The YF-29 Durandal (YF-29 デュランダル YF-29 De~yurandaru) is a high performance variable fighter first seen in Macross Frontier Movie: The Wings of Goodbye. It was specifically designed to counter the Vajra during the Vajra War and is a sibling unit to the VF-25 Messiah.
Development
In A.D. 2048, the Vajra threat became apparent to the New United Nations Spacy as a result of the Gallia 4 incident. To combat the Vajra specifically, the YF-29 was developed in secret with the intention to exceed capabilities of the YF-24 Evolution, a more general purpose next generation variable fighter being developed at that time. Hence, the YF-29 Durandal became a sibling unit of the similarly designed VF-25 Messiah in which LAI Corporation and the Macross Frontier fleet engineers played a central role.
Technology & Combat Characteristics
The most significant difference from the VF-25 Messiah is that the YF-29 Durandal features four thermonuclear reaction turbine engines producing a breakthrough in maneuverability performance as a result of greater thrust. The main wings can extend and contract, allowing the wing-mounted engines to be brought closer into the airframe's center of gravity.
The VF-25 Messiah – despite being an excellent craft – requires additional equipment like the Armor pack or Tornado pack to effectively oppose the Vajra. The Tornado pack is trial-production hardware for proof-of-concept/data collection and as such it makes the VF-25 Messiah airframe cumbersome. The aerodynamic performance of the YF-29 is improved over the Tornado pack because the twin beam cannon can be stored within the fuselage.
In contrast to the VF-25 Tornado pack, the YF-29 features Fold Quartz (extracted from the Vajra) integrated into various systems such as energy converting armor or the fold wave projectors. This fold quartz integration grants the YF-29 Durandal capabilities greater than equivalent standard equipment. Though the YF-29 Durandal shares the VF-25 silhouette, the reworked airframe deviates significantly such that fuselage strength is improved, giving the YF-29 armor strength equivalent to the VF-25 Armored pack.
The application of natural-shaped, highly-purified "Philosopher's Stone" fold quartz is the most important design element of the YF-29 Durandal, but is difficult to acquire from Vajra corpses. To harness the fold quartz requires use of an innovation called the Fold Wave system which produces an inexhaustible supply of energy for the YF-29. The Fold Wave hardware is an overdrive system featuring four Fold Quartz and a total of four fold wave devices. These devices were named after the four relics contained in the golden hilt of the saintly sword Durandal; "Saint Peter's tooth", "Saint Basil's blood", "Saint Denis' hair", and "piece of the Blessed Virgin Mary's raiment". Once completed, the YF-29 featured impressive anti-Vajra performance that made operation of the craft very distinctive. In addition to capabilities like communications tracing, the YF-29 can jam Vajra communications through intervention and obstruction of Vajra fold networks via fold waves.
Armaments
Standard
- Remington ES-25A high-speed machine gun x 2
- Mounted on sides of head, can be used in all modes
- Howard/L.A.I. HPB-01A heavy quantum beam gun pod
- Stored under main body in Fighter mode, hand-carried in Battroid and GERWALK modes
- TW2-MDE/M25 twin MDE beam cannon x 1
- Stored on rear dorsal section, can deploy as turreted gun in all modes
- Heavy armored shield x 1
- Mounted on left arm
- Can project Pin Point Barrier
- Ka-Bar OTEC AK/VF-M9 assault knife x 1
- stored under shield, hand-carried in use
- Can be enhanced with Pin Point Barrier
- Bifors MBL-02S micro-missile launcher x 12
- 100 missiles total, mounted on legs and shoulder pods.
Optional
Super Pack
- Missile launchers x 2
- Mounted on outer wing pods
- Fold Wave Projector
- Mounted on outer wing pods
Variants
- Alto Saotome's unit.
- Has higher performance than the standard YF-29.
- Ozma Lee's unit, which features custom black and gold color scheme, and a custom head.
- Maximillian Jenius' unit, with personalized blue and white color scheme.
- Isamu Dyson's unit, with custom beige, black, and red color scheme, and a custom head.
- Most closely resembles the YF-19 that was previously piloted by Isamu.
- YF-29B Perceval: Improved version piloted by New UN Spacy Havamarl Special Forces Rod Baltmer.
History
The YF-29 development had been advanced because of the need for anti-Vajra deployment. Strategic Military Services (S.M.S.) pilot Alto Saotome operated a YF-29 Durandal hastily built by arranging parts from the VF-25 Messiah. Therefore, it has unique performance unlike the original design. However, the combat performance of the existing airframe was surpassed in actual combat.
Pilot Saotome even used the Super Pack missile launchers to fire while ejected from the YF-29 itself. The fold wave capability of the YF-29 Durandal delivered the fold song to the front lines that played a major role at the end of the conflict with the Vajra.
Even after the Vajra War, YF-29 still proves to be a highly capable fighter, as Legendary ace pilot Maximilian Jenius used both his piloting skill and battle experience in his personalized YF-29, both in the mock battle against new customized variable fighters, VF-31AX Kairos Plus, and in the final battle against Heimdall's more technologically advanced variable fighters, Sv-303 Vivasvat.
Gallery
Model Kits
_boxart.jpg "HG YF-29 (Alto) boxart.jpg (514 KB)")
_boxart.jpg "HG YF-29 (Max) boxart.jpg (293 KB)")
Notes & Trivia
- The forward-swept wing design of the YF-29 makes it resemble the YF-19 and VF-19 Excalibur, there is even a Isamu version of the DX Chogokin YF-29 Durandal.
- A parallel to the rivalry shared between the YF-19 and YF-21 can be drawn between the YF-29 Durandal and VF-27 Lucifer as the VF-27 is derived from the YF-21 and VF-22 Sturmvogel II.
- According to Macross Ace vol. 7, published by Kadokawa Shoten, December 2010, 2 other engines were described as ramjet engines. In most of real aircrafts equipped with ramjet engines, the ramjet itself needs to be worked well at around Mach 3 (3700 km/h) or needs to be take-off-assisted with such as rocket, as it is not equipped with turbine to suck the air. Strangely, 2 of them are operated even lower speed, so they might be described as turboramjets.
External links
| Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy Mechanics | |
|---|---|
| Ouroboros Branch | |
| Mecha | |
| Variable Fighter VF-1S Valkyrie | VF-11C Thunderbolt | VF-19E Excalibur | VF-171EX Nightmare Plus | YF-25 Prophecy | VF-25F Messiah | VF-27γ Lucifer | YF-29 Durandal | YF-30 Chronos | |
| Vehicles and Support Units Gefion | General Vrlitwhai Kridanik | |
| New United Nations Spacy | |
| Mecha YF-29B Perceval | |