Kez'katu-pattern Phantom

Phantom The Type-52 Troop Carrier (abbreviated Type-52 TC), otherwise known as the Phantom, is a much more formidable drop ship than the previously seen Spirit. It boasts one Plasma Cannon and two fixed Plasma Turrets in Halo 3. In Halo 3, Phantoms no longer have to drop troops via the mini grav-lift. In hot landing zones troops will deploy through large exits on either side of the vehicle for speed, although Mgalekgolo are apparently always deployed through the grav-lift. It also ferries vehicles such as the Wraith, Spectre, and Ghost to their intended drop zones. The Phantom is far sturdier and more heavily armed than the Spirit drop ship. It made its debut in Halo 2 and it returned in Halo 3.

Operation
The Covenant Loyalist Phantom is analogously equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the Spirit Dropship, this ship serves more as a troop transport than a cargo transport. Each Phantom boasts superior firepower and the capability of reaching greater speeds and maneuverability than its sister vessel.

The Phantom is a substantial improvement from Spirit, with a much sleeker and more robust design accompanying much higher offensive capabilities. It comes in two separate versions, one of which features three separate, fully rotational Plasma Cannons that serve to barrage the enemy with cover fire while its payload of troops is deployed. Its second variant has the same chin-mounted Plasma Cannon, but changes its internally controlled side-cannons for Grunt-manned Stationary Plasma Turrets. These can be folded into the Dropship for environments that lack an atmosphere, greatly reducing 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 are deployed from a Gravity Lift installed in the bottom of the ship. As many as 16 Covenant warriors can be carried inside the ship. It also has the capability to lift vehicles into a battle zone, including two separate Ghosts, two separate Brute Choppers, a single Spectre, or a Wraith. It can also carry Shade Turrets, Deployable Lookout Towers, and parts of an AA battery.

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 an increasing hindrance to the UNSC Special Forces as they attempted 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. In Halo 3, the Phantom is destructible and now has only one cannon located on the front of the vehicle and two portable plasma cannons on the sides. 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 4 hits from a Fuel-Rod Cannon to one of the frontal bulbs or one of the tails, on any difficulty. It is unknown if the damage is tied between them, meaning if 2 shots to the front and 2 to the back will take it down. Most other changes are superficial, including some new color schemes.

Separatist Phantom
The Separatist Phantom is a modified variant of the Type-52 Troop Carrier Phantom Dropship in use by the Covenant Separatist armed forces during the Great Schism. It differs little in terms of its usage, but it has several distinctions that separate it from its predecessor. They are almost always piloted by Elites. If you destroy the phantom on the level "The Covenant" at the third tower that drops the Arbiter off, an Elite's Corpse will fall from the nose section between the two "eyes" of the phantom which are most likely the cockpit. The Separatist Phantoms in Halo 3 are Marine gunmetal green, and emit yellowish energy and green lights/strobes instead of the purplish energy emitted by the loyalist phantoms.

Operation
The Separatist Phantom, like the Covenant Phantom, is roughly equivalent to the UNSC Pelican Dropship in terms of function and performance. Unlike the Spirit Dropship, this ship serves more as a troop transport than a cargo transport. It is used by the Separatists for the transport of armed combat teams, primarily composed of Sangheili infantry, into combat zones. It makes 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 incorporates 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 differs little to its Covenant counterpart, and it remains a troop transport intended to support ground forces. However, the inclusion of an active camouflage generator on such a scale means that it is capable of better stealth, improving its effectiveness. It's green color scheme is used to differentiate it from the Loyalist Phantom, and making it fit more into the UNSC Military Green decor.

Combat Capabilities
The Separatist Phantom's primary purpose is 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 is capable of dealing with threats from light ground vehicles and airborne hostiles, such as Banshees, and its side mounted turrets are used to fire on enemy infantry forces to support ground teams or cover them as they embark/disembark.It should also be noted that these plasma cannons and the platforms they are mounted on fold up, similar to the other side entrances of Phantoms. This may be 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 Phantom's only weakness is directly above it, where no guns strafe from enemy fire.

