Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft Banshee Halo

“Banshees of legend warned of death, and today all UNSC veterans know the cry of this glittering alien terror.”

— Halo Encyclopedia

The Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft, more commonly identified as the Banshee, is an atmospheric craft that is typically used for reconnaissance, ground support, and ground attack missions. The front of the craft is lightly armored and while not particularly vulnerable to small arms, can be brought down easily by concentrated fire from infantry.

Specifications

In most designs, the cowling of the craft is purple in color and acts as an outer shell. It is equipped with two wings which terminate in a propulsion jet and an anti-gravity pod, leaving behind a signature vaporous exhaust trail while flying. The craft is capable of achieving velocities over 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) and reaching an altitude of up to 300 meters. The onboard propulsion system has the craft constantly in motion. In addition to its versatile design, the Banshee is capable of performing complex maneuvers, such as aileron rolls and flips.

Variants

The Banshee sports two weapon pods attached underneath the fuselage. One pod contains two Class-2 plasma cannons capable of firing in 100-250 kilowatts range, and the other contains Class-2 projectile launcher.

• T-26A: First Banshee type to be cataloged by ONI after the attack on Harvest.
• T-26AZ: Used only by select artifact hunting fleets within the Covenant, including Sesa 'Refumee's forces at the Threshold gas mine.
• T-26B: A more advanced Banshee type that was languished in pre-Human-Covenant war times. Once older Banshee models had been used up in the war by 2550, this model entered widespread service. Jul 'Mdama had commissioned large amounts of these made in the 

Post-war Era

• T-26BZ: An "ordained" Banshee deployed with Loka 'Bandolee's forces that were deployed with Sesa 'Refumee's.
• T-26C: The model that was part of Truth's fleet.
• Banished Variant: A model in service within The Banished faction in 2559.
• Additionally, there are two vehicles given the colloquial name 'Banshee', but which are entirely distinct models.

• T-27 XMF - A variant of the Banshee design modified for space combat.
• T-54 GSA - A post-war replacement for original the Type-26 Banshee, which was in low stock by 2558. It sports several improvements over its predecessor.

Control

Pulling the left trigger causes the Banshee to go into a momentary boost as indicated by the boost meter in the lower left hand corner of the screen. The weapon switch button switches between the plasma cannon and the fuel rod bombs. Pressing the Right Bumper while pushing forward on the left thumbstick causes the Banshee to do a short back flip while pressing back on the thumbstick causes it to do a long back flip. Pressing the Right Bumper and pushing left or right on the Right thumbstick will cause the Banshee to do an aileron roll in their respective directions.

Advantages

The Banshee's twin rapid fire plasma cannons are efficient at taking out individual infantry.
Boosting allows for quick entry and exit from combat situations or to catch up to a particular target.
Evasive abilities allow a pilot to outpace homing projectiles or opposing craft.
The Banshee is able to suppress enemy forces until backup arrives.
The Banshee's Fuel Rod shot can easily flip warthogs or mongooses, and can do sufficient damage to enemy infantry placements.

Disadvantages

The Banshee is lightly-armored and thus vulnerable to small arms fire.
The Banshee is also vulnerable to EMP devices, which can disable the craft.
The Rocket launcher can get a lock on the Banshee, and can easily home in on the craft and destroy it unless the pilot is aware and can evade.