Editing D77H-TCI Pelican

{{Era|HCW|Post}}
<center>''Were you looking for the [[D77-TC Pelican]], introduced in [[Halo: Combat Evolved]]? For the Pelican introduced in Halo 4, see [[D79-TC Pelican]].''</center>
{{Ship Class Infobox
|name = D77H-TCI Pelican
|image = [[File:H3 - D77H-TCI.png|300px]]
|model = D77H-TCI Pelican (Heavy/Infantry variant)
|class = Dropship/gunship
|manufacturer = Misriah Armories<ref>''Halo: Arms Race''</ref>
|modifier =
|sysmods =
|length = {{Convert|30.5|m|ft}}<ref name="ENC">'''''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''''', ''page 252''</ref>
*Troop Bay: 6.19 Meters (20.3 feet)
|width = Wingspan - {{Convert|23.4|m|ft}}<ref name="ENC"/>
*Troop Bay: 4.64 Meters (15.22 feet) 
|height = 10.0 meters (35.9 feet) (10.5 meters with landing gear)
*Troop Bay: 3.23 Meters (10.6 feet)
|mass =
|max speed space =
|max speed air =
|engine =
*Two main engines housed in middle section of ship
*Ten maneuvering thrusters housed in four vector pylons
|slipspace drive = None
|poweroutput =
|shield gen = Heat and radiation shielding to protect occupants 
|sensor =
|target =
|navigation =
|avionics =
|countermeasures =
|armament =
*One chin-mounted weapon (optional)
**Rotary machine gun<ref name="Halo 2">''[[Halo 2]]''</ref>
**[[M638 Autocannon|M638 20mm autocannon]]<ref name="Halo: Reach">''Halo: Reach''</ref>
**40mm chain gun<ref name="The Flood">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 39''</ref>
**[[70mm chain gun]]<ref name="The Flood"></ref>
*Two [[ANVIL-II Air-to-Surface Missile]] pods <small>(Six missiles per pod)</small>
*One rear-mounted AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
|complement =*One [[M808 Scorpion]] ''or''
*One [[M12 Warthog]] ''or''
*Four to six [[resupply canister]]s
;''and''
*One or two [[M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle]]s<small>(internally and externally)</small>
|crew = *One [[pilot]]
*One co-pilot
*One crew chief
|skeleton = One pilot with an [[Artificial intelligence|AI construct]]
|passengers = Ten seats in internal troop bay amidships, plus an additional five people sitting: (These numbers are doubled in case the ship carries a [[troop deployment pod]].)
|capacity = 70 tons on hoist (Anything over 35 tons slows speed considerably)
|othersystems =
|role = Dropship, [[wikipedia:Air Assault|air assault]]/[[wikipedia:Close Air Support|close air support]]
|commission = 
|firstsight = 
|era = [[Human-Covenant War]]<br>[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
|affiliation = United Nations Space Command
}}
The '''D77H-TCI Pelican''', formally known as the '''Dropship 77 Heavy-Troop Carrier/Infantry''' and more commonly known as the '''Pelican''', is a newer model of the [[D77-TC Pelican]] dropship. It appeared to have largely supplanted the original D77-TC model in the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] and [[UNSC Navy|Navy]], at least in the [[Battle of Earth|Earth]] theater of operations, by [[2552#November|late 2552]].<ref>'''Halo 3'''</ref>

==Specifications==
===Design details===
The D77H-TCI Pelican is the primary tactical support aircraft of the UNSC. Like the previous model, the D77H-TCI Pelican serves a multi-role purpose. The dropship is fully capable of atmospheric flight and can land almost anywhere without difficulty. It is also capable of limited spaceflight, making it the prime troop transport of the UNSC.

There are several interior and exterior design differences between the D77-TC and D77H-TCI models. Most notably difference is in the cockpit area. Instead of the pilot and co-pilot sitting next to each other, the co-pilot is seated behind and above the pilot, and the controls and instrument panels are rearranged and upgraded. A small [[holotank]] is installed in the cockpit, allowing an artificial intelligence to project its holographic [[avatar]] to the craft's pilots.

===Payload capacity===
There are also differences in the bay of the craft: the so-called "blood tray".<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 203''</ref> Although the D77H-TCI Pelican carries the same number of passengers as its predecessor, its troop-bay is more flexible, able to carry up to two [[M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle|M274 Mongoose ULATVs]] internally, in addition to ten passengers. Like the original models, the D77H-TCI's tail-mounted magnetic clamps are capable of carrying an [[M12 Force Application Vehicle|M12 Warthog FAV]], an [[M808 Main Battle Tank|M808 Scorpion MBT]], or several [[resupply canister]]s.

