VF-0A Phoenix

Model number: VF-0A
Code name: Phoenix
Unit type: limited pre-production variable fighter
Manufacturer(s): Northrop Grumman; Stonewell; Shinsei
Operator: U.N. Navy
Rollout: AD 2004
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 16.191 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); 3 x Shinnakasu ARR-2 maneuvering rocket motor
Performance: Fighter mode: maximum level atmospheric speed at 11,000 meters: Mach 2.74; cruising range 1,775 km (with dorsal conformal tanks); surface ceiling 25,000 meters
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 1.87
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
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; see VF-0A Phoenix “Angel”
Optional hand armaments: none

Throughout the development of the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter, U.N. Spacy created multiple testbed units to implement the new OverTechnology derived from the Macross. One of these testbeds was the VF-0 Phoenix, which began development with Northrop Grumman, Stonewell and Shinsei in 2002 and was manufactured from 2004-08. Several features from the VF-0, including SWAG energy conversion armor and the transformation mechanisms, became standard features in future variable fighters. (SWAG used surplus energy to triple the fighter’s strength in its humanoid Battroid mode.) As a testbed unit, the VF-0 lacked thermonuclear reaction engines, which were delayed for inclusion in the VF-1 series. As a result, it used conventional jet engines and fuel tanks. When the Anti-United Nations created a VF combat group, U.N. Spacy decided to arm the VF-0 and utilize it in battle. The VF-0A was the primary production model of the Phoenix series. Due to the use of standard jet engines, the VF-0A’s range was limited, which resulted in a small production run. The VF-0A’s armaments included a Gatling gun pod, a laser cannon and hardpoints for mounting missiles. The Super Pack under development for the VF-1 was not complete at the time of the VF-0’s deployment, but it could utilize a makeshift version by mounting additional missile and fuel tanks. In 2008, the VF-0A was deployed to the Mayan island in the South Pacific, where U.N. Spacy and the Anti-U.N. were competing for control of a mysterious Protoculture relic codenamed AFOS.

Pilot(s): Shin Kudo, Tim Baker
First appearance: Macross Zero
Original mechanical designer: Shoji Kawamori

GPU-9 35mm Gatling gun pod

Rear view (Battroid mode in Shin Kudo colors)

Rear view (GERWALK mode in Shin Kudo colors)

Underside view (Fighter mode in Shin Kudo colors)