Kez'katu-pattern Phantom

Were you looking for the Spirit-class dropship used in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars? Phantom The Covenant Type-52 Troop Carrier (abbreviated Type-52 TC), also known as the Phantom, was a much more formidable dropship than the previously seen Spirit in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars. In Halo 3, it boasted two Plasma Cannons, and an unnamed turret similar to one of a Shade's barrels. Phantoms are equipped with a miniature gravity lift; while the lifts can be used to deploy infantry, they are seldom used in Halo 3 -- with the deployment of Hunters being an exception, presumably due to their size. Instead, in hot landing zones, troops will quickly exit through the large doors on either side of the vehicle.

Phantoms also ferried vehicles such as the Wraith, Spectre, and Ghost to their intended drop zones. The crafts made their debut in Halo 2 and returned in Halo 3. They come in two different colors and types: the Separatist Phantoms are green, while the Loyalist Phantoms are the classic shade of bluish-purple found on many Covenant crafts.

Operation
The Phantom was roughly equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the Spirit Dropship, Phantoms serve more as troop transports than cargo transports. Each Phantom boasts superior firepower, which they use to clear the drop area of enemy forces. They also have capability of reaching greater speeds and are more maneuverable than their predecessors.

The Phantom was a substantial improvement over the Spirit, with a much sleeker and more robust design accompanying much higher offensive capabilities. It came in two separate versions, one of which featured three separate, fully rotational Plasma Cannons that served to barrage the enemy with cover fire while its payload of troops is deployed. Its second variant has the same chin-mounted turret, but swaps its internally controlled side-cannons for Stationary Plasma Cannons. These could be folded into the dropship for environments that lack an atmosphere, although this greatly reduces its amount of available firepower.

The Phantom crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, a navigator, and an operations officer who is in charge of the defensive Plasma Cannons. Troops inside were deployed from a Gravity Lift installed in the bottom of the ship or the openings on both sides. As many as 16 Covenant warriors could be carried inside the ship for Halo 2, while in Halo 3 it can transport up to 27 Covenant personnel, including Hunters. It also has the capability to take vehicles into battle which could be brought in these specific combinations: two separate Ghosts; two separate Brute Choppers; a single Spectre; or a Wraith. It could also carry Shades, Deployable Lookout Towers, and parts of an Anti-Aircraft Battery to be assembled upon deployment.

Phantom in Combat
The role of the Phantom was to transport squads of Covenant troops and/or vehicles to a combat zone with speed and efficiency. This tactic is known as Air Assault. It was capable of carrying Grunts, Jackals, Drones, Brutes, Elites and Engineers; it could also carry a pair of Hunters. They had 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 had become a 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.

Possessing three rapid firing plasma cannons make the Phantom a much more challenging adversary than the Spirit. However, the Phantom's turrets can be destroyed using ground turrets, vehicles, Rocket Launchers, and other similarly powerful weapons. It is fairly vulnerable to fire with the Rocket Launcher, 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 armored personnel carrier. The Phantom has been known to strike fear into their opponents when they are heard cruising over the battlefield, their approach foreshadowing a large assault on an area.

As their hull is heavily reinforced, Phantoms are almost invulnerable to small arms fire. In Halo 2, the Phantom was invincible and could not be destroyed. In Halo 3, the Phantom is destructible. The Phantom's weak spots are the two "engine bulbs" on both sides of the front of the Phantom, and the two tails in the back. The frontal bulb and the corresponding tail in the back seem to make up an engine in the Phantom. A Phantom will go down with four hits from a Fuel Rod Gun to one of the frontal bulbs or one of the tails, on any difficulty. The damage is tied between them, meaning two shots to the front and two to the back will take it down. Most other changes are superficial, including some new color schemes.

Separatist Phantom
The Separatist Phantom was a modified variant of the Phantom in use by the Covenant Separatist armed forces during the Great Schism. It differed little in terms of its usage, but it had several distinctions that separated it from its predecessor. They were almost always piloted by Sangheili -- if you destroy the Phantom on the level "The Covenant" at the third tower that drops the Arbiter off, an Sangheili corpse will fall from the nose section between the two "engine bulbs" of the phantom, which are most likely the cockpit. The Separatist Phantoms in Halo 3 were Marine Gunmetal Green as an open display of the Separatists' alliance with the humans, and emitted yellowish energy and green lights/strobes instead of the purplish energy emitted by the Loyalist Phantoms. There was no difference in the amount of damage the two separate Phantoms take. Separatist Phantoms also cloak on several levels, possibly indicating that they may have been a prototype within the Covenant, later perfected and put to use by the Covenant Separatists, The Sangheili.

Operation
The Separatist Phantom, like the Loyalist Phantom, was roughly equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the DX-class Dropship, this ship served more as a troop transport than a cargo transport. It was used by the Separatists for the transport of armed combat teams into combat zones -- Some Sangheili could be seen wearing assault armor when they exited the Phantoms. It made use of active camouflage generators to fade from sight, making them difficult to find and allowing them to continue to support ground teams even in heavy combat. Like newer versions of the original Phantom, the Separatist Phantom incorporated a chin-mounted Heavy Plasma Cannon, as well as two side-mounted Plasma Cannons to support ground forces and engage aerial threats.

The Separatists' use of the Phantom differed little from its Covenant counterpart, and it remained a troop transport intended to support ground forces. However, the inclusion of an Active Camouflage generator on such a scale meant that it was capable of better stealth, improving its effectiveness. Its green color scheme was used to differentiate it from the Loyalist Phantom, making it fit more into the UNSC Military Green decor. In the level The Covenant, if you get in the Separatist Phantom after you come out of the last tower, the ship will disappear, but you will fall off it as it speeds up flinging you out -- this, however, is more likely because Bungie did not want players riding on the Phantoms. This can be avoided by killing one of the elites on the plasma cannons and hopping onto it before you are flung to your death.

