Technical aspects and importance of the D77-TC Pelican Halo

The Dropship 77-Troop Carrier, abbreviated D77-TC, or more commonly known as the Pelican, is an extremely versatile aircraft used by the UNSC. Used mainly for medium-lift operations of various personnel, vehicles and equipment, it can also be used as a powerful support gunship.

Class History

Sometime before 2501, the D77 was commissioned.

Human-Covenant war

The D77's usage during the Human-Covenant war was as early as the Harvest Campaign. More would appear during the Battle of Arcadia,[8] and the Battle of Shield 0459.

Design

The D77-TC Pelican is mainly used for the rapid insertion and extraction of ground troops. They may deliver vehicles and vital equipment to the battlefield when required. The D77-TC has been in service for over fifty years, and is the primary tactical support aircraft of the UNSC. The Pelican is a multi-role aircraft; it is fully capable of atmospheric flight and can land almost anywhere without difficulty.

The Pelican is also capable of limited spaceflight, which the UNSC uses as a primary method of delivering troops to the surface from orbit. Standard armament consists of one Class III externally powered projectile weapon at the bow of the craft, and one Class I gas-operated projectile weapon mounted at the rear, in the extended crew area. More heavily armed variants do exist, with multiple and more powerful weapons.

The D77-TC also features motion trackers

Armament

Standard armament consists of a chin-mounted 40mm rotary cannon which was common prior to 2525, but was later superseded by a 70mm chaingun. These weapons are usually controlled by the pilot's helmet so that it would aim in the direction of the pilot's view, similar to the 21st-century TADS/PNVS found on Apache gunships or the HUD system in a SPARTAN's armor. Some dropships boasted twin chainguns firing depleted uranium rounds.

Missile pods, each holding eight ANVIL-II ASMs, can be mounted under each wing to engage more maneuverable or better protected targets. Fire control is typically delegated to the copilot, who is assisted by a helmet-mounted display. An M247 GPMG or a 25mm grenade launcher can be mounted facing out of the rear cargo hatch; the weapons can be folded flat against the roof of the internal bay when not in use by the crew chief or a passenger.

Propulsion

The main engines are mounted in pairs in four nacelles, one on each wing and two at the rear. The nacelles can articulate independently, thus altering (i.e. vectoring) the direction of thrust and improving the dropship's low altitude maneuverability. Six ventral thrusters, two on each wing nacelle and one on each aft nacelle, allow the Pelican to land and take off vertically. These engines are capable of both space and atmospheric operation. The D77, although fully capable of orbital insertion, is too small to be equipped with a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, and thus is incapable of slipspace travel.

The wings mounted on a Pelican seem extremely small, too small to support the weight of dropship and payload alone. It is speculated that it incorporates at least some lifting body principles, its own hull providing most of the lift necessary.

Payloads

The Pelican is capable of carrying passengers and cargo using a combination of internal and external methods.

The large aft overhang gives an attachment point for additional cargo and ordnance. Possible payloads include a Troop Deployment Pod, a Scorpion Tank, a Warthog, eight Resupply Canister Type-B Capsules, or a Portable bridge.

D77s are not rated to carry combat vehicles in whole from space to the surface of planets. Instead, if they are needed to make such deliveries, they must carry down crated portions of the vehicles and reassembled near the operational area.

Capacity

The main compartment of the Pelican (sometimes called the "Blood Tray") has capacity for 15 people (10 sitting, 5 standing). Other variants have displayed the ability to hold considerably more as demonstrated. For example, the SPARTAN-II's were assigned a specialized Pelican, which was able to hold an entire team of twenty five, as well as fitting cutting gear to board a Covenant warship. Three Pelicans used for the SPARTAN-III Program carried 300 children, though this may have been because of numerous trips back and forth from the surface.

The maximum payload of a Pelican is seventy tons.

Variants

• H3 - D77H-TCI - D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship: In many ways the D77H-TCI is similar in appearance to the plain D77, except for being more angular. Internally, though, the craft has been renovated and it can store equipment in overhead netting. The cockpit has been altered, and instead of the side-by-side positioning of the pilot and copilot, the pilot now sits at the fore of the dropship, with the co-pilot behind him/her, and at a higher position, in tandem.
• D77C-NMPD Pelican Dropship - D77C Dropship: A paramilitary variant for use in urban areas.
• D77C-NMPD Pelican Dropship: A variant of the D77C, operated by the New Mombasa Police Department, it is differentiated from its military counterpart by a black and white colour scheme, "POLICE" replacing the traditional "MARINES" on the external hull, and a noted lack of armament. Under the craft's chin, where a machine gun turret or autocannon would normally be installed, are various interchangeable sensors used by the police for aerial surveillance and crowd control.
• HW2 Blitz PelicanGunship G77S Gunship: A combat oriented gunship design present on the UNSC Spirit of Fire in 2559.

Naming

Pelicans receive serial numbers to be identified by during radio transmissions, particularly in combat situations. Each serial number consists of a letter from the Phonetic Alphabet followed by a number. Though a few Pelicans have this number inscribed on their cargo bays, most have no distinguishing mark on their exteriors. It is unclear how the numbers are chosen, but with their spread across the alphabet and numerals, it can be inferred that a very large number of Pelicans are in service, perhaps as many as 26,000.