In the Chrono Fortress series of animations, in addition to the huge and powerful variable battleship MACROSS, the main weapon of the Unity Army against the alien forces is a variety of Variable Fighters, referred to as VF fighters.
1 VF-0 Phoenix
VF-0 is the prototype of the VF-1 Valkyrie, is the first deformable fighter of the Unified Government to be put into actual combat, because this aircraft was directly involved in the Battle for the Ruins of Mayang Island, which was classified by the Unified Government after its development, it was completely replaced by the official VF-1 "Valkyrie" shortly after the end of the war, so the VF-0 was not known to the world for a long time.
2 VF-1 Valkyrie
The First Thermonuclear Engine Variable Fighter of the United Earth Forces and the first officially serviced Variable Fighter in the anime, it is developed using alien OTM technology derived from the fallen SDF-1 MACROSS and concentrating on Earth's highest aviation technology.
3 VF-4 Lightning III.
The VF-4 is the next-generation workhorse fighter developed by the United Forces to replace the VF-1. It only appeared briefly in OVA: Flash Back 2012, released in 1987. Although it is widely used in the official setting, it is not well known due to the lack of the same series of animation works corresponding to its main service period. Its aerodynamic shape is derived from Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, and the "Lightning III" is named after two generations of Lightning fighters produced in the United States and Britain (lockheed P-38 fighters in World War II and Tsonic "Lightning" MK1 jet fighters produced by British Electric in the 50s)
4 Vf3000 Crusaders
After the VF-4 became the second-generation main aircraft of the United Army, it became an outstanding space fighter. However, the VF-4's combat capability in the atmosphere is inferior to that of the VF-1, so the military began to look for suitable fighters in the atmosphere to inherit the status of the VF-1. Finally, the two-seat model VF-3000 proposed by New Zhongzhou Heavy Industry and derived from VF-1 was adopted.
5 VF-5000 Star Mirage Star Mirage Phantom
The VF-5000 "Star Mirage" (Mirage/ Mirage of Stars) is the main variable fighter of the United Forces in the 2020s, and was designed to make up for the lack of performance in the VF-4 atmosphere. Dimensions: Full length: 14.03m , Weight: 8,300 kg. Main Propulsion System: Nova/P&W/Royce FF-2015RB Thermonuclear Turbo Engine*2 Auxiliary Propulsion System: P&W HMM-3A Attitude Adjustment Rocket. Thrust: 12,500 kg *2. Speed: M 2.85 (10000m) / M 4.73+ (30000m or more).
6 VF-9 short cutlass
The United Forces began a second VSFX program in 2018 (the second light VF fighter update program, the first winner was the VF-5000), mainly to select a cheap VF fighter that can be equipped in large quantities. Immediately after OTEC merged with several other companies to form General Galaxy in 2017, it immediately entered the bid for the second VSFX program. Universal Galaxy Began Design's first variable fighter VF-X-9 (formerly known as VF-X-11) VF-9 G form VF-9 B Form VF-9 B Form was designed by Seruza RUGAS, a highly promising designer in General Galaxy, with the help of the lightweight variable fighter VF-X-9, which was heavily adopted by Captain Miriam Gignas in its design. In order to achieve the requirements of lightweight design, the VF-9 abandoned the original VF traditional foot structure and designed a new main wing storage method (the variable wing characteristics were also lost). Finally, the lightweight, inexpensive VF-X-9 prototype YF-9 demonstrated air combat capabilities higher than that of the VF-4, the main aircraft at the time, after test flights, and was officially adopted by the military as a low-cost light fighter in 2023. GM Galaxy received a large number of orders from immigrant planets from all over the world, and the VF-9 became the first variable fighter aircraft to be mass-produced and sold after the establishment of GM Galaxy.
