VF-11 "THUNDERBOLT"
VARIABLE FIGHTER

BACKGROUND

The VF-11 Thunderbolt is the standard tactical variable fighter for the UN Spacy forces as of 2040. The mecha is a direct descendant of the original VF-1 Valkyrie and has several design similarities to the now-antique fighter, including variable soldier and gerwalk modes, a head laser external gun pod, and optional add-on boosters for increased range and maneuverability. The VF-11 replaced the older VF-4 Lightning III as the UN Spacy's main combat mecha in 2030, and has been in service now for almost a decade. Thunderbolts are found all over human-colonized space, on long-distance colony ships, colonized planets, and deep space military forces. The design is starting to become outdated, however, and is scheduled to be replaced by the VF-19 Excalibur, the winning design of the Project Super Nova competition. However, due to the large numbers of Thunderbolts stationed all across the galaxy it will probably be several years yet before the VF-19 can be produced in sufficient numbers to retire the VF-11 from service.

There is one interesting footnote in the development of the Thunderbolt. During the early tests of the prototype VF-11s the addition of the forward canard wings was a subject of great debate with the engineers and test supervisors. Although the canards provided increased maneuverability for the fighter, they also created additional aerodynamic drag which lowered the top speed of the variable fighter in a planetary atmosphere. Despite the drawbacks many of the test pilots were in favor of the canard wing, including Captain Milia Jenius of the Eagle Nest Aerial Tactics Center, who was involved in testing of the final VF-11 prototypes. The event which clinched the decision to include the canard wings eventually came when Captain Jenius piloted the VFX-11 prototype on a rescue mission to save a UN chief advisor. The successful rescue of the individual and the data collected from the prototype during the rescue operation led to the decision to include the canard wing on the VF-11, as well as later VFs designed by Shinshi Inudstries.

RPG STATS

Vehicle Types: Class: Tactical Variable Fighter
Manufacturer: Shinsei Industries
Crew: One pilot wearing Tactical Life Support System

MDC BY LOCATION: 

    Head Laser                                     30
(1) Head                                           75
    Hands (2)                                      50 each
    Arms (2)                                      100 each
    Legs & Thrusters (2)                          200 each
(2) Main Body                                     300
    Canard Forward Wings (2)                       30 each
    Main Wings (2)                                120 each
    Tails (2)                                      50 each
    Multipurpose Gun Pod                          100
    Anti-Projectile Shield                        150
    Reinforced Pilot Compartment/Escape Pod       150
NOTES:
  1. Destroying the head of the fighter will knock out the mecha's major sensor systems, including all of the optics systems (infrared, nightvision, thermal). Radar and communications will be unaffected.
  2. Depleting the MDC of the main body will destroy the mecha. The pilot and cockpit section/escape pod will be automatically ejected from the doomed mecha before it explodes by the mecha's main computer.

SPEEDS:

RUNNING, SOLDIER CONFIGURATION:
90 mph (144 kmph)
LEAPING, SOLDIER CONFIGURATION:
30 ft (9 m) high or 50 ft (15.2 m) long without thrusters.
FLYING, SOLDIER CONFIGURATION:
300 mph (480 kmph) maximum speed limit in an Earth-like atmosphere. Can also hover in place indefinitely.
FLYING, GERWALK CONFIGURATION:
Mach One (670 mph/1072 kmph) maximum speed limit in an Earth-like atmosphere. Can also hover in place indefinitely.
FLYING, FIGHTER CONFIGURATION:
Mach 3.5+ (2345 mph/3752 kmph) max speed at 10,000 meters or less above sea level. Mach 8.2+ (5494 mph/8790 kmph) max speed at 10,000-42,000 meters above sea level. Max altitude of 42,000 meters without rocket booster assistance. Maximum rate of ascent is 28,500 meters/minute. G limits are +22 to -14.5 standard Earth gravities.
MAX ENGINE THRUST:
28,000 kg x2 from main engines, plus 10,000 kg x4 from optional super booster units or 120,000 kg x2 from optional solid-fuel rocket boosters.

STATISTICAL DATA:

HEIGHT:
41.34 ft (12.92 m) in soldier configuration.
22.05 ft (6.89 m) in gerwalk configuration.
15.39 ft (4.81 m) in fighter configuration.
WIDTH:
17.46 ft (5.45 m) at shoulders in soldier configuration.
35.84 ft (11.20 m) in gerwalk or fighter configuration with wings at maximum extension.
LENGTH:
11.17 ft (3.49 m) in soldier configuration.
28.54 ft (8.92 m) in gerwalk configuration.
49.63 ft (15.51 m) in fighter configuration.
WEIGHT:
9000 kg.
PHYSICAL STRENGTH:
Equal to a P.S. of 50
CARGO:
Small compartment behind pilot's seat for personal belongings.
POWER PLANT:
Two Shinsei Industries/Pratt & Whitney/Rolls Royce FF-2025G thermonuclear turbine engines. Several additional Pratt & Whitney HMM- 5B high-maneuverability vernier thrusters for additional mobility are mounted at key positions along the mecha's hull. Additional thruster options include paired super booster units and added propellant storage or dual solid-fuel rocket boosters.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

  1. ANTI-AIRCRAFT PULSE LASER: The VF-11 mounts a single pulse laser for use in air combat skirmishes and for defensive purposes. The laser is mounted on the head of the mecha in soldier mode, and is located in the central dorsal section of the main body pointed rearward in fighter and gerwalk modes. The laser can only fire to the REAR of the fighter in these modes; it cannot be turned to fire along another arc.
  2. MULTIPURPOSE GUN POD W/ANTI-ARMOR BAYONET: A gun pod similar to the old GU-11 used by the VF-1 Valkyries, this is the primary weapon of the VF-11. The new gun pod also features a mecha-sized bayonet mounted on the front of the weapon, for use in close combat with mechanized opponents.


