Designation: SDF-3
Class: Space Vessel
Crew: 2500 crewmen, 3400 pilots and air group, 19600 troops and other personnel
Length: 1403m (main hull), 1721m (overall)
Width: 330m (main hull), 461m (overall)
Height: 324m (main hull), 518m (overall)
Mass: 31,800,000 tons (operational)
Range: Interstellar transit capability, unlimited fold range
ARMAMENT
2 x Reflex cannon (heavy particle beam)
10 x main particle cannons, four on the bow, two on the upper surface of the reflex cannons, and four on top of and underneath the engines.
40 x double barreled laser turrets.
8 x double barreled rail gun turrets.
8 x double barreled laser/particle beam cannons.
12 x torpedo tube, capable of launching strategic missiles.
14 x ten-tube missile launcher installations.
~3000 combat mecha, fighters, and bombers.
~950 Destroids.
~100 AEW aircraft, shuttles, and other small auxiliary craft.
The Pioneer was completed in December 2022, and soon folded for what was thought to be Tirol with most of the Home Fleet of that time. Upon defold in the Oort cloud of their target, the Pioneer left its obviously non-Tirolian fleet trailing behind and proceeded to the target planet. However, it soon became apparent that the target system was not Vallivarre, and that the position of Tirol was still unknown. The Expeditionary Forces were then reinforced with the needed logistic train and personel to sustain their search for at least a decade. This in effect created a mobile colony of humans and Zentraedi away from Earth, another reason for the large number of personel transferred.
During the next seven years, the Pioneer was worked hard in the front lines of the Expeditionary Forces reconnaissance missions, and several times the ship was damaged in combat. In early 2029 she paid off for a nine month, long overdue, yard availability period for refit and modernisation. However, it was discovered that repeated, multiple folds in combination with neglected action damage had caused tears and cracking in the primary structural hull members, and repair would last an additional nine months. It was during this period, with the most powerfull Terran ship in dock, that the Robotech Masters arrived at Earth. Priority was then given to the ships that could be finished in time to contribute in the war, and the Pioneer was consequently not ready for action again until several months after the Invid invasion of Earth.
The military situation of that moment precluded the Pioneer from folding to Earth, and the battlefortress served as the core of the fleet that warred against the Invid in deep space. This lasted until 2043, when the Pioneer was refitted again and equipped with Shadow cloaking technology. In 2045 she folded from Space Starion Equality to Earth, as the flagship for the final offensive against the Invid. however, she never arrived at her destination, and was listed several weeks later as missing. Several investigations in the performed refit, centering on the work on the fold engines, have been held, but none has given any conclusive answer as to what has become of her.