The VF-25 Aurora is the new standard variable fighter on board the Battle Fortress Independence.
Following the Battle of Haydon IV against the forces of Lord Darak, the dark Marduuk God-Emperor, the fighter complement of the Independence was depleted. The Valkyrie II fighters which had served the ship so well had been exhausted in the apocalyptic battle over the capital of the Sentinel Alliance. To add insult to injury, the Independence and it's crew of intergalactic refugees were not recognized for sanctuary by the Sentinel Alliance Council after the war was over, despite their valiant and selfless efforts in defeating the Marduuk invasion forces. The Independence was forced to limp away from its home, rejected by the very people the crew had fought to protect.
An older fighter design which had been a part of the old Valkyrie II contract competition was resurrected by chief engineer of the Independence, James Donaldson. He determined the automatic factories of the Independence could fabricate the fighters with reasonable speed, provided the raw materials and other personnel necessary. These resources were allocated in short order and soon the new Auroras were rolling off the assembly line in the heart of the battleship. This speed of production and rapid deployment is the primary reason for the design.
The Aurora shares many of the same characteristics of the Valkyrie II used for so long by the Sentinel Alliance Forces. Most notably, it shares the classic Head Laser array. It is capable of near light speeds in normal space, hyperspace jumps measured in the hundreds of parsecs, and supernatural agility in flight. In keeping with the Independence's need to explore strange new worlds and new civilizations, the Aurora is fully transatmospheric without the need of external equipment. In terms of electronics the craft is nearly the same as it's predecessor.
Beyond the requirement for quick fabrication, the primary advantages of the fighter are it's speed in an atmosphere and the ability to carry an underwing external ordinance load. The wing hardpoints help make up for the lack of weaponry in comparison to the Valkyrie II, and allow the fighter to customize it's loadout based on mission. The pilots also prefer the new gun pod, a 30mm tri-barrel pod with HEAP ammo, claiming it has better stopping power.
The main deficiency of the fighter compared to the Valkyrie II is a vastly decreased weapons load. The Aurora lacks the Valkyrie II's particle cannon and integral anti-starship missile pods. The internal close range Hammerhead Excel missile allotment was cut down to 24 total.
The Aurora supports FAST (or Super) packs, but the time and resources have not been available to fabricate and test the equipment yet.
The Aurora has recently been battle tested against the new Luciferian variable fighter design code-named the Incubus. At this point the full capabilities of the Incubus are not known, but it seems the Aurora is on fairly even footing in most areas. It is hypothesized the Incubus has a similar origin to the Aurora in it's history with the Luciferian forces aboard the Battle Fortress Overlord.
Notes: The Aurora is, of course, based on the visual design of the VF-25 from Macross Frontier. As I normally do when playing Mekton, I grab mecha from various other sources for their appearrance and then weave nearly everything else from whole cloth.
Tags: Mekton Macross Robotech
