Daedelaus Maneuver

In the "Robotech" science fiction anime seriesthe Daedalus Maneuver (called Daedalus Attack in "Macross" and ARMD Attack in the animated movie "") is a method of attacking an enemy space cruiser. The highly effective maneuver was first employed by Commander Lisa Hayes in the episode "Blitzkrieg".

Attack Method

The Daedalus Maneuver can be divided into four stages:
# All available Destroids are moved the bow of the "Daedalus", the "right arm" of the SDF-1
# The three pin-point barrier system shields are focused on the bow of the Daedalus.
# The "Daedalus" is rammed into an enemy space cruiser, allowing its bow to penetrate deep into the enemy ship.
# The forward hatch of the "Daedalus" is opened and the destroids fire their missiles/lasers, causing massive internal explosions throughout the enemy ship.

Results

The Daedalus Maneuver was used multiple times throughout the First Robotech War, usually resulting in the destruction of the enemy ship. However, there were also several instances in which the Daedelaus Maneuver did not go according to plan:

After the SDF-1 returned to Earth and sat down in the Pacific Ocean, The Zentradi Commander Khyron decided to attack. The Daedalus Maneuver was used on his ship, which was attempting to ram the SDF-1. The odd angle of penetration, most likely caused by a brief mind lapse from Commander Hayes, caused the "Daedalus" to ram entirely through the enemy ship, which in turn caused the Destroid Missiles to fire into the midst of the RDF veritechs. Rick Hunter's veritech was shot down by friendly missiles and crashed into the ocean. He survived but was hospitalized for several days.

Another mishap involving the maneuver occurred once the SDF-1 returned to space on orders from the UEDC. Zentradi commanders Breetai and Exedore developed a plan to lure the SDF-1 into using the Daedalus Maneuver on a decoy Zentradi ship. Once the bow of the Daedalus opened inside the Zentradi ship, an ambush party led by Khyron attacked and destroyed the Destroids before they could open fire. The ambush party then entered the SDF-1 through the Daedelaus and wreaked havoc throughout Macross City.

Afterward, the maneuver was abandoned with the crew realized that it left the ship too vulnerable to another boarding operation and worked to reinforce the reliability of the ship's main reflex cannons instead. [ [http://www.robotech.com/infopedia/encyclopedia/viewterm.php?id=29] ]

Popular Culture

The Daedalus Maneuver is utilized in the final episode of Macross Frontier by the Macross Quarter to incapacitate and destroy the Macross Galaxy's main cannon.

References