VF-0S Phoenix Reactive Armor

Model number: VF-0S
Code name: Phoenix Reactive Armor
Unit type: limited pre-production commander type 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; PWS-0X reactive 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 (PWS-0X reactive armor purged): 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
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: 2 x Mauler laser cannon, mounted on head; Howard 3-barrel GPU-9 35mm Gatling gun pod, mounts 550 rounds, can use armor-piercing AHEAD ammunition, hand-carried in Battroid mode
Optional fixed armaments: 50 x micro-missile, mounted in launchers on shoulders and chest
Optional hand armaments: none

The VF-0S Phoenix Reactive Armor was a heavy armor configuration of the VF-0S Phoenix. The PWS-0X Reactive Armor parts and thrusters were attached all over the VF-0S’ body, which limited operation to Battroid mode. The armor protected the VF-0S by explosively reacting to enemy fire. However, parts of the armor that had previously been hit were weak to further attack, thus leading to the armor often being purged. Two large boosters were mounted on the backpack, plus a total of four micro-missile launchers mounted in the chest and shoulders. Six hand grenades were also stored in the skirt armor. During the Bird Human Incident in 2008, ace pilot Roy Focker used the VF-0S Reactive Armor to defend the carrier Asuka II from an Anti-U.N. attack led by his former comrade, D.D. Ivanov. Other forms of protective armor were used by later units, and by 2059, the concept was refined so that a variable fighter was capable of transforming into all three modes while equipping extra armor.

Pilot: Roy Focker
First appearance: Macross Zero
Original mechanical designer: Shoji Kawamori

Cockpit

GPU-9 35mm Gatling gun pod

Rear view