Orca Aircraft

Generally only used by the GDI, the aircraft has appeared in different iterations throughout the main C&C series. In the original C&C, it was armed with 10 rockets (70mm Fang Missiles according to the instruction manual), which it would fire off two at a time, making it capable of attacking at most 5 targets before returning to the helipad for resupply. The missiles were primarily designed for anti-tank/vehicle operations, they would do little damage to infantry, but a group of Orca's could still take out buildings quite effectively.

C&C 1 promotional images depicted the Orca launching from trucks or mobile helipads, in the vein of the Mobile Contruction Vehicles. In the finished game (and it's sequels) only stationary helipad structures are available.

Later installments of the series added some variations, such as the Orca Bomber in Tiberian Sun, which was a bulkier and slower version of the Orca, instead armed with bombs which were incredibly effective against buildings and infantry, but less so against vehicles. Tiberian Sun also saw the introduction of the Orca Carryall, a transport craft that would transport GDI harvester units between the refineries and tiberium fields. The Carryall design suspiciously similar to that of Westwood's earlier Dune II/2000 games, and those of David Lynch's Dune movie.

In C&C 4 the Brotherhood of NOD got an equivalent aircraft named the Venom, using the same general design as the Orca.

The general look of the Orca has been relatively consistent throughout the Command & Conquer series (whose events span over about 50 years of in-game history, if we discount the Red Alert series which became an universe of it's own), featuring an helicopter like body, largely reminiscent of the Mil Mi-24, with two large jet engines on small struts on the sides.

8-Bit Armies, developed by Petroglyph Games, a studio founded by ex-Westwood employees has a homage to the Orca in the Guardian factions' drone aircraft designs.