Bkowe'nei-pattern Vampire

The Type-29 Close-support Fighter, more commonly known as the Vampire, is a Covenant atmospheric fighter aircraft. It was used in large numbers and to great effect during the early years of the Human-Covenant War. However, its role was eventually overtaken by better-armed and more versatile vehicles, as the Covenant's methodology changed from fighting roughly evenly matched UNSC forces to cleanup operations and genocide.

Overview
As its name suggests, the Vampire is a highly effective atmospheric fighter aircraft. The Vampire has a roughly V-shaped hull, with the cockpit located near the front, at the base of two prong-like structures; the crew pod can accommodate either one or two pilots. The craft's primary armament, a turret-mounted heavy needle cannon, is mounted on the rear dorsal surface, immediately aft of the cockpit. In front of the cockpit, between the craft's prominent "boom" structures, is a stasis cannon, which can lock down enemy aircraft with a powerful electromagnetic pulse; the cannon is highly adaptable and can be upgraded at the operator's discretion, with each successive upgrade adding new levels of lethality. On the outer side of each boom is a single armature-mounted medium plasma cannon, presumably a Class-2 Energy Gun; each of these weapons is fully automated and is controlled via an actuator plug, over which the pilot has intermittent control.

Combat
An excellent anti-air unit, the Vampire boasts high firepower against even large groups of aircraft, but it is not as adept at defeating ground units, limiting its tactical usefulness. It is not as fast as the Banshee but it is considerably more resistant to damage. Due to its heavy needle cannon turret and wing-mounted plasma cannons, it is able to engage multiple targets at a time. Its turret can turn and keep shooting at flanking enemy aircraft, making them ideal for hit-and-run attacks against enemy aircraft. When upgraded it becomes an even bigger threat, being able to regenerate its armor once the stasis drain is installed, and making drained units explode with the stasis bomb. While its stasis ability is in effect, the Vampire's heavy needler is disabled. It is extremely effective against AV-14 Hornets, AV-22 Sparrowhawks, D77-TC Pelicans, and AC-220 Vultures. However it can easily be shot down by M9 Wolverines or by Marines' rocket launchers. It is also to hijacking by SPARTANs, who can turn the Vampire against accompanying Covenant aircraft to deadly effect. It is very useful as an escort as it can clear the skies of any incoming aircraft, but may need an escort of its own to protect it from enemy ground-based anti-air units.



Halo Wars gameplay
Resources: 250

Minimum Tech Level: 2

Population Count: 2

Upgrades:


 * Stasis Drain: Allows the Vampire to regenerate itself when using the Stasis Drain against enemy airborne units draining their health.
 * Stasis Bomb: Drained aircraft no longer crash to the ground but explode causing large area of effect damage.

Trivia

 * Like most Covenant vehicles, the Vampire is named after a supernatural entity. The Vampire's name reflects its ability to drain its enemies' energy, much like a mythical vampire does to a creature's blood.
 * The stasis ability can affect the Prophet of Regret if he is upgraded with flight capability. It prevents him from attacking and calling down cleansing beam strikes.
 * The Vampire greatly resembles the Protoss Corsair from StarCraft and StarCraft II, both in appearance and in role. Both craft are potent fighters equipped with secondary weapons capable of disabling enemy units. Unlike the Vampire's stasis cannon, however, the Corsair's disruption webs are capable of disabling ground units and structures, but not aircraft.

List of appearances
Halo Wars