Most successful VF

[Seto Kaiba]

I would consider a VF-4 comparable or better than a VF-1 Super or Strike in terms of speed and acceleration [...] 12 medium range semi-conformal missiles is certainly a fairly limited loadout, compared to a fully loaded Strike or Super VF-1 with full external loadout.

But that's an apples and oranges comparison... you're comparing a "naked" VF-4 with no super parts or externally-mounted ordinance to a fully-loaded VF-1 Super Valkyrie. The basic armament of the VF-4 is essentially comparable to the standard combat load of an old VF-1 without super parts, though it presumably enjoys added range and endurance as the result of having built-in rocket boosters to supplement its reaction engines. Even without super parts of its own, with properly loaded hardpoints it can still rival the VF-1 Super Valkyrie in terms of ordinance.

I imagine the bulk of the 8000+ VF-4 produced went to the Megaroad colony missions and were likely in service for so long as the Megaroad colony fleets probably lacked the factory facilities to construct large quantities of newer more advanced VFs. So basically it was a case of the Megaroad ships being stuck with the VF-4.

Not necessarily the case... if memory serves, all colony fleets receive routine resource replenishment from the U.N., so it wouldn't be at all out of the question for them to be receiving modest numbers of new craft along the way too. I do think that the number made (8,245) is far too small to represent the fighter's status as a main VF during the first wave of space colonization. Even if it was still being leavened out by surplus VF-1s and VF-5000s, more recent information suggests that the scale of the fleets and their use in later years should mean there are a hell of a lot more than just 8,245.

I figure it's a safe bet that only 1/2 to 2/3 are actually the VF-4, the remainder being VF-1.

In addition, I figure that later Megaroad launches would have less VF-4, possibly no VF-1, too. The balance being made up by VF-5000, VA-3 and so on.

Eh... while I feel the ARMD-like structures on the side of the Megaroad certainly look a good deal like ARMDs, what little up-close footage we have of them would seem to suggest that the similarity is cosmetic in nature. It's certainly possible that they used design elements from the ARMD in constructing the Megaroad's hangar though.

There is, in the same source(s) referenced above, at least some evidence to support the idea that the Megaroad colony ships carried a mix of different fighters. At one point in Macross M3, a Megaroad is depicted as carrying a mix of VF-4s and VF-5000s, so it doesn't seem unreasonable that earlier ones launched before the VF-5000 was introduced may have supplemented their complement of VF-4s with VF-1s, QF-3000s, or something else.

Given what's seen in Macross: Eternal Love Song, it's likely that the ones that were launched in the parallel world continuity of Macross II probably carried a mixture of VF-4 Sirens and VF-1 Valkyries. Later ships probably used the VF-1*R Attack Valkyrie to fill out their fighter complement.

[sketchley]

Did Chronicle ever give a figure for the number of VFs per Megaroad?

Found something relevant in VFMF:VF-1

ARMD 09,10: 6 VF-1 squadrons (left with Megaroad-01)

Megaroad 01: 8 VF-1 squadrons, 4 VF-4 squadrons.

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe it states that there are 18 VF per squadron. (Which is slightly more than the 15 per squadron that the Macross Compendium lists, herein: http://macross.anime.net/wiki/U.N.#Valkyrie_VF-1_Air_Tactical_Wing.2FGroup )

I highly doubt that any of the Zentraadi ships would be carrying any VFs. Simply because of the relatively small passage of time after SWI, and the spread of resources over reconstruction, et al.

So, that gives us a ballpark figure for the Megaroad-01 of:

72 VF-4

360 VF-1.

432 variable craft, total.

The ratio of VF-4 to VF-1 of course changes as more VF-4 are produced (the Megaroad-01 leaves just after the VF-4 enters mass production). So, too would the total number of variable craft increase. Mostly because of more carrier-type ships becoming available.

