In-flight mechanic:-  In some levels there are little tank-like units that remain stationary. These are the units that shoot out the lightning and repair structures. They cannot move on their own, but you can pick them up to place them anywhere and they will slowly repair any nearby units or structures. If you pick one up and fly around with it, whenever you take on damage it will fix your ship. Be careful though, because any enemies that may shoot at you from below could hit it, and they cannot repair themselves. However, sometimes it better to leave them near your base so they will repair things as needed.

In-flight artillery:-  If you need a little extra firepower for your ship, look for a tank and pick it up. As long as you are holding the tank, it will act like a rotating turret for your ship and fire upon any enemy units that get within its range. The tank's cannons will rotate 360 degrees so it can attack enemies all around you. This is very useful if you do not want to deal with having to make constant manoeuvres to avoid being hit by an enemy that is tailing you.
Sent in by Kata

Get Tanks  -  On Mars you will see 3 bases. 2 of them make tanks by sending colonists there.

Gameshark codes

(M) Must Be On 0E3C7DF21853E59E  EE9B66CABCCC335A
Infinite Lives CE48A33ABCA9C292
Max Credits DE48A3C6C19E7B82
Max Colonists Saved C1406BF6BCA9C292
No Colonists Killed C1406A8EBCA99B83
No Colonists Mutated C1406AFABCA99B83
Big Kill Bonus D1406BDAF7436482
Massive Total D1406BDEF7436482