  3. WING HARD POINTS: Two fixed hard points are mounted on each wing of the VF-11 for a total of 4 hardpoints on the fighter. These hardpoints can be used to hold a variety of different ordinance types, including long, medium, or short range missiles, or even the new medium-range high-maneuverability (MRHM) missiles (after 2040). One long range, one MRHM, 3 medium range, or 5 short range missiles can be mounted per hardpoint.

    4.  

     

    NOTE: Due to the location of the hard points, ALL missiles must be fired or ejected before the VF-11 can convert into soldier mode. For this reason the hard point missiles are usually fired within the first few passes of an attack.

  4. HAND TO HAND COMBAT: If necessary, the pilot of the VF-11 can engage in melee combat rather than use a weapon. The variable fighter is extremely agile and can execute most typical hand to hand combat moves, such as punches, jump kicks, leap attacks, rolling with impacts, etc.

    5.  

     

    DAMAGE:

STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR THE VF-11:

COMBAT BONUSES FOR THUNDERBOLT VF TRAINING:

BASIC VARIABLE FIGHTER COMBAT TRAINING ADVANCED VF-11 THUNDERBOLT COMBAT TRAINING

FICTIONAL BACKGROUND FOR ROBOTECH CAMPAIGNS:

The departure of the Robotech Expeditionary Forces in 2022 left a large gap in the military power of Earth's defense forces. The REF took a very large percentage of available combat mecha in service with Terran forces at that time, including almost all VF-1, VAF-6, and VBF-1 veritechs that had been produced to date. The removal of these fighters left the armies of the Southern Cross without a medium-weight veritech fighter, forcing them to rely on the lighter Logan veritechs and outdated non-transformable fighters to fill the roles normally handled by VF-1 and VAF-6 Veritechs. The Southern Cross requested development of a high-performance variable combat fighter to replace the VF-1 and VAF-6 veritechs, and awarded the contract to produce such a fighter to Shinsei Industries, a new development firm based in rebuilt Japan. In 2025, Shinsei unveiled the VF-11 "THUNDERBOLT" VERITECH. The Thunderbolt was approved by the Southern Cross and quickly became a popular mecha among the TAF and TASC armies.

The VF-11 was designed by some of the same people who had worked on the VF-1 Veritechs aboard the SDF-1 during the First Robotech War, and thus shares many stylistic and functional features with its predecessor. The swing-wing fighter configuration, variable guardian and battloid modes, head laser, and gatling gun pod are all derived from the original VF-1 Veritech designs. However, part of the Southern Cross' design contract specified that the new mecha was NOT to use protoculture in any way, shape, or form. The limited amounts of protoculture available on Earth made it unfeasible to equip common military mecha with protoculture systems. Thus the Shinsei Industries design team built the VF-11 around the new FF-2025G thermonuclear turbine engines; non-protoculture versions of the FF-2001 engines used in the VF-1 series. Advances in propulsion technology allowed the newer engines to be even more efficient than the older versions. Shinsei also produced several optional add-on systems for the VF-11, including solid-fuel rocket boosters, new super boosters similar to the one used on the VF-1 Super Veritechs, and heavy external armor with missile launchers for an optional VF-11 Heavy Armor variant.

The armament systems of the VF-11 were similar to the VF-1. The Thunderbolt's main weapon was a 65mm multipurpose gun pod with anti-armor bayonet, that could be used in all modes by the Veritech. Descended from the GU-11, the new gun pod offered a greater punch and a larger magazine capacity than its predecessor. The multiple head lasers on the VF-1 were replaced with a single pulse laser on the VF-11, which could cause greater damage than the older lasers were capable of. The laser was mounted facing rear instead of front in fighter and guardian modes, allowing the mecha to snipe at missiles or enemy mecha that strayed behind the craft. Finally, in accordance with Southern Cross mecha policy the VF-11 was equipped with a shield on its left arm, which could be used to parry incoming weapons and increase the defensive capabilities of the mecha.

The VF-11 Thunderbolt was produced in fair numbers up until 2030, when they began to be replaced by the new AJACS Veritech Attack Copters. Thunderbolts still served along with Logans in the TAF, however, and were commonly used in land based conflicts with Malcontents, EBSIS, and Merchant Republic forces. When the Robotech Masters finally arrived at Earth in 2032, the Thunderbolts led the initial charge against the invaders for the Southern Cross. Although the Second Robotech War only lasted a year, many VF-11s were lost to heavier- armored Bioroid Transports used by the Masters. A fair number of Thunderbolts did survive the war, however, and could still be found in service with the remains of the Southern Cross and other fraction nations during the chaos of 2032-2035. Even the Invid Invasion of 2035 did not stomp out the VF-11 entirely, as at least a dozen fighters have been reported seen in operation with various resistance groups. However, lack of parts and the arrival of newer, more advanced Veritech Alpha Fighters means that it may not be long before the VF-11 Thunderbolt disappears altogether from active service.

http://www.mcs.net/~deitrich/index.html
deitrich@mcs.net