VA-1 Thunderstrike

## VA-1A Thunderstrike

The **VA-1A Thunderstrike** is a dedicated ground attack Veritech, originally designed by the UEDF and used by the Army of the Southern Cross.

## Background

The VA-1A Thunderstrike is something of an oddity in the history of the Robotech Wars. It was a Veritech that was built for a conflict that never happened and then discarded by its initial designers. Instead, it managed to find a new life fighting against opponents that its creators had never envisaged.

A two-mode, atmospheric use only, dedicated ground attack Veritech, the VA-1A Thunderstrike is unique in the history of human mecha developments. It was envisaged as a partner to the VF-1 Veritech for use against an anticipated alien invasion of Earth. In the advent that the Zentraedi made it through the UEDF's orbital fleet, the VA-1 would be utilised to help destroy enemy ground forces, logistical facilities and other key targets. In the worst-case scenario, it would be able to operate from the *Prometheus-*class submersible aircraft carriers to take part in guerrilla attacks against an occupying force.

While the design was considered sound, the UEDF wanted to get the VF-1 Veritech into full production and active service before committing to production of the VA-1. A number of preproduction examples had been developed and deployed for operational testing prior to the First Robotech War, including at least one that was assigned to Macross Island. Initial field tests were promising, with the UEDF planning to replace their extant A-12As and MiM-31Ms with the new Veritech. Further plans existed to extend this to replacing their AH-72 helicopter gunships, with concerns rising that such craft would be too slow and vulnerable to enemy mecha.

However, the outbreak of the war demonstrated the failings in the UEDF's planning and estimates of the abilities of their enemies. Realising that an atmosphere-only strike fighter would be useless in a space war, the UEDF cancelled production of the Thunderstrike. Instead, resources were put towards mass production of the VF-1 at as many facilities as possible in order to rapidly make up numbers. As such, the VA-1 never entered full production or squadron service with the UEDF. The few extant VA-1s were destroyed in the Zentraedi Rain of Death, but that would not be the end of the design by any means.

Copies of the specifications had been kept at the UEDF's Antarctica base, and were taken by Anatole Leonard when he left the base for South America. Once he had established his hold on Brasilia, Leonard sought weapons that he could use to build up his new Army of the Southern Cross. The Thunderstrike represented one such option, and was well suited to his needs. Its lack of space capability was largely irrelevant to his ground-based army, while its role as an attack fighter made it well suited for counter-insurgency operations against Zentraedi Malcontents.

New-build VA-1A Thunderstrikes entered service with the Army of the Southern Cross in 2016 and were soon being used by its forces across South America and in other theatres. The Veritech proved to be well-suited to its role, and achieved considerable success in combat operations against Zentraedi Malcontents as well as human opponents. While initially used against refitted Battle Pods and conventional threats, the Thunderstrike also ended up facing scratch-built Stingers on a number of occasions. This tested the Veritech's capabilities, as it proved to be far less capable in air-to-air combat as a fighter, although its Battloid mode proved to be well-suited for combat with enemy Mecha.

Southern Cross Thunderstrikes were also used during their incursions into Africa and Europe, and saw action against human opponents as well as Zentraedi ones. Furthermore, the Veritech was used as an incentive to would-be allies, with the Southern Cross offering Thunderstrikes in exchange for loyalty to their cause. This allowed the design to proliferate, with a number being sold to smaller nations. While most of these then joined the Southern Cross, some chose to retain their independence. In many ways, the Thunderstrike was the most advanced Mecha to be used outside of UEG-aligned forces.

The end of the Malcontent Uprisings also saw an end to the Thunderstrike's brief prominence. While the design had proven its capabilities, The Expeditionary Force had little use for a Veritech that the UEDF had discarded a decade ago. Furthermore, its lack of space capability made it ill-suited to their needs. Finally, its large size counted against their operational requirements and limitations of hangar bay size. Instead, they opted to employ the newer and far more compact and capable VA-5 Condor as their main attack Veritech.

