Kez'katu-pattern Phantom

Were you looking for the Spirit-class dropship used in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars? Phantom The Type-52 Troop Carrier (abbreviated Type-52 TC), also known as the Phantom, is a type of dropship used by the Covenant. 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 most Covenant crafts. Compared to the Spirit, another type of Covenant dropship, the Type-52 is much more formidable.

Operation
The Phantom is roughly equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the Spirit dropship, Phantoms are designed to serve more as troop transports than cargo transports. Phantoms boast far superior firepower to that of their predecessors; they also have capability of reaching greater speeds and are more maneuverable than Spirits.

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 Type-52 Plasma Cannons. These could be folded into the dropship for environments that lack an atmosphere, although this greatly reduces its amount of available firepower, thus weakening it. In atmospheric combat situations, however, the secondary variant is superior to the first; the Type-52 Plasma Cannons boast a far higher rate of fire than the internally controlled turrets and fire faster-moving plasma bolts, and the new design allows the Phantom to fire in three directions at once, whereas the first model could only focus all three turrets on a single target.

The Phantom crew consists of a pilot, a 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 sixteen Covenant warriors could be carried inside the ship for Halo 2, while in Halo 3 it can transport up to twenty-seven 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 single Wraith. It could also carry Shades, Deployable Lookout Towers, and components of Anti-Aircraft Batteries to be assembled upon deployment.

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. 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.

Possessing three rapid firing plasma cannons makes 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 different color schemes both for the Phantom itself and the plasma bolts it fires.

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, a 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 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.

Operation
The Separatist Phantom, like the Loyalist Phantom, was roughly equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the Spirit, 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 - notably, 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 probably 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.

It is still unknown how effective 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 against UNSC fighters along with hit and run tactics.

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

 * The 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 Launchers' 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).
 * 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 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 and a cluster 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 them - for example, in Sierra 117, when you see Phantoms deploying, all of the troops aboard the Phantom simply 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 its lime-green color and its 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 of Halo 2, 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 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.
 * On the 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 - 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 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. The headlight also 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 Halo 2 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 proven false due to Halo Wars: Genesis and the fact that both the Spirit and Phantom appear alongside each other in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx and Halo: 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; it is possible that the Spirit retained its use as mainly a cargo transport while the Phantoms were usually assigned with troop transport, or that the Spirit was slowly being phased out of service. It has been suggested that perhaps the fleet that attacked Reach was equipped with prototype Phantoms, or conversely, that the Fleet of Particular Justice from Installation 04 had yet to replace their Spirits with Phantoms.
 * When a Wraith is being carried, it is invincible until dropped (except in Halo 2). This is best seen in the Halo 3: ODST mission, ONI Alpha Site. When the Phantoms comes around for the second wave, the player can fire his Spartan Laser at the Wraiths they carry. The Wraith can take four to five shots without being scratched until dropped.
 * In The Art of Halo, there is a Halo 2 Phantom render that has its side doors down and has 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