Vertibird

"The Vertibird. Also known as the VB-02 Vertical Take OFf and Landing... or the VTOL, and/or the XVB02. We will save it for Skye to be the pilot of this chopper, in which she could pilot, because since her piloting was very good, I know she will use this for herself when it comes to piloting. I love this type of helicopter. It is my favorite. I wonder if I could use it?"

--Su Ji-Hoon, The Dogfight

The VB-02 Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) craft, alternatively called the XVB02, codenamed "Vertibird," is a US military multipurpose tiltwing aircraft designed for the United States Armed Forces in the years leading up to the Last Day, an event which changed the face of the world forever.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, and unlike in Fallout, it entered full-service, as ordered by Lily Loud, with numerous models were disseminated into various federal and private applications, and saw use in armed conflicts across the globe.

It is invented by Ruby Ramirez (Rusty Rivets), the leader of the Preschool Girls.

Background
The Vertibird, in the Fallout universe, and despite still looking in the prototype phase when the Great War struck in 2077, preventing it from entering full military service which was scheduled for 2085, in the Fallout world, it is offically in full service, as ordered by Lily Loud, the Commander of the United States of America. As evidenced by the crashed Vertibird on the roof of the Museum of Freedom an early prototype or version of the Vertibird seems to have been in use by the United States Armed Forces just prior to the Great War, though how widespread this use was is unknown. It appears the Commonwealth Coast Guard was also in possession of one before the war, as a destroyed Vertibird with Coast Guard insignia can be found at the Coast Guard Pier. Additionally, one flies over Sanctuary Hills just as the sirens sound in Boston, ordering the evacuation to Vault 111 by megaphone.

That Vertibirds were in use is further supported by the appearance of a prototype Vertibird with winterized camouflage during the Operation Anchorage simulation dropping U.S. troops before taking off again. However, whether any Vertibirds were ever used during the Alaskan reclamation is uncertain as General Constantine Chase was known to implement his own, fictional content to the simulation.

Following the war, the trial aircraft that were already produced and in the field were seized by Enclave members and loyalists and either transferred to their bases or secured in shelters. The Enclave began mass-producing the design in secret, and now the Vertibird is the general-purpose delivery vehicle of the Enclave's military forces. Capable of surgical insertions, extractions and close air support alike, the Vertibird is synonymous with the Enclave in general, and a good representative of their power as a whole.

Design
The Vertibird has a heavily armored fuselage and can be outfitted with a variety of offensive weapons and defensive countermeasures, the most common being gatling lasers, missile racks, and a mini nuke bay. It is unknown how a Vertibird is powered, however, dialogue with the Enclave remnants suggest that it runs on some kind of fuel. It has a winch that can haul several tons of equipment - or a large deathclaw cage. There are two known versions of the craft used by the Enclave:
 * A transport-oriented version with a glass canopy, six legs, a large cargo bay, and seven blades on each rotor to provide extra lift. This was the variant used before the Destruction of Control Station ENCLAVE.
 * A dedicated gunship version with a more heavily armored hull, four-bladed rotors and four retractable landing struts as well as greater maneuverability. This is the variant in use by the Enclave Remnants and the Enclave operating in the Capital Wasteland. This is the variant seen after the Destruction of Control Station ENCLAVE.

There is one known model used by the pre-war United States Armed Forces and Arthur Maxson's Brotherhood of Steel: