The Kestrel is a UNSC aircraft seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition disc that was cut from the game.
Trivia
- Since the Kestrel is an aircraft, it may have had weapons similar to the Hornet's defense systems, such as the machine gun and missiles. It may also have been used to transport troops quickly if it were to have a troop bay, much like modern helicopters.
- The name Kestrel was also that of a cargo ship in Halo: The Cole Protocol.
- It was placed by modders into custom maps available only to Halo: Custom Edition.
- The Kestrel may have been an early version of the Hornet or Hawk, as both are quite similar looking.
- The name Kestrel was found in the Halo Combat Evolved game code.
- Kestrel is also the name of the USS Kestrel, an aircraft carrier employed by the Osean Federation (a fictitious analogue to the United States) on the Ace Combat flight simulation series.
- The aircraft could possibly be named for the Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1, the direct forerunner and prototype of the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier jump-jet, the only VTOL jet currently in active service.