Covenant drop pod

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The Orbital Insertion Pod was a one-man Covenant-manufactured high-altitude deployment vehicle. It is roughly cylindrical in shape, but with two tapered, slightly angular ends. It is made of burnished cyan-purple metal, but has an opulent, white interior with a contour that conforms to the physique of a Covenant Elite. Upon impact with the ground, the pod splits into two halves, revealing the interior, and allowing the Elite inside to escape and move.

The Orbital Insertion Pod is a mode of transportation currently in use by the Covenant. When the Covenant decide to capture a planet rather than simply glassing it from orbit, they use orbital insertion pods to drop Elites to the planet’s surface as shock troops. Use of these pods is very hazardous, and is reserved only for critical situations, or when a surprise attack is necessary. It is theorized that the pods are coated with an energy shield to disperse heat, and are armored to withstand anti-air flak cannon fire. The vaguely coffin-shaped pods are small and cramped, with barely enough room for one Elite and his weapon, and there appear to be no restraints or other devices inside. It is probable that a stasis field holds the Elite safely in place during impact. Upon landing, the front of the pod blows off to allow exit, so the fronts are probably placed on the pod just before the drop.

Appearances
These pods made their first appearance in the Halo 2 level Outskirts and subsequently were evident around New Mombassa during The First Battle of Earth. They also appear in the levels Sacred Icon, Quarantine Zone, and Uprising as allies of Thel 'Vadamee.

They also appear in the Halo 3 level Floodgate, sent by the Shadow of Intent to aid Spartan-117 and Thel 'Vadam against the Flood infestation in Voi. The impact is hard enough to break the occupying Elite's energy shield, once it hits the ground.

Trivia

 * On Uprising, one may see that the occupant in an insertion pod will die on impact immediately after the hatch on the pod blows open, meaning that they are as dangerous as the SOEIV, although this could have been a glitch.
 * The first time the Covenant Orbital Insertion Pods were seen was during the Halo 2 Announcement Trailer, where Elites came down and openly challenged the Master Chief with lighted Energy Swords.
 * In Halo 3, there is a Drop Pod glitch where one may get into the pods on the level Floodgate when playing on Co-Op as the second, third, or fourth player (an Elite), provided the pods are not shot at all. If you approach one and hold the Right Bumper, you can jump into the pod, as if it were a vehicle.
 * The drop pods resemble ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, and the posture of the Elites inside, arms crossed, resemble too the posture of the mummified remains placed within the coffin.