7 VF-11 Thunderbolt
In the 2020s, the VF-4 Lightning III and VF-5000, which are the main forces of the new generation of the Unified Army, have gradually phased out the old VF-1 Valkyrie. However, due to the unsatisfactory performance of the VF-4 in the atmosphere and the poor adaptation of the VF-5000 to space combat, the United Forces began to tender for a new generation of general-purpose aircraft to replace the tasks of both. The VF-X-11 Thunderbolt of Nova Heavy Industries' YF-14 VF-14 VF-11 fighter jet of General Galaxy and Nova Heavy Industries won the final bid to officially name VF-11.
8 VF-14 Vampire
It debuted in the series Macross Plus and is only parked as a background on the tarmac of New Edwards Air Force Base. In Macross 7, it appears as the main fighter of the villain Baroda Army in the guise of the improved FZ-109. The performance of the aircraft is not inferior to the VF-11 of the same generation, and in many ways it is even much stronger. The Aerodynamic shape of the VF-14 is set up in the same way as the VF-4, referenced to Lockheed's SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft
9 YF-19 Holy Sword
Nova Industries first submitted the design of the YF-19 to the military and passed the review. In fact, in the design scheme handed over to the military, in addition to the basic things such as the new thermonuclear injection engine and the Pilot Support System using high-performance AI, three forms of airframe shapes were proposed: the first was the "A-scheme" that was the normal evolution of the VF-11, and 40% of the components could be used with the VF-11; the second was the "B scheme" equipped with the same type of variable swept wing as the VF-1. Emphasis is placed on combat performance within the atmosphere; the third is the "C scheme" with a very avant-garde swept wing shape. At the beginning of the program, the YF-19 did not emphasize the space warfare proposal as much as the VF-17, but the YF-19's development team was mostly the people who developed the VF-11 10 years ago, and they were very aware that the new thermonuclear injection engine was equipped to completely eliminate the previous limitations caused by the capacity of the propellant tank. Therefore, the development of the new machine is no longer based on the performance in the atmospheric circle.19 The aerodynamic scheme was evaluated by a marathon argument, and finally due to the insistence of the main designer and the tilt of the military's opinion, the original proposal C, which was originally considered the most unlikely, was adopted.
10 YF-21 Swift
Nevertheless, as with the previous VF-14, the YF-21 received a small number of orders after the failure of its prototype bidding, limited production and equipment, and was given a VF-22 model.
11 VF-17 Nightmare
VF-17 is a special combat model developed by General Galaxy Corporation, the main aircraft of the Unified Army at that time, VF-11, considered the maneuverability and had to sacrifice some performance, so it could not serve as a special fighter to carry out precision attacks, so the military planned to design and develop a special aircraft with high stealth. In order to reduce the radar detection area, the final design of the fuselage designed a special appearance that appears in a triangle, which is called "nightmare" because of its excellent trackability and maneuverability. In 2037, the Diamond Force, a special defense force of the Macross7 regiment, was equipped with VF-17S.
12 VF-22 Codename Swift II
The VF-22 is the official mass production version of the YF-21. On the basis of the YF-21, the complex brainwave control system was removed, so that it could also be driven by ordinary soldiers.
13 VF-25 Messiah
The VF-25 Messiah was a new generation of variable fighter developed by the Macross Frontier Regiment to replace the VF-171, the main aircraft of the new Unification Army. The VF-25 was designed to take into account the needs of close combat and was equipped with a special alloy steel knife in the left wrist shield, which can increase the destructive power of the needle point shield on the knife body, and the destructive force can easily cut the armor of the battleship when the needle point is applied.
14 VF-171 Nightmare+
VF-171+ Nightmare Fighter appears in Chrono Fortress F. It is the main force of the Combined Fleet in 2059, removing equipment for special tasks and allowing ordinary soldiers to fly.
15 VF-27 Lucifer
The VF-27 is the main fighter of the 21st Regiment Macross Galaxy's new unified army configuration. The main wing is equipped with propulsion that improves maneuverability, with higher combat performance and maneuverability than the VF-25. Among them γ can only be manipulated by a reformer like Brera.
