Recon craft

A recon craft is a small alien ship with a disc-shaped fuselage and a large, orb-shaped cockpit in the center. It is manned by a crew of three, but can be piloted by just one person in a pinch.

Theta
In 2277, a recon craft, designated as Theta, was on a mission to Earth. Due to unknown causes, the ship crashed in the Capital Wasteland, north of Minefield and northwest of Greener Pastures Disposal Site, leaving the vehicle heavily damaged and the pilot dead. Some time later, the crashed recon craft began broadcasting a radio signal, the Recon Craft Theta Beacon.

Once the Lone Wanderer approaches the ship for inspection, (s)he is immediately abducted by the mothership Zeta. Shortly after the kidnapping, Theta is presumably beamed up for repairs by Zeta and stored in the vessel's hangar bays.

Unnamed recon craft
By 2281, another recon craft can be located north of Horowitz Farmstead in the Mojave Wasteland.

Appearances
The recon craft Theta can be found at the alien crash site in Fallout 3, and, later, in Zeta with the Fallout 3 add-on Mothership Zeta.

An unnamed recon craft can also be found at the Crashed Alien Ship in Fallout: New Vegas.