VF-X-4

Model number: VF-X-4
Code name: none
Unit type: prototype main variable fighter
Manufacturer: Stonewell Bellcom
Operator: U.N. Spacy
Rollout: January AD 2012
First deployment: January AD 2012
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard canopy-style cockpit
Dimensions: overall height 3.72 meters (Fighter mode); overall length 14.92 meters (Fighter mode); wingspan 14.28 meters (Fighter mode)
Weight: empty 13.95 metric tons; max gross weight unknown
Armor materials: space metal frame; SWAG energy conversion armor
Powerplant: 2 x Shinnakasu/P&W/Roice FF-2011 thermonuclear turbine engine, output rated at 2 x 137.34 kN
Propulsion: 2 x 14,000 kg; many x P&W HMM-1A high-maneuverability vernier thruster
Performance: Fighter mode: maximum level atmospheric speed at 10,000 meters: Mach 3.02; maximum level atmospheric speed at 30,000+ meters: Mach 5.15
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 2.01
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x large beam cannon, mounted on forward engines in Fighter mode and lower arms in GERWALK/Battroid modes; 6 x long-range missile, mounted on engines and ventral fuselage; many x missile, mounted on 2 x underwing pylon
Optional fixed armaments: Howard 3-barrel GU-11 55mm Gatling gun pod, 200 rounds fired at 1,200 round/min, stored under main body in Fighter mode, hand-carried in Battroid and GERWALK modes

The VF-X-4 was a prototype second generation variable fighter developed by Stonewell Bellcom as the successor to the VF-1 Valkyrie. Development on the VF-X-4 began prior to the start of Space War I and utilized 35 percent of its parts from the VF-1, most notably the nose and forward section. The VF-X-4’s design was a radical departure from the VF-1, incorporating its engines into the wings. Several VF-X-4 test flights were conducted after the war by veteran pilot Hikaru Ichijyo. With some design modifications, the VF-X-4 entered mass production in 2012 as the VF-4 Lightning III.

Pilot: Hikaru Ichijyo
First appearance: Super Dimension Fortress Macross
Original mechanical designer: Shoji Kawamori

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