Ru'swum-pattern Phantom

This article is about the Phantom used by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant in Halo 4. For other Phantom models, see Phantom. The Type-44 Troop Carrier (T-44 TC), commonly known as the Phantom, is a Covenant dropship and gunship manufactured by Achoem Weapons. It was largely replaced by the Type-52 Phantom later in the Human-Covenant War in 2552, although after the war the T-44 has seen use by the disparate Covenant remnants.

Design details
The Type-44 Phantom's prominence was due to its speed, maneuverability, and firepower in atmospheric and exoatmospheric environments. It was favored by the Covenant for its armor's resilience in numerous environmental conditions. Due to these beneficial factors, the Type-44 Phantom became one of the most significant vehicles deployed by the Covenant during assaults or occupations of hostile sites. In the last year of the Human-Covenant War it was supplanted by a newer model, the Type-52 though many Covenant troops never used the newer model. Currently, the Type-44 Phantom is the most common version of the Phantom. Jul 'Mdama's Covenant used the Type-44 as their primary dropship, due to the scarcity of the T-52 after High Charity's destruction. The Type-44 Phantom's payload capacity is similar to that of the Type-52. The Type-44 can transport twenty to thirty soldiers, as well as at least two Type-26 Banshees or Type-32 Ghosts, or just one Type-26 Wraith. Despite the strength of its armor, the UNSC's G79H-TC Pelican was capable of besting a Type-44 Phantom in combat.

The Type-44 Phantom additionally is equipped with a long boarding umbilical that can be extended from the dropship to connect to the hull or glass windows of another vessel, allowing the Phantom to fulfill a role that is somewhat similar to that of the Type-28 boarding craft. Once the umbilical forms a connection with a vessel, it will breach the material, depressurizing the room that is being breached until a rapidly deployed force field seals the breach.

Armaments
The weaponry of a Type-44 Phantom is similar to its successor, the Type-52. The Phanton's reasonably distributed firepower was another reason for its prominence. Its primary armament is one Type-44 Directed Energy Weapon/M plasma autocannon and its secondary armament is two Type-52 plasma cannons. The plasma cannons are typically manned by Unggoy troops.

Trivia

 * During the level Composer, in the hangar, if the player activates the barrier while a Phantom is still inside the station, the vehicle will explode once it comes in contact with the barrier.
 * In Halo 4, if the player tries to board a Phantom or drop pod, they will fall through the floor. This is probably because the floor is not programmed to be walked on.
 * In Halo 4, if the two plasma gunners and the main gun are destroyed, the Phantom is usually destroyed. This can be seen on the Spartan Ops mission Science Mountain, by shooting the red arrows on the Phantoms with a Scorpion, however in missions such as The VIP the guns can be blown off without affecting for the most part the dropship or its occupants.
 * According to Lieutenant TJ Murphy in Escape Plan, it is not hard to hijack a Phantom. Utilizing a Covenant console in "Lockup," Miller proved to be able to hack the security systems on one of the dropships and bring it under his control in just a few minutes time.
 * Some phantoms, particularly those on Shutdown and Shootout in Valhalla, fire unusually fast, possibly for balance against vehicles.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo: Collateral Damage