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Zentraadi Pods
The tactical weapons introduced from the Interstellar Republic's Schism War.

Caption: A large pod used for transportation and as a landing boat. Besides combat equipped Rigaado and their pilots, it can be equipped with ammunition and a complete set of accessories for the Rigaado. The Large Landing Pod can be operated regardless of being inside or outside of the atmosphere.

Down: Large Landing Pod

Up: Recovery Craft

Caption: It recovers allied and enemy aircraft with the two manipulators.* The central sub-arms are magic hands for drawing in recovered airframes. Although it looks large because of such things as the arms and landing legs, the body is 13.03 m, and it's smaller than the Air Combat Pod.

* Translator's note: originally was: "It recovers aircraft with the two manipulators."

Hull Explanation:
The Zentraadi Forces use arms developed during the age of the Interstellar Republic (the Galactic Empire), and the tactical pods are not an exception to that. Although there were individual differences in the performance of the Zentraadi aircraft, as might be expected from a Zentraadi soldier who doesn't have the concept of repairing his aircraft, a lot of pods suitable for a state of war were released into combat. During the First Interstellar War, in addition to the reconnaissance Kerukaria, the likes of a combat Air Battle Pod, a transport Large Landing Pod, and a Recovery Craft were confirmed. There were various sizes of pods, with the smallest being not less than 20 m, and the largest being more than 100 m.

Caption: The Air Battle Pods were also in the first battle with the Earth's Unified Forces. It shouldered the attack to Earth.

Caption: The Air Battle Pod, the Large Landing Pod and so on are equipped with the ability to enter and escape from the atmosphere.

Up: Air Battle Pod

Caption: The Air Battle Pod is a fighter aircraft that can fly at Mach 6.3 (at 1,100* m altitude) in the atmosphere. The Air Battle Pod boasts of an overwhelming manoeuvrability with the six high-manoeuvrability rocket engines and three auxiliary rocket engines that are installed into it.

* Translator's note: I believe this is a typo and should be 11,000 m.

Size Comparison:
VF-1J
Air Battle [Dogfight] Pod
Recovery Craft
Large Landing Pod

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Operation Record
The Zentraadi Pods were committed to the conflict with the Unified Forces in the First Interstellar War, from the very first battle. The Air Battle Pod rushed into battle with the VF-1 in an especially large quantity, both in outer space and the atmosphere. Also, the Large Landing Pod landed in the atmosphere, carrying Rigaado and Guraaji to the ground. After the outbreak of the First Interstellar War, when the SDF-1 Macross was drifting, the Recovery Craft captured the ES-11D Cat's Eye, which Hayase Misa had boarded, and carried it back home.

Caption: In the First Interstellar War, Air Combat Pod and VF-1 dogfights were seen from the beginning. It became the chance for the Unified Forces to actually prove that the VF-1 can be applied to an unknown enemy.

Caption: A Large Landing Pod having landed on the Earth. During the battle, the Large Landing Pods concealed themselves in the sea. At the time of withdrawal, the Large Landing Pods recovered the Battle Pods and so on that had sortied.

Caption: The Recovery Craft returning to its mother ship after capturing the ES-11D Cat's Eye in the midst of its patrol mission. By capturing the Earthlings, first contact between Earthlings and Zentraadi was realized.

Air Battle Pod
A small, aerospace fighter aircraft. Even though the Air Battle Pod isn't small, if an Earthling sees its 20.6 m length, it is small as a Zentraadi aircraft. Nevertheless, when it is possible to have combat from atmospheric entry to escape, it keeps its considerable potential hidden.

Right: Rear Side
There are three main rockets and three auxiliary rockets that can be confirmed in the rear, in addition to the thrust-vectoring plates. Also, the power output section of the main engines and so on are installed in the rear of the fuselage.

Up: Flank
Two high-manoeuvrability nozzles are built-into both sides of the aircraft. They assist in lateral movement. In space and so forth, the Air Battle Pod demonstrates an inexhaustible manoeuvrability in every direction.

Down: Lower Side of the Fuselage
A three-barrel beam gun is installed in the front. The cockpit is forward, and there is only one pilot.

Caption: Landing Skids

Left: Front
The Air Battle Pod has landing skids in the lower part of the fuselage. When flying, they are stowed inside the airframe.

Missiles
The missile that are launched from the three, two-tubed missile launchers built into the aircraft. The maximum number of missiles that can be loaded is unknown.

Large Landing Pod
The Large Landing Pod is used when such things as Battle Pods, like the Rigaado, and materials are transported from satellite orbit to the ground.

Caption: It is a large pod with a length of 94.8 m, a height of 35.5 m, and a fully loaded weight of 1,720 t. It bears the burden of being the supply train of the Zentraadi Forces.

Down: Bottom
In addition to the gravity control engines, the bottom of the Large Landing pod is equipped with fourteen rocket engines that run along the circumference of the body. The large thrust rocket engines are for emergency landing and getting off of the planet.

Captions: Cockpit, Vernier Belt, Cargo Hatch

Up: Upper Surface
It is armed with anti-aircraft surface gun turrets in the top, and ground strafing lower gun turrets in the bottom.

Landing Legs
Four landing legs are installed in the fuselage. When the Large Landing Pod is descending, the landing legs are folded up. Even though they look slender, they are durable enough to support the aircraft, even when it is fully loaded.

Comparison To A Rigaado
About twenty to twenty-five combat equipped Rigaado can be stored from the airframe's forward cargo hatch.

Recovery Craft
As might be expected from the Zentraadi, who don't have the general idea of aircraft "maintenance", it is guessed that the Recovery Craft was used for such things as the rescue of soldiers, when their aircraft was seriously damaged, and to capture enemies.

Right: The Recovery Craft is equipped with huge verniers and thrusters. The rod-shaped things that comes out of the rear left and right of the aircraft are landing legs.

Right: The airframe structure is simple. There is nothing that can be called an armament on it. There is an optical camera in the front of the aircraft.

Caption: The Recovery Craft that captured the Unified Forces aircraft, the enemy of the Zentraadi. Although it is unclear what the maximum size of aircraft the Recovery Craft can recover, it basically seems to be able to recover only one aircraft at a time.

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© Aaron Sketchley