No longer primarily concerned with counter-insurgency operations, the Southern Cross had little need for the Veritech and instead focused on development of more advanced Mecha. While the ASC had planned to replace the design with a close-air support variant of the VFH-10 AGAC, the protracted development of the design left the Tactical Air Force with a pronounced capability gap. Most of the Southern Cross' remaining examples were stored or deployed to second-line forces that were not expected to see much action, such as the 27th TAF in Adelaide. However, a number of others were either sold off or even deliberately 'lost', finding their way into local forces across the world.

However, that was not the end of the design by any means. Thunderstrikes would see service with local forces, the resurgent Anti-Unification League, and even mercenaries during the Brush Wars of the mid-2020s. In these conflicts, the Veritech proved to be quite effective, although it needs to be said that it was typically being employed against conventional forces that lacked Robotechnology weapons. Despite its complexity, a ready supply of Thunderstrike supplies were available via black market and third-party sources, ensuring that the mecha remained operational.

Thunderstrikes saw very little use during the Second Robotech War, but many were bought out of reserve to make up for the horrific losses that the Southern Cross' Tactical Air Force suffered during that conflict. As can be expected, they fared poorly against the Robotech Masters' Bioroids and Assault Dropships, with the lack of speed in fighter mode proving to be a severe disadvantage. As the ASC splintered in the aftermath of the war, the design further proliferated as examples fell into the hands of rogue units, emergent states and warlords.

Most remaining Thunderstrikes were destroyed in the Invid Invasion, either in the initial bombardment or in the futile efforts to hold back the assault. A few examples survived and were employed by resistance groups during the occupation, ironically bringing the design back to the use that it had been originally intended for.

## Capabilities

In order to speed up development of the VA-1 Thunderstrike, the designers made several compromises to the design. The Thunderstrike was envisioned from the outset as a two-mode Veritech, with the Guardian mode being seen as redundant given the fighter mode's planned performance (It needs to be said that transformation scheme made the incorporation of a Guardian mode impossible). This decision left the Thunderstrike with no VTOL capability outside of Battloid Mode. However, the design of the fighter mode was such that it possessed a good rough-field capability.

Likewise, Given its operational parameters, the ability to operate in space was seen as being redundant. This left the Thunderstrike limited to atmospheric use only, although its fusion turbines and Protoculture engine (the same model as used by the VF-1) could still be used to provide thrust in space. However, it lacked manoeuvring veneers, and was incapable of independent atmospheric re-entry.

Despite these limitations, the Thunderstrike made up for them in other ways. In both modes it was rugged and well-armoured, with excellent protection against ground fire. The use of redundant subsystems made it resistant to damage, allowing it to absorb far more abuse than a VF-1 Veritech could. It could even fly on one engine if needed in fighter mode, although performance was severely compromised. In the field, Thunderstrikes became known for taking tremendous amounts of damage while being able to remain operational.

In fighter mode, the Thunderstrike was limited to high subsonic speeds, but it possessed excellent low-speed manoeuvring capability and a low stall speed. While not intended as a dogfighter, the Thunderstrike was capable of such in a low-speed, low-altitude engagement, a trait that proved useful against Malcontent Stinger mecha. Propulsion was provided by a pair of Fusion Turbine engines, derived from those used by the VF-1 Veritech and adapted for the planned operational environment. The maximum flight speed was 960 km/h, with the Thunderstrike possessing excellent low-speed/low-altitude maneuverability and a low stall speed. However, even allowing for its fusion engines, it lacked the acceleration of other airborne mecha.

In Battloid mode, the Thunderstrike possessed full anthropomorphic mobility, complete with fully functional hands. Due to the transformation, the cockpit was fully concealed within the body, as opposed to the exposed position on the abdomen of the VF-1. The main engines were mounted on the back of the Battloid mode rather than in the legs, which allowed the Thunderstrike a level of protection against system damage, as it could lose a leg without compromising its ability to fly. Maximum flight speed was 300 km/h, with full VTOL capabilities.

The pilot of the Thunderstrike sat in an armoured cockpit that was fully pressurised and provided full life support capabilities. While not required, many pilots also wore heavy body armour such as Gusoku or LPAS to further enhance their survivability. Primary target detection and tracking was provided through an all-weather multi-mode radar mounted in the nose of the fighter (torso in Battoid mode). The radar provided full air and surface tracking capabilities, as well as multi-track and look-down and shoot capabilities, even though the Thunderstrike was not intended for air-to-air combat. Secondary sensors included a multi-band digital camera system, for medium range traversable UV, infra-red imaging and optical band detection and tracking and a multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.

