Kez'katu-pattern Phantom

Were you looking for the Spirit-class dropship used in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars? Covenant troop carrier and gunship. They are used primarily as troop transports, flying into combat zones and deploying soldiers while providing suppressing fire. Phantoms are more heavily armed than the Spirit dropship, sporting three defensive weapons that offer 360-degree turning radius.
 * COVENANT
 * COVENANT SEPARATISTS AND COVENANT LOYALISTS Type-52 Troop Carrier]]

Design details
The Phantom is roughly equivalent to the Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Whereas the Spirit was designed primarily as a cargo transport, the Phantom is a dedicated troop carrier/gunship with superior maneuverability and firepower.

Crew and complements
The Phantom crew consists of a pilot, a co-pilot, a navigator, and an operations officer who is in charge of the defensive heavy plasma auto-cannons. The Phantom could take up as many as sixteen passengers inside it in Halo 2, though this number was increased to twenty-seven passengers in Halo 3. Troops inside are deployed from a gravity lift installed in the bottom of the ship or the openings on both sides. In Halo 3, Covenant soldiers can be deployed through the sides of the dropship for quick deployment. Like the Spirit dropship, the Phantom is capable of carrying vehicles such as Ghosts and Wraiths and essential equipments such as Deployable Lookout Towers, and components of Anti-Aircraft Batteries using its gravity lift.

Armaments
The Phantom has three armament layout/design. The first design, used in Halo 2, sports three separate, fully rotational heavy plasma auto-cannons that served to barrage the enemy with cover fire while its payload of troops is deployed. The second design, used in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, retains the chin-mounted heavy plasma auto-cannon but replaces its internally-controlled side-cannons for two Type-52 Plasma Cannons. The third design, used in Halo: Reach, replaces the heavy plasma auto-cannons with a light plasma mortar and includes two Type-52 Plasma Cannons.

During space combat, the two Type-52 Plasma Cannons are folded into the dropship and reduces its available firepower.

Combat
The role of the Phantom is to transport squads of Covenant troops and vehicles into a combat zone with speed and efficiency. Phantoms were seen transporting units throughout the Covenant's invasion of Earth and had become a great hindrance to the UNSC Special Forces when they attempted to repel the Covenant from New Mombasa during the Battle of Mombasa. Their use across Delta Halo was also particularly devastating, especially to units which were not equipped with anti-vehicle weapons.

As their hull is heavily reinforced, Phantoms are invulnerable to small arms fire. The Phantom has three defensive weapons, making it a more challenging adversary than the Spirit. In Halo 2, the Phantom was invincible and could not be destroyed, apart from its defensive weapons. In Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, the Phantom is destructible.

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3

 * The Phantom is now destructible, vulnerable to heavy weapons and explosives. It is, nevertheless, very durable and able to take up to four shots from a Scorpion tank.
 * The Phantom's hull is now a medium-dark violet in Halo 3, rather than magenta as it is in Halo 2.
 * The Phantom fires shots that are now a blue color, rather than a vivid red.
 * The Phantom can deliver troops by opening side doors, not just by the gravity lift.
 * The Phantom no longer has three separate auto-cannons - they now have one chin-mounted auto-cannon, and two Type-52 Plasma Cannons on either side of the troop bay.
 * The troop bay is open on both sides where the plasma turrets are. It is fully accessible by the player and he/she can leap into it before it takes off. The player is usually killed when the Phantom hits a death barrier.
 * The main cannon's rate of fire is slower.
 * The two upper tail-like parts in the rear of the Phantom appear smaller.
 * A Separatist variant is introduced. The Separatist variant is used by the Elites and has the ability to camouflage itself.

Changes from Halo 3 to Halo 3: ODST

 * When destroyed in Halo 3: ODST, it explodes into pieces of small wreckage, rather than larger wreckage like in Halo 3.
 * The Phantom has the ability to carry Engineers in pod-like cases in Halo 3: ODST.

Changes from Halo 3 to Halo: Reach

 * The Phantom can be equipped with a light plasma mortar instead of its standard heavy plasma auto-cannon.
 * The Phantom can be equipped with a searchlight for night missions (as seen in Halo 3: ODST cutscenes)

Known Phantoms

 * Glorious Advance - Used for a boarding action against the Infinite Succor.

Trivia

 * The Separatists Phantom resembles Romulan ships from Star Trek in both its lime-green color and its cloaking ability.
 * In the E3 2003 Preview of Halo 2, the Phantom does not possess any form of gravity lift and the troops are instead dropped off from the back. The Phantom is also capable of carrying a Spectre or a Wraith by using hooks located under its "belly". It also seemed to have only one Plasma Cannon.
 * It was noticeable that the Jiralhanae Chieftain Tartarus spent most of his time pursuing Thel 'Vadamee in a Phantom throughout Halo 2. The ship's ability to travel through space made it invaluable to the Covenant's strike teams when engaging the Heretics and Flood as they sought to uncover the mysteries of Installation 05.
 * In Campaign Scoring charts, it counts as both a "Heavy" and a "Giant" vehicle.
 * In the trailer for Halo 3: ODST, a Phantom is seen on patrol using two bright searchlights to sweep the streets. Oddly, the lights are located in the exact location as the Phantom's chin mounted gun, possibly meaning that this Phantom was specifically adapted for patrol or that its gun had a headlight mounted alongside it. In the cutscene where the Rookie receives a transmission from Dare, the Phantom that passes by has a searchlight mounted on the front turret. This headlight feature also appears in Halo: Reach.
 * In the Art of Halo, there is a Phantom render for Halo 2 which had its side doors down and sported heavy plasma turrets on them.
 * In the Halo Legends short film, Prototype, a Phantom is seen carrying a Wraith inside its troop bay, as opposed to hovering below it. This may be a means to protect the Wraith from being destroyed before it is deployed or it could potentially be an oversight made by the artists.

Related Pages

 * Pelican - The UNSC equivalent of the Phantom.
 * Type-25 Troop Carrier - Otherwise known as the Spirit, the older Covenant dropship.
 * Phantom Riding Glitch

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