VF-0A Phoenix “Angel”

Model number: VF-0A
Code name: Phoenix “Angel”
Unit type: limited pre-production variable fighter
Manufacturer(s): Northrop Grumman; Stonewell; Shinsei
Operator: U.N. Navy
Rollout: September AD 2008
First deployment: September AD 2008
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard canopy-style cockpit
Dimensions: overall height 14.0 meters (Battroid mode); overall length 18.69 meters (Fighter mode)
Weight: empty 21.858 metric tons
Armor materials: space metal material frame; titanium/carbon composite outer shell; AWAG/RA 105 SWAG energy conversion armor
Powerplant: 2 x EGF-127 custom overtuned conventional turbofan jet engine, power output rating unknown
Propulsion: 2 x 91.08 kN, 2 x 148.9 kN (afterburner); 305.65 kN, 602.55 kN (with QF-2200D-B Ghost); 3 x Shinnakasu ARR-2 maneuvering rocket motor
Performance: Fighter mode: maximum level atmospheric speed at 11,000 meters: Mach 2.74; 1,100 km (with QF-2200D-B Ghost); surface ceiling 25,000 meters
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 2.81
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; AN/ALE 55 flare and chaff dispenser system; AN/ALQ 220A IDECM. ASS/PS 110 active stealth system; wing hardpoints; QF-2200D-B Ghost
Fixed armaments: Mauler laser cannon, mounted on head; Howard 3-barrel GPU-9 35mm Gatling gun pod, mounts 550 rounds, can use armor-piercing AHEAD ammunition, stored under main body in Fighter mode, hand-carried in Battroid and GERWALK modes
Optional fixed armaments: 12 x Raytheon Bifors AIM-200A AMRAAM 2 I/ALH-guided medium-range air-to-air missile, mounted on hardpoint; 4 x GH-28A 8-tube micro-missile launcher, mounted on hardpoint; 2 x HAIM-95A medium-range maneuverability missile launcher pod; 24 x Raytheon Erlikon GH-30B I/IR-guided micro-missile, mounted on hardpoint
Optional hand armaments: none

One of the key features of the VF-1 Valkyrie was the ability to extend its range and supplement its armaments through the use of the Super Pack. However, development on the Super Pack was incomplete when the VF-0 Phoenix was pressed into combat in 2008 during the Bird Human Incident in the South Pacific. When Shin Kudo’s VF-0A needed an upgrade to combat the Anti-U.N. forces, the mechanics on the carrier Asuka II created a makeshift Super Pack configuration that was later dubbed “Angel.” The Angel configuration used the fuel and missile tanks under development for the Super Pack, and an unmanned QF-2200D-B Ghost drone was mounted on the VF-0A. While the addition of the Ghost increased the VF-0A’s overall weight, afterburner thrust saw a 90 percent jump. However, adding the Ghost and the missile/fuel tanks affected the fighter’s aerodynamics and exceeded the abilities of the computer control system, and thus required a skilled pilot. At the end of the conflict over the Protoculture relic known as the AFOS, Shin launched in his VF-0A Phoenix “Angel,” along with Roy Focker in a similarly customized VF-0S Phoenix “Angel”.

Pilot: Shin Kudo
First appearance: Macross Zero
Original mechanical designer: Shoji Kawamori

GPU-9 35mm Gatling gun pod

Rear view (Battroid mode)

Rear view (Fighter mode)

Rear view (GERWALK mode)