D77H-TCI Pelican

D77H-TCI Pelican

The D77H-TCI Pelican is a newer model of the venerable D77-TC Pelican, recently introduced into service within the UNSC Marine Corps and Navy in late 2552 and early 2553 (the Halo 3 era). It differs from the D77-TC in many respects, but is also improved in several ways. It still operates as a flexible dropship/gunship VTOL.

Background
The D77H-TCI is a fleet wide upgrade to the UNSC's squadrons of Pelican Drop ships, incorporating many differences from its older counterparts. First seen deployed in November, 2552, the newer model assisted in the recovery effort to rescue Spartan-117 from the jungle region in Kenya , and evacuated wounded Marines from Crows Nest base as it suffered Covenant assault. Others would airlift Marines and equipment to reinforce the UNSC's attempts to retake Voi, coordinating with Hornet air forces.

Later, D77H-TCI Pelicans would take part in the joint Elite-Human assault on the Covenant at Installation 00, inserting Spartan-117 and a team of ODST's to secure a landing zone for the and pick them up again as they discovered the location of the Prophet of Truth and his forces. A joint force of Pelicans and Elite Phantoms would deliver Spartan-117, the Arbiter and Sergeant Major A. J. Johnson to deactivate three shield generators protecting the Prophet's location, with several being taken down by Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery Wraiths and by Banshees, fighting their way to allow the Arbiter and Spartan-117 to assault the third generator. A D77H-TCI was used by Commander Miranda Keyes failed attempt to rescue Sergeant Johnson from Truth and his Brute forces, and was used by the Sergeant to escape from a Flood assault.

A D77H-TCI Pelican was crashed into High Charity by Spartan-117 and the Arbiter, which in turn crashed onto Installation 00. It was used by Spartan-117 and the Arbiter to rescue the UNSC AI Cortana, and then to crash near Installation 04 (II)'s Control Room. . Pelicans have saved the lives of many marines and Spartans because they are good in a pinch.

Payload Capacity
Though an upgrade, the D77H-TCI variant of the Pelican carries the number of passengers as its predecessor. However, its troop-bay is more flexible, able to carry up to two Mongoose's internally, in addition to its passengers.

The D77H-TCI Pelican's cockpit also differs from its predecessor, using a tandem seating rather than a side-by-side configuration used by the D77-TC. It is presumed that the pilot furthest toward the front operates the craft's flight systems, with the co-pilot seated behind him operating the other systems. A small holo-tank has been installed also, allowing an artificial intelligence to project its holographic form to the craft's pilots.

Its tail mounted magnetic clamps are capable of carrying a M12 Warthog LRV, M12G1 Warthog LAAG or M831 TT Warthog, an M808B Scorpion MBT, or four Type C Resupply Capsules rather than six Type B Resupply Capsules, to to the battlefield, able to detach its payload without landing. It is unknown if a variant exists with the D77-TC Pelican's troop-bay drop-pod.

Armament
The D77H-TCI Pelican lacks the nose-mounted chaingun of its predecessor, though it is able to mount an AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun in its troop-bay compartment for supporting ground teams and covering the ingress/egress of its passengers, an improvement from the previous M247 GPMG. Its wings can carry a missile-pod for engaging air or ground hostile units, which has proven effective against enemy Phantom Dropships and Covenant infantry, able to fire more missiles and faster than the older ANVIL-II ASM Pods. The D77H-TCI can also be equipped with a much larger cannon, mounted at the ventral-fore of the dropship. other than this, the D77H-TCI carries relatively few weapons.

Propulsion
The main engines are mounted in pairs in four nacelles, one on each wing and two at the rear. The nacelles can articulate independently, thus altering (ie, Vectoring) the direction of thrust and improving the D77H-TCI Pelican's low altitude maneuverability. Six ventral thrusters, two on each wing nacelle and one on each aft nacelle, allow the drop ship to land and take off vertically. These engines are capable of both space and atmospheric operation. the fuel taken by the Pelican is a fissile material to power its thermonuclear engines. The D77H-TCI Pelican is too small to have a slipspace matrix mounted inside.

The wings mounted on a Pelican seem extremely small, too small to support the weight of drop ship and payload alone. It is speculated that it incorporates at least some Lifting Body principles, its own hull providing most of the lift necessary.

Identified Pelicans

 * Echo 51
 * Kilo 23
 * Victor 398
 * Oscar 5
 * Oscar 6
 * Oscar 8
 * Oscar 9

Trivia

 * The D77H-TCI Pelican is confirmed as a useable unit in Halo Wars.
 * It is speculated that the Pelican is a pilotable vehicle in the upcoming map in the legendary map pack - Cottonball.