The Separatist Phantom is capable of deploying troops in a variety of ways. The sides of the hull protecting the passenger section are collapsible, allowing large numbers to disembark quickly in combat while covered by a gunner operating the plasma cannon. Alternatively, ground forces can 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 can deploy at a time this method is slower. It also renders the dropped troopers vulnerable to sniper fire for a few seconds.

Phantom in Halo 3
The Halo 3 Phantom is also 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 missiles and rockets fired from Hornets. It is nevertheless very durable, able to take up to four shots from a scorpion tank. (Four fuel rod shots from the Fuel Rod Cannon can take one down, as mentioned above under the combat section. Three rockets from the Rocket Launcher can also do the job.)

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3

 * The shots a Phantom fires are now a purple color, rather than red.
 * The Phantom is now destructible, not just the turrets.
 * The Phantom delivers troops by opening a side door, not by grav lift.
 * The Phantom now has two Plasma Turrets on either side.
 * The Phantom no longer has three separate turrets but instead just one on the front.

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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 bunch of Grunts and Jackals near the Missile pod. They can only be seen via theater mode by pausing and moving the camera inside the Phantom. The purpose of troop clamps is unknown but it is speculated that they are used to prevent small enemies, such as Grunts, from being sucked out the Grav lift when deploying troops via the lift. But because of their use only during times when you are not supposed to see it (Like in Sierra 117, when the Phantoms deploy troops they all just jump out), it is speculated that they are just there for ease of enemy AI use.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Humans
 * Grunts
 * Jackals
 * Brutes
 * Hunters
 * Drones
 * Monitors

Appearances
Phantoms are never seen in Halo:Combat Evolved, and are seen in certain levels of Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Halo 2

 * Outskirts
 * Metropolis
 * The Arbiter
 * Oracle
 * Delta Halo
 * Regret
 * Sacred Icon
 * Quarantine Zone
 * Gravemind (Cutscene)
 * Uprising (Cutscene)
 * High Charity
 * The Great Journey

Halo 3

 * Sierra 117
 * Crow's Nest
 * Tsavo Highway
 * The Storm
 * Floodgate
 * The Ark
 * The Covenant

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.
 * In Halo 2, the Phantoms are not destructible, however one may destroy the three plasma turrets on the underside, as well as the "eyes".
 * 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 ships. The player can also enter this Phantom and walk around but will fall to their death as the ship disappears.
 * The Halo 2 Phantom was specifically designed to be almost impossible to board. The Halo 3 Phantom is able to be boarded in a variety of scenarios, levels, and ways.
 * On the Covenant level in Halo 3, once on board the Phantom in single player where the Arbiter and 343 Guilty Spark leave in, if you kill an elite on a turret, 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.
 * In the Halo 2 level Metropolis when you encounter the first Phantom, you can make it wobble and hinder it from flying away, only for a few seconds, when you shoot it. Phantoms were probably given "destruction animations" such as that observed in the demo.
 * The Separatist Phantom is the only Separatist craft seen distinctive from its Covenant counterparts. Separatist capitol ships appear little different, and other vehicles have yet to be seen. There is now a picture of a Separist Spirit at the Spirit page under trivia.
 * The Separatist Phantom also has a greenish color on the back flaps instead of the usual blueish.
 * In Halo 3, in the Pelican hangar in Crow's Nest, the side hatches of the enemy Phantoms are shut. However, in the Theater you can still move the camera inside the Phantom through the grav lift, and from here it is shown that the Covenant forces that come down aren't in the ship to begin with, or use the troop clamps, but simply materialize inside it, and sort of "fly" into the grav lift.
 * In the level The Ark, it is revealed that Phantoms are used to help construct Anti-Aircraft Batteries.