The D20 Heavy Lift Vehicle, originally designed to deploy colony starter units during humanity's Colonial Era, fills a unique niche on the battlefield. Nicknamed ''Big Brick'' by UNSC personnel, The D20 Heron can airlift entire base modules from orbit to a planet's surface, or deploy troops and armor en masse if needed. Despite its massive size, the Heron is surprisingly maneuverable due to the four outboard nacelles. Each nacelle contains a fusion drive and can swivel and pivot independently of the main hull. Four additional fusion drives are mounted to the craft's rear, providing an impressive amount of forward thrust both in atmosphere, and in a vacuum.

Controls: also in craft instructions

Pitch/Roll/Yaw: Standard Control Schemes, (See AG8 for details)

Throttle: Lift Engine Power (around 85% will allow a gentle takeoff)

VTOL: Forward/Reverse Thrust (Overrides lift engine pitch controls regardless of flight mode)

AG8: Switch Flight Mode
*AG8 ON: Hover Mode (gyroscopic stabilizer will keep the craft level, Lift engines will swivel with Pitch/Roll/Yaw)
*AG8 OFF: Forward Flight Mode (craft will handle like fixed wing aircraft, Lift engines will swivel with Pitch/Yaw)