D75-TC Pelican

The D75-TC Pelican, formally the Dropship-75 Troop Carrier, was the first multipurpose aerospace dropship used by the UNSC. It was succeeded during the Human-Covenant War by the D77-TC Pelican.

Specifications
Although a revolutionary vehicle for its time, as the first of the Pelican series the D75 model was notably lacking in several areas compared to the dropships that would succeed it. Built with a first-generation FJ-1 hybrid ramjet-fusion drive, the D75 was capable of high speeds and able to comfortably conduct a return space-to-surface trip, but struggled with payload capacity. Vehicles over fifty-six metric tons in mass were heavy enough to throw off the Pelican's balance, enough so that troopbay capacity was sacrificed and slow and gentle flying was necessary to prevent it from entering an uncontrolled spin; for practical purposes, the M808 Scorpion MBT represented the upper limit of what it could carry. Similarly, it did not feature quality-of-life improvements found in its later descendants, such as the gravitic stabiliser of the D77 and so was noticeably rougher to fly.

Massing in at 106 metric tons, the D75 Pelican was over thirty tons lighter than the succeeding D77-TC model, and proved a remarkably easy aircraft to upgrade. Although it was never reengined, the UNSC over the course of its lifespan improved it with incrementally heavier armor schemes, new sensors and electronics hardened against electronic warfare, a full battlenet relay system and even missile pods, with the latter only being possible by cutting down on its fuel reserves. The final D75 Pelican clocked in at 124 metric tons, which was the maximum possible weight the airframe could take before it payload capacity had to be sacrificed.