The Banshee (Pronounced 'ban-she) is the Covenant's standard ground assault aircraft. It is very fast, extremely maneuverable and in Halo 1 it is capable of hovering. It has two weapon pods mounted to either side of the fuselage. Each of these pods contains a light plasma cannon and a fuel rod cannon.[1] Though small arms fire may disrupt or disable the pilot (the SMG is very effective against it in Halo 2), only heavy weapons are capable of inflicting enough damage to destroy the vehicle.
The Banshee is propelled by small anti-gravity pods attached to its wings. These pods create the field that keeps it flying, and make wailing sounds as the craft maneuvers, thus the name "Banshee". The Banshee is also capable of space flight, as seen in several cutscenes in Halo 2.
In Halo 2, the Banshee's engines can be pushed to provide an excellent boost in speed, but at the cost of manueverability and weapon power. The Banshee also cannot hover any more, it has been replaced with a brake.
Although the Banshee is made for one pilot it is possible to have a team-mate stand on top of the banshee. It limits the agility of the banshee but it saves time and when in enemy territory you can drop the team-mate into enemy lines so the team-mate on the ground can start fighting on ground while the player in the banshee can fight from the air.
Deployment
The Banshee is always flown into battle by a pilot of some sort (usually an Elite or Brute).
The Banshee is set to be a vehicle again for Halo 3.
Sources
- ^ Halo: The Flood, page 51