===Armament===
The D77H-TCI Pelican, like its predecessor, can be armed with a 40mm or [[70mm chain gun]], an [[M638 Autocannon|M638 20mm autocannon]], a rotary machine gun, or a pair of twin-linked rotary cannons. The Pelican is also able to mount a machine gun - typically an [[AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun]] - in its troop bay for supporting ground teams and covering the departure of its passengers, although this prevents it from carrying a vehicle internally. The D77H can also be equipped with [[ANVIL-II Air-to-Surface Missile]] pods; rather than being externally mounted to the wings, these pods are integrated seamlessly into the fuselage. The ANVIL pods can fire up to twelve missiles at once, six from each pod. A gunship version of the D77H is in service as well; this heavily armed version is equipped with more chainguns, missiles, and a large cannon mounted at the ventral-fore of the dropship.<ref>'''Halo 3''', multiplayer level ''[[High Ground]]''</ref>

===Propulsion===
The main engines are mounted in pairs in four nacelles, with one situated on each wing and two at the rear and posterior. The nacelles can articulate independently, thus altering the direction of thrust, referred to as vectoring in aviation; this improves the Pelican's low altitude maneuverability. Four ventral thrusters are identified by markings and a rendered thrust effect, one on each wing nacelle and one on each aft nacelle, allow the drop ship to land and take off vertically. These engines are capable of both space and atmospheric operation. It has eight jet intakes, three on each side and two on top, though intakes are obviously not able to function in a vaccuum. The D77H-TCI, like the D77-TC, 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.

{{Conjecturalization}}
The Pelican's wings seem too small to support the weight of the dropship, if not the payload alone. It is likely that the Pelican utilizes [[wikipedia:Lifting_body|lifting body]] principles, using its own hull to create most of the lift necessary for flight. It may also be that the Pelican partially relies upon thrust vectoring, as downward aiming jets can be seen on the bottom of the thruster mountings. It should be noted that small wings are very efficient for high-speed flight, as demonstrated by the [[wikipedia:F-104_Starfighter|F-104 Starfighter]]. It is also a benefit for operations in the upper atmosphere, especially re-entry, as was the case with the [[wikipedia:X-15|X-15]]. {{Conjecturalization End}}

===Law enforcement variant===
{{Main|D77C-NMPD Pelican Dropship}}
The ''D77C-NMPD'' is a variant of the D77H-TCI that was utilized by the [[New Mombasa Police Department]] in [[Kenya]], [[Africa]], on [[Earth]].<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us#/intel/theuniverse/tech/gallery/nmpd-pelican/a08fd318-4bef-4c32-9741-6d15b5f1180d?filter=all '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''D77C-NMPD Pelican'']</ref> It was differentiated from its military counterpart by a black and white color scheme, with the word "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, were various interchangeable sensors used by the police for aerial surveillance and crowd control. An AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun was typically mounted in the personnel bay of the D77C-NMPD, similarly to the D77 and D77H models.

==Identified Pelicans==
{{Pelican}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="160px">
File:Halo3-PelicanDropship.png|A detail fore view of the D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship's cockpit.
File:Pelican-Abrams Comparison.jpg|A demonstration of the troop bay's size.
File:Landfall Pelicans.jpg|D77H-TCI Pelicans under construction in ''Halo: Landfall''.
File:D77H-TCI Pelican Gunship.jpg|The D77H-TCI in ''Halo 3''.
File:1210810634 Gfs 63166 2 16.jpg|A frontal view of the D77H-TCI, affixed with ANVIL-II pods.
File:HRS D77H TCI Pelican Bottom.jpg|A bottom view of the D77H-TCI.
File:Pelican bay.jpg|The rear seats of a D77H-TCI Pelican.
File:Ark2.JPG|The cockpit of the D77H-TCI.
File:Pelican Cockpit.jpg|Another view of the cockpit.
File:1212438981 The Pit.jpg|D77H-TCI dropship outside ''[[The Pit]]''.
File:The Ark Pelican.jpg|A D77H-TCI dropping off two [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs]] on [[Installation 00]].
File:PelicanCrash-large.jpg|A crashed D77H-TCI on Installation 00.
File:PelicanOnCortana.jpg|A D77H-TCI crashed on ''[[High Charity]]''.
File:Pelicans5e_copy.jpg|A comparison of the D77H-TCI and the D77-TC.
File:HE12 Space Combat2.jpg|Several D77H-TCI along with [[Longswords]] during the [[mission to Ven III]].
</gallery>
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==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Landfall]]''
**''[[Halo: Arms Race]]''
**''[[Halo: Combat]]''
**''[[Halo: Last One Standing]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''<ref group="note">Though the ''Halo: Reach'' manual identifies the Pelican in the game as the D77-TC model, all Pelicans seen in-game have the same internal design as the D77H-TCI, notably including the tandem seating configuration. This is most easily seen in the level ''[[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Reach level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]''.</ref>
*''[[Halo: Spartan Assault]]''
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''

==Note==
<references group="note"/>

==Sources==
<references/>

{{UNSC Aircraft}}