rear of the vehicle. This weapon possesses a very high rate of fire, though the bolts often ricochet off targets. The turret can rotate 360 degrees and has a large angle of vertical inclination, allowing it to fire on targets at higher elevation, including low-flying aircraft.

The Spectre possesses impressive lateral maneuverability: it is able to strafe left and right at almost full speed, which is one of its main advantages over the Prowler. The main thruster can be accelerated indefinitely, greatly increasing the vehicle's speed at a great cost of maneuverability.

Advantages
The Spectre has a stable firing platform thanks to its flat and heavy design and evenly-placed propulsion drive. Its plasma turret is very accurate and has a high rate of fire, delivering a reasonable amount of damage to its target; it is ideal for taking down Banshees, and can be used with success against infantry. It is capable of carrying a gunner and two passengers in addition to the driver.

Disadvantages
One of many disadvantages of the Spectre is the high vulnerability of its passengers to attacks. While the driver's seat is protected by the vehicle's hull, the passengers are an open target to small arms fire and splash damage from nearby explosions. The gunner must also lead his targets when firing at medium to long range, as there is a noticeable travel time for the plasma projectiles.

Tactics
The Spectre features a rear-mounted, rapid-firing plasma cannon which provides 360 degrees of fire. The weapon is quite powerful and can cut through enemy infantry with ease. The turret performs poorly against armored vehicles such as the Scorpion, as the plasma cannon's bolts will be reflected by the tank's armor.

Campaign

 * Its rapid-firing linear plasma cannon makes it very useful against Banshees because it is more accurate and fast instead of the normal, slow plasma bolts. On Legendary, a Spectre can be very irritating to a Banshee as it is not easy to hit.
 * The Spectre, whilst disadvantaged in speed compared with other vehicles, has its advantages in combat. The Warthog can hold three people, where as the Spectre can hold four. This is a minor advantage, but can be useful as it provides extra fire support, giving the Spectre defense on all sides-especially if the occupants are armed with weapons like Rocket Launchers or Fuel Rod Guns (giving the Spectre a better chance against vehicles).

Multiplayer

 * The Spectre is the likely choice for getting to the top of multiplayer maps such as Coagulation and Burial Mounds, thanks to its indefinite boosting ability.
 * Similar to the Ghost, the Spectre is an ideal vehicle for splattering enemies
 * One excellent tactical strategy is to use the Spectres and other vehicles as a combination like the Warthog and Ghost, for more firepower and protection which is quite effective against groups and a small number of enemy infantry and vehicles.
 * Spectres hold one extra player as opposed to the Warthog, a usual favorite for teams. While the Spectre is less commonly used, the extra seat provides advantages for objective based games, such as Capture the Flag.
 * The Spectre is also suitable for rapid movement across a map. While players may obtain and stay in a Warthog, the Spectre can be used to carry a small team across distances to be closer to combat.

Trivia

 * The Spectre first appeared in the pre-release version of Halo, though it was removed from Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * If the player presses and holds A while driving, the air brake will engage. The front end will rise, enabling the player to climb some walls.
 * A glitch occurs when two players in the passenger seats have Sentinel Beams. If one player fires their Sentinel Beam, then the other player's Sentinel Beam will appear to fire as well, though this will not drain the second player's battery, and will not increase the damage. If the second player fires their beam, the only effect on the target will be from them.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: The Thursday War