Anyhow, VFMF:VF-1 also mentions that as time passes, VF-1 squadrons changed over to the VF-4, VF-5, or VF-5000. Which is a big exclamation mark for me. In all this discussion, we've completely overlooked the role of the VF-5! Sure, it was a light-fighter a la the VF-9 designed for emigrant planets, but it is another VF that specializes in space combat. I'm certain that it's ability to land on water also made it appealing - simply for the diversity of missions it could perform.

[Seto Kaiba]

Found something relevant in VFMF:VF-1

*sigh* Oh well, I suppose a ballpark figure based on a completely unreliable source is still better than nothing at all. I would be inclined to stick with the 15 fighters per squadron number though, since that at least comes to us directly from Macross's creators.

I highly doubt that any of the Zentraadi ships would be carrying any VFs. Simply because of the relatively small passage of time after SWI, and the spread of resources over reconstruction, et al.

Eh, if they had enough time to refit and upgrade Britai's command ship before the launch of the Megaroad-01 in 2012, it doesn't seem at all unreasonable that they would have had the time to outfit the ship with VFs. Britai's ship didn't seem to have any significant problems deploying Super Valkyries once it'd joined the U.N. forces in the original TV series, so I don't see any reason why the refit couldn't after they'd already had a go at upgrading it and clearly had enough time to staple some kind of command tower to the top of it.

Anyhow, VFMF:VF-1 also mentions that as time passes, VF-1 squadrons changed over to the VF-4, VF-5, or VF-5000. Which is a big exclamation mark for me. In all this discussion, we've completely overlooked the role of the VF-5!

Now, if this latest news about the Megaroad missions using the VF-5 came from one of the unambiguously canon publications it would be big news. Unfortunately, it's from a source that reiterates a not-inconsiderable amount of material from an unambiguously non-canon doujin published before DYRL came out. We can say with some certainty that the Megaroad missions did employ the VF-5000 side-by-side with the VF-4 (thanks to Macross M3) and it logically follows that the VF-1 should have filled the role the VF-5000 did back before there was a VF-5000, but there's no evidence the VF-5 was ever involved.

Sure, it was a light-fighter a la the VF-9 designed for emigrant planets, but it is another VF that specializes in space combat. I'm certain that it's ability to land on water also made it appealing - simply for the diversity of missions it could perform.

Granted, it's certainly a plausible theory that the VF-5 might've been involved in the Megaroad missions as a potential low-cost substitute or partner for the VF-4, but we've never had anything to suggest that it was actually used in such a capacity. It would've been nice if Chronicle had touched on some of the "budget Valkyrie" models made for the colony market, but I suppose we can't have everything.

[Zinjo]

So how is it that we spent two pages arguing the virtues of the VF-4 and little on its deployment or service history?

I'm not sure how the VF-4 discussion relates to the most successfull VF??

[Ghost Train]

If I absorbed anything from Macross 7, it's that the VF-11 is the most successful VF by any fracking measure - combat, number produced, chest size, etc.

When destroyed... the exact same fighter flying the exact same formation would appear 10 minutes later - implying immortality / invincibility. Yea... I know what this thread is about, I'm just illiterate.

[Seto Kaiba]

So how is it that we spent two pages arguing the virtues of the VF-4 and little on its deployment or service history?

I'm not sure how the VF-4 discussion relates to the most successfull VF??

It does, at least tangentially... an attempt to account for the VF-4 being relatively unsuccessful (in the main continuity) despite it having been the main variable fighter of the U.N. Spacy for something like a decade, and supposedly having also been the fighter of choice for an entire generation of colony missions. As (sketchley?) pointed out earlier in the thread, with the production numbers we've been given, there's a bit of a disparity between the statements about the VF-4 and its use on the Megaroad missions given the relatively low number produced.

When destroyed... the exact same fighter flying the exact same formation would appear 10 minutes later - implying immortality / invincibility. Yea... I know what this thread is about, I'm just illiterate.

"The Beauty of Recycled Footage"?