Design
Mechanical designer Shoji Kawamori says he initially planned the main vehicle of Macross Zero to be closer in lineage to conventional fighters such as the F-14 Tomcat. He later opted for the finalized VF-0 design which was closer to later variable fighters in the Macross setting (aside from the relatively conventional engines).
A variant of the F-14 Tomcat, the F-14Kai (a reference to the F-4EJ Kai Phantom II, the Japanese upgrade of the second most-produced Western jet fighter) also appears in the beginning of Macross Zero, in order to give viewers a chance to compare designs, and to understand the design limitations of 'simple' combat jets in comparison with far more advanced variable jet-fighter mecha. The F-14KAI variant has been retrofitted with overtechnology avionics and new radar systems, as well as GE F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans (although it does retain the cockpit scheme of the original F-14A/B).
Read more about this topic: VF-0 Phoenix
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