Combat Capabilities
The Separatist Phantom's primary purpose was as a troop carrier, delivering armed forces into combat zones, using its speed, maneuverability and armament to allow it to penetrate enemy lines, deliver its teams, and then provide close air support to the deployed forces. Its Heavy Plasma Cannon was capable of dealing with threats from light ground vehicles and airborne hostiles such as Banshees, and its side mounted turrets were used to fire on enemy infantry forces to support ground teams or cover them as they embark or disembark. It should also be noted that these Plasma Cannons and the platforms they mounted were generally folded up, similar to the other side entrances of Phantoms. This may have been to protect infantry from heavy fire that may otherwise kill off the troops in the cargo hold, or to achieve space flight and protect the occupants.

The Separatist Phantom was capable of deploying troops in a variety of ways. The sides of the hull protecting the passenger section were collapsible, allowing large numbers to disembark quickly in combat while covered by a gunner operating the Plasma Cannon. Alternatively, ground forces could be deployed from a ventrally mounted gravity lift, allowing the craft to deploy its passengers without landing and making itself vulnerable, though because only a single individual could deploy at a time this method was slower. It also rendered the dropped troopers vulnerable to sniper fire for a few seconds. the last alternate method of troop deployment is through the back, though this is now very uncommon, due to the convenience of the gravity lift and collapsible sides.

It is still unknown how affective the Phantom may be in space combat, but it may be used as a transport for raiding parties on UNSC ships and possibly facing off UNSC fighters along with hit and run tactics.

Phantom in Halo 3
The Halo 3 Phantom is now destructible, being vulnerable to Fuel Rod Cannons, AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun rounds, Missile Pods, Spartan Laser shots, M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher 's HEAT rockets and missiles fired from Hornets. It was, nevertheless, very durable and able to take up to four shots from a Scorpion tank (four Fuel Rod Cannon shots can take one down, as mentioned above under the combat section. Three hits from the Rocket Launcher could also do the job).

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST

 * 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 purple color, rather than a vivid red.
 * The Phantom is now fully destructible -- not just the turrets on the belly.
 * The Phantom delivers troops by opening side doors, not just by the gravity lift.
 * The Phantom no longer has three separate turrets -- they now have just one mounted on the front, and two Plasma Cannons manned by Grunts or Brutes (or Elites when manned by the Separatists) 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 engines make a different sound in Halo 3.
 * The main cannon's rate of fire is slower.
 * The two upper tail-like parts in the rear of the Phantom appear smaller.
 * 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.

Troop clamps
Troop clamps are equipment used by any Phantoms in Halo 3. They are best observed on the the Storm, when the first Phantom drops a Brute, a cluster and troop of Grunts and Jackals near the Missile Pod. They can only be seen via Theater Mode by pausing and moving the camera inside and out of the specific Phantom. It seems they are on the ceiling. The purpose of troop clamps is to launch infantry out of the gravity lift when deploying troops via the lift. They're only used during times when you are not supposed to see it -- like in Sierra 117 when you see Phantoms deploying, they all just jump out.

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 it's lime-green color and it's cloaking ability.
 * Some of the Phantoms in Halo 2 have their turrets folded into the Phantom because they don't need them at the moment. This can be seen on Uprising and The Great Journey. In the ending cutscene of Uprising, two Phantoms have their turrets folded in (one goes to drop off Tartarus with Miranda and the other goes to the bridge). Halfway through The Great Journey, you see the Phantom at the bridge with its turrets out.
 * 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 also seemed to have only one Plasma Cannon.
 * 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 made it invaluable to the Covenant's strike teams when engaging the Heretics and Flood as they sought to uncover the mysteries of Halo.
 * In Halo 3, the Phantoms used by the Arbiter and his Elites vanish right after taking off in the level The Covenant. This might indicate that the Phantoms have technology on board capable of cloaking the entire ship. Players can also enter this Phantom and walk around, but will fall to their death as the ship disappears.
 * On Halo 3 ' s Campaign level The Covenant, once on board the Phantom in single player where the Arbiter and 343 Guilty Spark leave, if you kill an Elite manning a Plasma Cannon, you can get on the turret. Then, when it flies away and cloaks, you will also cloak with it and not fall to your death. Dismounting or detaching the turret will decloak you, causing you to fall through the ship.
 * In Halo 3 it takes the same amount of hits from a Scorpion to destroy both a Phantom and a Wraith -- takes about four hits on Normal.
 * In Campaign Scoring charts, it counts as both a "Heavy" and a "Giant" vehicle.
 * In Halo 3, when you destroy the Heavy Plasma Cannon, in some cases, you will receive the "Used Car Salesman" achievement.
 * In Halo 3, if you destroy a Separatist Phantom, it will emit a green gas instead of the purple from the Covenant counterparts.
 * A Phantom has never been known to have been taken over by the Flood, although the UNSC's Pelican has in Halo 2, and the Spirit has in the Halo Graphic Novel.
 * 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 nearly 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. While it was cut from ODST, the headlight re-appears in Halo: Reach.
 * Oddly enough, in the Halo 3 E3 trailer, the Phantom seen makes the sound of a Hunter charging its Assault Cannon, or a Scarab in Halo 3 right before the final explosion it makes when destroyed.
 * In the E3 trailer the rear is open suggesting it was meant to have a rear door. This was later cut from the Halo 2 and in Halo 3 it was replaced with side doors.
 * While it was originally suggested that the Phantom replaced the Spirit, this appears to be false due to Halo Wars: Genesis and the fact that both the Spirit and Phantom appear in Reach. The appearance of both of them in Reach may mean that the Phantom and Spirit have different functions than one another despite both being troop transports.