YF-21
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The YF-21 Advanced Variable Fighter (AVF) is a fictional aerospace craft in the Macross universe.
Two YF-21 prototypes (one whose radio call sign was "Omega One") were submitted by General Galaxy to compete against Shinsei Industries's two YF-19 prototypes for the Project Super Nova design contest sponsored by U.N. Spacy to develop the next generation advanced variable fighter (AVF). U.N. Spacy's high command demanded the new variable fighter have space fold (FTL) capability, and could form a small special task force to go to other parts of the galaxy to resolve small conflicts, hostage rescue missions, and other missions where a large U.N. Spacy Fleet couldn't intervene because of political concern.
The YF-21 incorporated many cutting edge technologies, most notably the Brainwave [Direct] Control System (BDS), and Brain Direct Image (BDI) System. The BDS allows the pilot to control all the functions of the aircraft with his thoughts, while the BDI feeds sensor data directly into the pilot's mind, providing far more information than traditional HMD (head-mounted display) or HUD (heads-up display) systems are capable of. When used together, these two systems allow the pilot to sense and react to situations with the speed of thought while flying the YF-21.
Other new technologies the YF-21 carried were an active stealth system that absorbed radar and other sensor waves, rendering the fighter invisible to most electromagnetic sensor systems, and a revised version of the inertia vector control system used in the Zentradi Quimeliquola Quaedlunn-Rau (Female Combat Armor) battlesuit.
However, some pilots developed feedback and control problems from BDS and BDI system; it could pick up and act on stray thoughts, causing potentially fatal disasters. U.N. Spacy declared the YF-19 the winner of Project Super Nova.
Soon after U.N. Spacy declared the YF-19 as the winner of Project Super Nova, General Galaxy submitted a redesigned YF-21 AVF without the BCS/BDI system, designated VF-22 Sturmvogel II. It saw combat missions at Macross 7 piloted by Captain Maximilian Jenius and his wife Mayor Milia Fallyna Jenius, and a third one was piloted by the Diamond Force leader, Lieutenant Gamlin Kizaki, in the OVA Macross Dynamite 7.
The profile in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 said it codename is Sturmvogel.
[Fighter Mode Statistics]
- Length: 19.62 meters
- Wingspan: 15.36 meters
- Height: 4.04 meters
- Weight (Empty): 9,550 kilograms (21,010 lb. or 10.505 tons)(Overload in Space): 39,207 kilograms (86,255.4 lb. or 43.13 tons)
- Maximum Speed: Mach 5.06 @ 21,500 meters
- Cruising Speed: Mach 1.75
- Rate of Climb to 5,000 meters: 61,500 meters per minute
- Powerplant: Shinnakasu/P&W/Royce FF2450B x 2
[edit] YF-21's Background
YF-21 was inspired by the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) project (1981-1991), which pitted two prototypes - Lockheed-Martin's YF-22 and Northrop/McDonnell-Douglas' YF-23 - against each other. The YF-21's Brain Control System was inspired by the 1982 Clint Eastwood movie Firefox (based on the novel by Craig Thomas).
In order to capture the essence of aerial combat, Shoji Kawamori and the production staff traveled to Edwards Airbase in Palmdale, CA, to study and test-fly American fighter jets. They also used San Francisco, CA, Orlando, FL, and the Windmill Farm in Palm Springs, CA, as the basis for planet Eden's landscape designs.
Like the Variable fighters in the original Macross series, Kawamori based the designs of the Macross VFs on real-world fighter planes. The YF-19 takes its styling cues from Grumman X-30 and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The YF-21 is based on Northrop-Grumman's YF-23 prototype, and the VF-11B Thunderbolt is patterned after the Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker.
- Anime News Network. "Macross Plus (OAV)", Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
