The AGAC - When bad projects turn good

Normally when we hear about troubled defence projects and weapons developments, it comes in the form of those that were ultimately cancelled or scrapped. It could be those that were abandoned for technical reasons (such as the VF-4) or political ones (such as the MODAT/Typhoon), but the result is usually the same; a ‘might have been' weapon system that never achieved its full potential. However, every now and then a troubled project works out well.

The VFH-10 Armoured Gyro Assault Copter (or AGAC, often referred to as ‘Ajax') is one such case. The craft was born of the failure of other projects, complicated by scope creep, besotted with technical problems, became the subject of inter-branch infighting and risked cancellation several times. And yet, it emerged as a powerful and revolutionary Veritech that became a key part of the Southern Cross' arsenal.

What would become the AGAC was born out of the need to rearm the nascent Southern Cross following the launch of the Pioneer Mission. Needing to rebuild and yet hampered by budgetary restrictions, the TASC had put much of its faith in conventional aerospace fighters rather than Veritechs for its strength. While it had the new VF-8 Logan, it was primarily a dogfighting and close support craft, and was to be supported by a trio of other conventional fighters, the F/A-212 Chimera, F-215 Pluto and AA-1 Harpy.

While the first of those three was an unquestioned success, the other two were not. The Pluto was fast, agile and easy to operate, but also was woefully underarmed for its intended role. On the other hand, the Harpy was an ungainly, awkward craft that served a single role, being to deliver its massive cluster missile. However, exercises had proven that the weapon system was far less viable in reality then it had seemed on paper.

Aware of these limitations, the ASC had begun to look for options for a new Veritech to supplement the Logan and Chimera while replacing the other two craft. A number of design studies emerged, the most interesting of which offered a radical alternative to the traditional three-mode Veritech. Rather than using a Guardian configuration, it would instead be able to deploy rotors and function like a helicopter. This would give it full VTOL capabilities and mobility, while removing the need to support a third mode and all that came with it. The TASC's leadership enthusiastically supported the program, with the UEG Ministry of Defence allocating funding for development.

The craft, now known under the AGAC development name quickly progressed to physical developmental stages and proved to be every bit as capable as promised. With a fast and agile fighter mode, a powerful Battloid and the flexibility of the helicopter mode, it offered unprecedented capabilities. Its weapons package, consisting of two powerful beam cannons and a potent cluster missile system, proved to be lethally effective against expected opponents in simulated testing. Everything about the craft looked good on paper.

However, the transition to reality proved to be difficult. The early prototypes were riddled with faults and suffered from numerous malfunctions. The revolutionary helicopter mode proved to be especially challenging, as the planned deployment of the blades was instead prone to failure and jamming. While there were some calls to scrap the helicopter mode altogether, many feared that doing such would lead to the cancellation of the entire project. Instead, the helicopter mode, and the AGAC as a whole, found an unlikely supporter.

By the mid-2020s, the Tactical Corps was desperately looking for a replacement for its fleet of AH-72 Comanchero attack helicopters. A design dating back to the Global Civil War, the Commanchero was considered well past obsolescence, yet every effort to replace it had thus far failed for political or technical reasons. In the AGAC, the TC saw an opportunity to gain a powerful helicopter gunship to support its ground forces, and were willing to come on board as a developmental partner (with funding allocation). The TASC, glad for the support, were more than willing to accept the assistance.

Even though the TC liked what they saw of the design, they also found that they had their own reservations. While the AGAC's avionics fit and weapons were well-suited for space combat, they would be inadequate for the close air support that they had envisaged. Rather than further complicate the design, this led to the submission of a design for a dedicated CAS variant that would be built in parallel to the main model. While a fair compromise, it would instead lead to even further complications.

The leadership of the Tactical Air Force objected to the TC having access to a fixed-wing Veritech Mecha, claiming that such was the preview of their operations. Furthermore, they claimed that the TC's pilots would need training in fixed wing operations, which again would have fallen under their purview. The TC countered, claiming their intent was to primarily use it as a rotary-wing craft, with the fixed wing fighter configuration being a secondary role for reaching and leaving a battlefield rather than engaging in direct combat. Furthermore, they claimed that its CAS role was one that the TAF had chosen to abandon with the retirement of the VA-1A Thunderstrike, leading to a capability gap.

This situation was further compromised by a series of crashes in 2025 which lead to the grounding (and premature retirement) of the ASC's entire VF/A-6 Alpha fleet. The TASC was now pushing to get the AGAC into service as quickly as possible, regardless of the TAF's objections. The decision was made to put the dedicated CAS model on hold, with development instead focusing entirely on getting the TASC Space Superiority model working. Behind the scenes, a series of political deals served to mollify the TAF's leadership. Not only did this involve suspending development of the dedicated CAS variant (with the TC to instead use the aerospace superiority variant as an interim model), but it also included a proposal to develop a dedicated three-mode air superiority Veritech for their forces that would never eventuate.

The first preproduction model AGACs were ready for testing in 2029, and were allocated the service designation of VFH-10A. These units were assigned to the 12th TASC Squadron (Black Lions) squadron under the command of Lt. Marie Crystal with the intent to take part in testing in both near-Earth and deep space environments. In the latter case, a test flight around Saturn turned deadly when the Black Lions encountered an unknown force of hostile ships and Mecha. A battle ensured, during which the AGACs proved to be a potent platform. While nobody realised it at the time, this was the first battle of the Second Robotech War.

Impressed by the performance (while also dismissing repots of the unknown alien craft), the Southern Cross high command ordered the VFH-10A into production. The final production model would not enter service until January of 2030, whereupon shifting priorities meant that the Southern Cross was allocating all its resources to their space forces. As a consequence, all of the production was diverted towards the TASC, including those craft that had initially been earmarked for the TC's use.
Those AGACs would serve the TASC well during the latter part of the Second Robotech War. While it had not been designed with the Robotech Masters fearsome Bioroid/Assault Dropship combination in mind, it proved to be very effective against both in space and air combat. While losses ran high, it needs to be said that it was more due to the mismanagement of the TASC's assets by Southern Cross high command than any flaws in the AGACs itself.

Ironically, the AGACs would see some use in close-air support roles, but not in a manner that its designers had intended. Following the Invid bombardment of the Earth, TASC squadrons that had been marooned on the ground would fly CAS missions against encroaching Invid forces. The remnants of the Black Lions were able to escape during the evacuation, and would bring their AGACs with them to the Expeditionary Force.