Kez'katu-pattern Phantom
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
The term Phantom is given to the dropships in Halo 2. Phantoms are the Covenant's equivalent of a Pelican class human dropship, boasting far superior firepower and the capability of reaching greater speeds and maneuverability. The Phantom class dropship appears to have replaced the original Spirit dropship which was seen in Halo: Combat Evolved, an obsolete fork-shaped design which contained 4-6 troops in each of its "prongs" as well as a Plasma Cannon at the point where the "prongs" met.
The Phantom is a vehicle from Halo 2 and is featured in Halo 3. It was seen in the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer.
Role
The Phantom is a substantial improvement from the original dropship, fitted with a much sleeker and more robust design and higher offensive capabilities. Equipped with three Plasma Cannon positions formed in a triangular shape along the underside of the dropship, it poses a very formidable firebase against ground troops and is reasonably capable of engaging aircraft. However, it is fairly vulnerable to fire from Marines carrying the new lock-on Rocket Launcher, and a single blast from a Scorpion tank to the underside of the Phantom can easily neutralize its offensive abilities, reducing it to little more than an aerial APC. Fortunately, its hull is heavily reinforced making it almost invulnerable to infantry fire.
In Halo 2, the role of the Phantom is to transport units of Covenant troops to a combat zone with speed and efficiency. It is capable of carrying up to 14 Covenant troops, which are usually Grunts, Jackals, or Elites, it can also carry a couple of Hunters, or carrying 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 became an increasing hindrance to the UNSC Special Forces as they tried to repel the Covenant from New Mombasa. Their use across Delta Halo were also particularly devastating, especially to units which were not equipped with anti-vehicle weapons.
It was also noticeable that the Brute Chieftain Tartarus spent most of his time pursuing the Arbiter in a Phantom, the ship's capability of travelling 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.
The Phantom crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, a navigator, and an operations officer who is in charge of the three plasma turrets located on the underside of the Phantom. It deploys troops through a hole on the bottom, and it can reverse into a gravity lift for picking up troops. This is seen in the level "The Oracle" in Halo 2, if you follow the covenant when they leave in the beginning. In the E3 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".
If you want to see a good view of the back of a phantom, then go to the level High Charity after everything is dead. Go to the far end. There is 1 docked Phantom. But there is an invisible wall so you cant hop on it. You can also get a good look at a Phantom during the level Great Journey. When you get to the bridge which has Jackals and Drones, simply use your active camo and run through them without fighting. Later in the level, when you're in a Banshee, heads toward the door which Johnson blows open, then head to the left, circling around to the bridge you skipped. There you will see a Phantom facing the bridge, it will attack you, but you should be able to disable its guns easily. The Phantom will not move other than to look at you, and will not fly away, giving you a good chance to examine it up close.
