Robotech Defense Force Ships

(Version 1.01 - Last Modified: 08/12/2005)


Introduction

The RDF, Armies of the Southern Cross, and the REF do not have a very long history, lasting only around 30 years from the beginning of the First Robotech War to the end of the Third Robotech War, but during that time, the ships that they designed changed dramatically. Overall, the RDF used very few space ships and the technology they employed, while advanced, was not fully understood by the people who used it. What was worse for the people of Earth was all of their plans and all of the tactics were based on the idea that the SDF-1 Macross was a "typical" alien ship, mostly likely the flagship of a group of smaller ships. Little did the people of Earth know that the crashed alien spaceship was one of a dozen prototypes built for the Robotech Masters and not for the Zentraedi at all.


SC-27 Star Goose Space Shuttle

SC-27 Star Goose Space Shuttle

The Star Goose is a very simple space shuttle used to transport small cargo or a small number of passengers and is only lightly armored and is designed for short runs, usually to and from the Earth's orbit and to and from the moon. This shuttle is not designed for combat at all and is not even equipped with any weapons.


Oberth Class Sublight Destroyer

Oberth Class Sublight Destroyer

Built as patrol ships and as escorts for the larger ARMD carriers and the SDF-1, the Oberth destroyers were built around four powerful particle beam cannons and a heavy missile turret. Unfortunately, these ships were slow and barely armored when compared to even the smallest Zentraedi vessel and many of these ships and their brave crews were lost during the first few days of the First Robotech War. The last of these ships were decommissioned prior to the launch of the Pioneer Mission in 2022.


ARMD Class Sublight Carrier

ARMD Class Sublight Carrier

With the sole exception of the SDF-1 and the SDF-2, still under construction on the moon, the ARMD was to be the main ship of the RDF's fleet. The ARMD, along with an escort of Oberth destroyers, would close with an enemy fleet, believed to be led by a ship of the size and power of the SDF-1, and would continually fire its powerful particle beam cannons to disable section after section of the ship. Unfortunately, the Zentraedi fleets were far more powerful then the defense planners ever imagined and the relatively slow ARMC carriers were easily overwhelmed and destroyed during the First Robotech War. The last of the surviving carriers was decommissioned alongside the last of the Oberth destroyers just prior to the launch of the Pioneer Mission in 2022.


Macross Class Super Dimensional Fortress (SDF-1 and SDF-2)

Macross Class Super Dimensional Fortress

The SDF-1 was the flagship of the RDF and the only vessel in the RDF to actually stand up against the Zentraedi and win, although the Zentraedi were never interested in destroying the ship, merely capturing it, which limited the Zentraedi in what actions they could take against the ship and its crew. The SDF-2 was modeled directly off of the SDF-1 and was basically identical even though it had some minor improvements.