16 YF-29 Durandall
In 2059, in order to break into the Vajra home planet for the final showdown, the Immigrant Ship Group Macross Frontier Nova Heavy Industry Development Plant further developed the "Weapon for the Final Showdown against Vajra" based on the information on the new variable fighter VF-25 "Messiah" produced by the L.A.I. Technical Research Center with technical support, and the YF-29 Durandal verified the model for its plan. Compared to the VF-25, the VF-29 not only loaded with 4 engines, but also utilized the Fold crystal removed from the wreckage of Vajra's body, and the attack power and energy parapet were further enhanced. From the outside, the VF-29 incorporates the added rotatable beam cannon on the Tornado Messiah (tornado backpack), and the wings are changed from the VF-25's swept wing to the forward swept wing, painted in red and white, with a single-seat cockpit and equipped with a pinpoint protection system. (That shield looks a lot like the VF-27...) ）
In the theatrical version of "Love Away Wings", the VF-29 is piloted by Hayaot Alt. As an AC machine that transmits The Fold's voiceprint at close range, the VF-29 is also equipped with a Fold W
ave amplification device (certainly not as big as a amplified pod).
The first technical demonstration machine (the one of Early Otome Alter) crashed on the Vajra home planet at the end of the theatrical version after Arte lost control of the pilot after an active ejection.
17 YF-30 Kronos
New airframe after the YF-29. (Also a 24 series rear-mounted model) equipped with a Fold crystal, as well as a radar system, an improved shield defense system, and a propulsion system, unlike the previous VF-25 and YF-29, the middle and rear of the fuselage where the arms and shields were originally placed were changed to missile compartments, and the angle of the movable support arms was changed. The arm part resembles VF-17 placed on the outside of the leg. This machine carries an improved version of the miniature quantum macross cannon that is in the same line as the YF-29 and VF-27.
18 VF-31A Siegfried
The protagonist machine in the new anime Chrono Fortress △ in the Chrono Fortress series competes with the SV-262 (Dragon III) equipped by the Knights of the Air in Windermere. Based on the YF-30, Surya Aero Space, a joint venture between Nova Heavy Industries, L.A.I. And Feifeng Aerospace Industries and Bharat,[1] developed the original VF-31 A and B types based on the YF-30. The body of Delta Squad was specialised by the interstellar compound enterprise Xaros for its Valkyrie escort mission.
19 Sv-262 Dragon 〣
A formable fighter used by the Windermere Forces in Chrono Fortress Δ. Designed by Sv Works, it is produced by Dian Cécht, an aircraft manufacturer owned by the giant chaebol "Epsilon Consortium". The aircraft is designed as a local fighter for stronghold defense, with excellent acceleration and maneuverability, but the amount of propellant carried is small, and the range of action outside the atmosphere is limited.
Black History: The failure of "Time Fortress 2 Love Again" is the inevitable result of many aspects, the original team has gone for the most part, the style is no longer the same, coupled with various changes to the setting, people feel that they did not intend to inherit the work in the first place. Therefore, the official hid it in the snow and did not include it in the timeline of the Chrono Fortress. But the design of the VF-2 variable fighter is still quite good.
VF-2 Icarus
The integrated military VF space fighter is a high-mobility combat performance fighter that emphasizes gravity and resistance environments, and is suitable for high-altitude, fast, and mobile attacks. After the united army successfully seized the satellite factory that originally produced large warships and mobile weapons for ZENTRADI, coupled with the advanced technology provided by ZENTRADI, which is allied with the earth, the unified army has the software and hardware conditions for developing new airframes. The VF-2 series was a product of this environment and was engaged in the engagement against the Marduke army.
In the future, there will be new Chrono Fortress animations, more new VF variable fighter airframes will appear, and this series will continue to grow and update...