The Thunderstrike could also operate in tandem with hand-off targeting from forward observers; during development, the UEDF had extensively tested the pairing of the Thunderstrike with the AR-1 Flying Goose, although it is not known if this combination was ever used operationally. During the Malcontent Uprisings, the Southern Cross often made use of small infiltration teams to find and mark targets for Thunderstrike attacks.

The armor of the Thunderstrike was composed of an advanced titanium-steel alloy, commonly referred to as "Space-metal". This armor was sufficient to stop all small arms and heavy infantry weapons fire, provided good resistance to light mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Zentraedi 22.3mm HE autocannon round, and fair resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the GU-11's 55mm APFSDS round. Furthermore, the pilot's compartment featured an additional layer of protection.

## Weapons and Equipment

* 2 **GU-10 3-barreled 40mm Gun Pods:** Mounted under the nose in fighter mode, hand-held in Battloid mode. Based on a prototype precursor to the VF-1’s GU-11, the GU-10 was more compact and could be held a single hand with no loss of accuracy. In fighter mode, the gun pods were mounted under the nose and fired together. Standard procedure was to fire the two weapons together to maximise firepower. Fires 40mm APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot) and HESH-I (High Explosive Squash Head-Incendiary) rounds at approx. 800 rounds per minute. The GU-10s were fed from 200-round external box magazines, and could theoretically be field reloaded by the Mecha’s hands; however, the process was complex and fiddly.

* 2 **RoV-10 Light Lasers:** Mounted on the aft in fighter mode and behind the head in Battloid mode. Fires laser pulses up to 60 times per minute.

* 6 Under-Wing Hardpoints capable of mounting:
	+ **AMS-2 Renegade** Air-to-surface Missiles
	+ **AMM-1 Arrow** Air-to-Air Missiles
	+ **Brimstone** Anti-Tank Guided Weapons
	+ Precision-targeted 'smart' bombs
	+ Various free-fall bombs including explosive, fragmentation and cluster weapons
	+ Additional GU-10 Gun Pods
	+ Electronic Warfare Pods

### Weapons

* **Optional:** Replace the **Tactical Missiles** with the following:

* **Wing-Mounted Weapon Hardpoints:** The Thunderstrike can carry a compliment of weapons under its wings. Pick one from the following options. [H]
	+ **Tactical Missiles:** The Thunderstrike can carry Tactical Missiles under the wings. This weapon can only be used as a part of an Equipment Suite. [H]
	+ **Mini-Missiles:** The Thunderstrike can carry Mini-Missiles under the wings. This weapon can only be used as a part of an Equipment Suite. [H]
	+ **Bomb Racks:** The Thunderstrike carries four racks of Smart Bombs under its wings. These racks release guided 'smart' bombs that glide towards their target, inflicting x2 Mecha-Class damage on a hit. They have a range of Short and attacks with Bombs may be used a total of 3 times. [H][B10]
	+ **Rocket Pod:** Launches a spray of unguided rockets for close air support. Creates a Cone area of attack at Medium Range. Less effective against fast-moving targets. The Rocket Pods can be used up to twice. These weapons inflict Mecha-class damage. [C]

### Equipment Suites

* **Tactical Missiles:** The Thunderstrike carries six air-to-surface missiles for use against various targets. These weapons can be used up to Long range and inflict Mecha-class damage. This Equipment Suite can only be used if the Tactical Missiles option is chosen above. Make a weapon attack at up to Long range. [B5]
	+ **Equipment Required:** Tactical Missiles
	+ **Uses:** 2
	+ **Skill:** 4

* **Mini-Missiles:** Alternatively, the Thunderstrike can be equipped with Mini-Missiles for use against surface armoured targets. They can be used up to Medium range. These weapons inflict Mecha-class damage. [B3]
	+ **Equipment Required:** Mini-Missiles
	+ **Uses:** 3
	+ **Skill:** 3