Kez'katu-pattern Phantom

Covenant Phantom The Covenant Phantom is a much more formidable dropship than the previously seen Spirit. It boasts three plasma cannons, and can literally drop its occupants to the ground without having to land, with the aid of a miniature gravity lift. It also ferries vehicles such as the Wraith, Spectre and Ghost to their intended dropzones. The Phantom is far sturdier and more heavily armed than the Spirit dropship. It made its debut in Halo 2.

Operation
The Phantom can be considered the Covenant's equivalent of the Pelican class human dropship, more so than the Spirit. Each Phantom boasts superior firepower and the capability of reaching greater speeds and maneuverability than its sister vessel. The Phantom class dropship appears to have replaced the original Spirit dropship which was seen in Halo: Combat Evolved, a dropship of tuning fork-shaped design which contained 4-6 troops in each of its two "prongs". The Phantom is a substantial improvement from the original dropship, with a much sleeker and more robust design accompanying much higher offensive capabilities. Equipped with three Plasma Cannon positions formed in a triangular shape along the underside of the dropship, it produces a formidable firebase against ground troops and has exhibited some capability in engaging aircraft. The Phantom crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, a navigator, and an operations officer who is in charge of the three defensive plasma turrets. It deploys troops through a hole on its underbelly. This is a grav lift similar to that seen on the Truth and Reconciliation only on a much smaller scale. It is capable of dropping off and picking up via this lift. This means that the troop compliment of each Phantom is unknown, sometimes as many as 16 Covenant soldiers can disembark from a Phantom.

Phantom in Combat
The role of the Phantom is to transport squads of Covenant troops to a combat zone with speed and efficiency. It is capable of carrying Grunts, Jackals, Brutes and Elites, it can also carry a couple of Hunters. They have been known to carry two manned Ghosts or a single Wraith tank into the battlefield for deployment. Phantoms were seen transporting units throughout the Covenant's invasion of Earth, and have become, increasingly, a hindrance to the UNSC Special Forces as they attempt to repel the Covenant from New Mombasa. Their use across Delta Halo was also particularly devastating, especially to units which were not equipped with anti-vehicle weapons. Possessing three rapid firing plasma cannons makes the Phantom a much more challenging adversary than the Spirit, however, using a turret, vehicle, or rocket launcher will destroy the turrets. It is fairly vulnerable to fire from the Rocket Launcher however, and a single blast from a Scorpion Tank to the underside of the Phantom can easily neutralize its offensive capabilities, reducing it to little more than an aerial APC. Unfortunately, its hull is heavily reinforced making it almost invulnerable to small arms fire, in halo 2 the Phantom is invincible and cannot be destroyed. However this is set to change for Halo 3.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Grunts
 * Jackals
 * Brutes
 * Hunters

Appearances

 * Outskirts
 * Metropolis
 * The Arbiter
 * Oracle
 * Delta Halo
 * Regret
 * Sacred Icon
 * Quarantine Zone
 * Gravemind (Cutscene)
 * Uprising (Cutscene)
 * High Charity
 * The Great Journey
 * Sierra 117
 * Crow's Nest
 * Tsavo Highway
 * The Storm

Halo 3
The Phantom is featured in Halo 3. It was seen in the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer and the Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer. This version seems to show very similar dimensions to that of Halo 2. However, Covenant troops are now dispatched via exits on either side of the vehicle, which have platforms with plasma cannons for support, even though there is still a gravity lift. There is however, only a single Plasma Cannon on the underside of the vehicle. It seems that it has become more like the Spirit. There are also several major graphical improvements to this version.

The Halo 3 Phantom is also now destructible, being vulnerable to Fuel Rod Cannons and at least AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun rounds (believed to be 7.62 mm or larger), though according to a Bungie podcast it may be vulnerable to as little as a melee attack. Separatist Phantoms are now painted in UNSC Gun Metal Green to distinguish themselves from the purple/blue Loyalist Phantoms, to show their newly found alliance to the Humans and the UNSC.

The Separatist Phantom also seems to have active camouflage, this can be seen in The Covenant, after the Flood comes.

Trivia

 * In the E3 2003 Preview, the Phantom does not have a 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 was noticeable that the Brute Chieftain Tartarus spent most of his time pursuing the Arbiter in a Phantom throughout Halo 2. The ship's ability to travel through space making it invaluable to the Covenant's strike teams when engaging the Heretics and Flood as they sought to uncover the mysteries of Halo.
 * Also in the Halo 3 E3 trailer, it seems to be a dark blue or a sea blue colour.
 * In Halo 3, the Phantoms are destructible.