The SDF-2, Design, Construction and Demise

Even before the creation of the Gloval Initiative, there was a pressing need to build a new flagship for the UEDF. A thorough examination of the SDF-1 was conducted in the aftermath of the destruction of Dolza's fleet with an eye to seeing if the ship could be refitted and pressed back into service. Instead, it found that the vessel was effectively a complete loss. Virtually every system onboard the ship was damaged to some degree, if not completely destroyed. Even the basic hull integrity had been compromised to a degree where it was not clear if the ship could even lift off again. The only bright spot in the report was that the Reflex Furnace and main engines were still intact and operational.

Based on this report, it was clear that the damage to the SDF-1 was such that returning it to service would be impossible. Instead, the decision was taken to construct an entirely new vessel, dubbed SDF-2, to replace it. A draft design for the ship was drawn up by a team headed by Doctor Emil Lang, and was based on the blueprints that had been used in the reconstruction of the SDF-1 on Macross Island, albeit with some modifications.

The most controversial of these was that the SDF-2 would have the ability to transform built into it from day one, rather than the ad-hoc modular transformation used by the SDF-1. The argument from Dr Lang was that the humanoid form offered a variety of tactical options that a conventional warship would not be able to take advantage of otherwise, such as the Daedalus Attack. However, the design was such that the SDF-2 would still be able to fire its Reflex Cannon while in spacecraft mode.

The most obvious external difference was that rather than the refitted aircraft carriers that had become a part of the SDF-1, the SDF-2 would be designed from the outset with a pair of purpose-built ‘arms'. These vessels were to be based on the ARMD series platforms, albeit without their own main engines and instead being permanently attached to the ship. However, they would still retain their own reflex furnaces and mount their own heavy anti-ship weapons to supplement the SDF-2's arsenal. Furthermore, as purpose-designed space-faring craft, they would be far less compromised in their operations than the two carriers had been.

In addition, a host of other minor changes would be made across the ship to reflect lessons learned from the SDF-1. These ranged from a redesign of the anti-gravity engines to a new bridge module and even replacement of some of the weapons systems. Of course, the biggest change was also a reflection of unplanned experiences; the SDF-2 would not be carrying a civilian population on board. Rather, the interior space would be given over to cargo and manufacturing facilities.

With the approval of the SDF-2 design came the next issue of where to build it. While Moonbase Luna and its shipyards had survived the first Robotech War, all their slips were presently occupied. During the war, the UEG had begun emergency construction of the *Tokugawa* class based on their pressing needs, and as such those vessels had occupied the entirety of the base's capacity. And as much as the UEDF needed the SDF-2, they also needed the in-progress *Tokugawas* and were not willing to delay construction of the ships.

Instead, the controversial decision was taken to build the SDF-2 in New Macross City, using Lake Gloval as a shipyard. While not ideal, the situation had several benefits. First and foremost, it would allow the SDF-1 to act as a parts donor of sorts to the new ship. Plans were drawn up to remove both the Reflex Furnace and the main engines from the SDF-1's hulk and then transfer them to the new vessel, a process which, while complex, would still have been less expenditure then constructing them from scratch. This process was also going to be extended to other components as possible.

The only component that could not either be provided by the SDF-1 or built from scratch was the Space Fold drive. Despite having the chance to study Zentraedi ships in varying states, the Space Fold very much remained a 'Black Box' technology to the UEG, where the mechanics of the system and how it was constructed were unknown. If anything, they were even more mysterious to the Zentraedi, who largely relied on automated operations. Based on this, the decision was made to take the drives from a functional Zentraedi ship instead. (This same process was used to provide the *Tokugawa* class with their drives following the decision to refit them during construction).

By 2013 the SDF-2 was partially finished, with the hulk already serving as a command centre for UEDF operations in the region. Conversely, the remaining operations onboard the SDF-1 were being slowly wound down. The sole exception was the ship's Reflex Furnace, which was being kept in a minimal operational state prior to its extraction, with Dr Lang suggesting that it would be better to have only a comparatively short period of being powered down before being reactivated, rather than going from a full cold start. Projections were that the SDF-2 would be able to move under its own power by mid-2015, and would be fully operational by the end of 2016.

Despite all these efforts, the SDF-2 would never see active service. Khyron Kravshera opened his January 2014 attack on New Macross City with a Reflex Cannon attack on the SDF-2. While his gunship was under-powered (to the point where it was likely unable to even fire a second shot), the attack was enough to punch through the SDF-2's hull and fatally damage the structure, while triggering further cascading failures across the rest of its systems. Perhaps the only upside was that the shot failed to over-penetrate as Khyron had (likely) planned and expended all its energies without damaging the SDF-1.

Both the SDF-1 and Khyron's ship were destroyed in his final suicide attack. In the aftermath, despite the damage the vessel had suffered, an Inspection of the SDF-2's hulk was made to see if the vessel could be salvaged. The findings showed that not only was its structure completely compromised, but that the vessel had begun to flood and had suffered extensive radioactive contamination along with the other two ships. Based on these findings, the UEDF struck off the SDF-2 without the vessel having ever formally entered service or even leaving its construction site.

In addition to the loss of both ships, the destruction of the SDF-1 meant that those components on board could not be reused for the construction of new ships. As such, the SDF-3 was designed from the ground up with all its components, save for the fold drive, being built from scratch. However, unlike the SDF-2, the SDF-3 was designed from the as a non-reconfigurable vessel that would be built as a standard warship.