Carrying the UNSC’s traditions of extreme reliability into the theatres of space and
aerial warfare, the D77-TC Pelican Dropship is the primary ship-to-ship and ship-to-surface
troop transport of the UNSC Fleet, as well as the most common means of rapid redeployment
for planetside fireteams and assault vehicles.
30.7 Meters long with a wingspan of 25.1 meters, the Pelican’s spaceframe is solid and well-armoured,
taking advantage of articulated engine mounts to quickly alternate between vertical and
horizontal flight.
The Dropship is able to carry 10 passengers, seated in its internal troop compartment or
fifteen standing and sitting, but should the craft be outfitted with a modular troop-deployment
pod, it’s passenger capacity is doubled, as well as providing additional protection
for its occupants.
The external mount to which deployment pods can be fixed, is more often used to transport
ground assault vehicles, allowing the pelican to carry a single Scorpion Tank, a single
Warthog Force Application Vehicle, or a cluster of eight Resupply Canisters.
Though not intended as an attack craft, the D77 carries a respectable complement of weapons
systems to provide close fire support for its assault teams, or to protect itself from
hostile space or aircraft.
Mounted at its chin, the Pelican carries an M370 Autocannon, loaded with 70mm Depleted
Uranium Slugs, the weapon is synced to the heads-up-display of the co-pilots helmet,
and can be quickly reoriented through 120 degrees to rapidly switch targets.
In addition to this, the dropship carries a pair of wing-mounted ANVIL-2 Rocket Pods,
allowing it to launch a volley of dumbfire missiles to supress the enemy and temporarily
clear a landing zone for its occupants.
Finally, the Dropship is equipped with a retractable hardpoint at the mouth of its troop compartment,
which can be loaded with a 51mm General Purpose Machine Gun, or a 25mm Grenade Launcher to
support ground forces as they disembark.
Following its introduction, the Pelican Dropship quickly became extremely popular, and numerous
subvarients of the craft were planned to fill more specific roles than the stock model.
First of these was the D77C Law Enforcement Pelican, a version of the D77 Dropship intended
for use by local Police Forces both on Earth and in various Human Colonies, most of these
police variants were armed only with a single door-gun, replacing the cannon and missile
pods which would be unnecessary in a civilian role, with advanced camera systems, thermal
imaging sensors and cable launchers for use in search and rescue.
The second of the D77’s subvarients was the G77S Pelican Gunship, an expensive subvariant
which boasted several anti-aircraft guns and large missile hardpoints, in addition to its
standard autocannon and rocket pods.
In the closing months of 2552, the D77 Pelican was replaced fleet-wide by a newer variant,
the D77H-TCI.
This version was extremely similar both visually and statistically to its predecessor, but
featured several subtle changes which served to expand the dropship’s mission profile.
The TCI variant carried the same number of passengers as its predecessor, but it’s
troop compartment’s layout was streamlined to allow a pair of Mongoose ATV’s to be
stored and quickly deployed from inside the Pelican.
The Dropship’s ANVIL Missile pods were also altered, building them into the structure
of the Pelican’s wings, rather than simply hanging them from wing-mounted hardpoints,
this provided an advantage in aerodynamics during atmospheric flight, as well as affording
the missile pods increased protection from enemy fire.
The Pelican Dropship has served as the primary troop transport and aerial assault craft of
the United Nations Space Command for over fifty years, and across its long career the
ship has garnered a proud reputation for extreme dependability and tactical value, carrying
troops safely into battle throughout various conflicts and through hazardous environments
across the breadth of known space, and more than earning its sobriquet as the “Warthog
of the Skies”