gotta go with the Star destroyer, its just a classic.

The SDF Macross could PUNCH the Star Destroyer, not to mention fire a bunch of cannons and missiles into the inside of it in the process ("Macross punch").

Incidentally, I'm voting for the Star Destroyer. It's shields would allow it to withstand the Macross' main gun, and its ack-ack would protect it from the Valkyries. Even if the Macross tried to get into melee range, the Star Destroyer would just blast it into oblivion with its absurd number of turbolasers.

SDF Macross, using aforementioned punch attack. Not to mention TIE Fighters are terrible fighter craft, while VFs can unleash the Macross missile massacre.

The Macross all the way. While it doesn't have a strong defense like the Star Destroyer's deflector shield, where it shines is offense. The Macross Cannon has more than enough range and firepower to wipe out a Star Destroyer, shields or no. Then you figure in Destroid for close-range defense against TIE Fighters, then the Valkyries come into play. They have superior maneuverability and fire power to most TIE craft. When you figure in Skull Squadron, especially with the skills of pilots like Max Jenius, and it's no real contest.

SDF-1 Macross all the way. I think Snukastyle summed it up quite nicely.

I don't think we can count the embarked craft on this, we're only judging the ships against each other after all.
But even considering specs outside of the crafts, I think I'd have to go with the Macross; I've always been a sucker for offense-oriented combat, and having a few small shields that one can maneuver to cover key areas is pretty kickass. Takes some skill to manage a defense out of that and I'd assume it would pay off pretty well.

I don't think the star destroyer can withstand the SDF1's main gun, so I give this to the SDF1.

The problem is, no matter how fast you move those little shields, they can still only defend three portions of the ship at once. Considering the Star Destroyer has hundreds of guns, it wouldn't have any trouble circumventing such a limited defense.

The SDF-1 would totally transform and land on top of a Star Destroyer and tea bag it till it broke.
But then the Star Destroyer looks like it's the only one with two round ball type things on it.
So maybe a reverse tea bag.
The SDF-1 all the way.

Definitely the SDF, we have seen it take massive amount of punishment and then unleash any number of its offensive weapons, from the Macross Cannon to the Macross Punch, while the Star Destroyer has been known to be destroyed by a handful of X-Wings (am thinking about some of the events that happened in the Star Wars books, not only thinking about the movies). Also, not all of the Star Deestroyer weapons can be brought to bear on the target, since it acts more like a ship of the sea than something that would work in a three-dimensional fight, whereas Macross has the ability to transform and bring all of its weaponry to focus on a single target.

I think this should be enough of a justification of my selection.

Star Destroyer, one for its shields and two because when you have the might of the intergalactic empire on your side everything else fails

incidentally what class of star destroyer?

SDF

Star Destroyer, has the ability to jump to Hyperspace so long as it's not in a gravity well and shield system that protects the entire ship. Also a wing of TIE/INs flying cover for a wing of Gunboats could take out the bridge of the SDF-1 pretty quickly. I am using the TIE Fighter version of a Star Destroyer for this "What If".

Either way it be a hell of fight, but they would both be beat by White Base and Gundam.

umm sorry folks i love macross as much as the next guy but the Star destroyer is the ultimate galactic show of force!

This is a tough question because there are just so many kinds of star destroyer and what about super star destroyers do they count? Because there's no way the SDF can hold up against an eclipse class super star destroyer http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Eclipse_%28ship%29 I mean just look at that thing.

SDF. All they have to do is make Minmei sing to drive the Empire insane. :P

Ubermilkman, in my post I specified an Imperial-II Class Star Destroyer. I even linked to the accompanying Wookieepedia article.

i'd have to go with sdf if its a standard star destroyer, thou like ubermiken says if its going against a empire capital ship i don't think it could win unless its lasers are strong enough to pierce the shielding in the first shot, which may be possible as you'd have to compare starwars laser capacity to the main cannons of a macross, also if u wanna go that route could the macross's main guns outrange even a empire capital ship, the mechs clearly outclass any number of tie fighters that could come their way so if the sdf could get enough range on even an eclipse class unless it had some sort of long range weaponry the sdf could snipe it while the gundums easily stop any tie fighters inbound, then again if it were to launch enough to come in from all sides and used kamakze stratagy with every single ship it might be able to outmenuver the sdf's shielding before the mechs can kill um, by probibility from the star wars movies the tie fighters bassicly are 1shot by anything, thou lets say theirs 2-3 star destroyers they could easily leap frog the sdf with their warp drives and corner it ina sec, so one on one it outclasses anything the empire has excempt maybe the flag ship of their main fleet i think thats a victory class, but in fleet engagements it'd be taken out in no time, thou one can argue even if they take out the sdf the mechs on board could most likly take out the remaining ships quite easily as they seem to have firepower well in excess of light destroyers and could just blow the main hangers easily enough since they have the ability to manuever and hover while as tie fighters can only move forward and lack vertical thrusters for some reason.

/ultra nerd

alright if its an imperial II-class it may be outclassed in firepower but no one took into account the crew if grand admiral thrawn were in command there's no way the sdf could win then throw in a squad of imperial commandos and there's just no contest

Star Destroyer, despite how much I love SDF and its abilities, it simply doesn't have the defensive capabilities to outlast the Star Destroyer in a battle of pure attritiion.

Also, people say that the Star Destroyer couldn't handle the power of the SDF's gigantic energy cannon. Perhaps true, but it has to transform first, leaving it highly vulnerable. By the time it was done transforming and ready to fire, the Star Destroyer would have bombarded the SDF to scrap metal.

People say that the SDF could simply punch the sh*t out of the Star Destroyer (I'll admit, seeing that happen would be AWESOME) or overwhelm it with the superior mechs waiting in the hangers. Keep in mind that a battle between two space dreadnoughts would probably take place across a few dozen if not hundred miles. At that distance, it's simply a battle to see whose defenses would last longer, and in this kind of battle, it would definitely be the Star Destroyer's victory.

@geeman, good point didn't really take the transforming into account, saying its on offensive it might be able to deal with um but it does have pretty bad capabilities during an ambush i would assume

As much as I love Star Wars, I've gotta go with The Macross on this one. MACROSS CANNON can wtfpwn pretty much anything that moves. Even with deflection shielding, I do not think they could withstand the power of the cannon.

GoGo SDF Macross.

Star Destroyer. In the time it would take the Macross to transform, it would get torn to shreds. Plus, all those gears exposed during the process? They'd be bombed to hell.

And now I know why all those Star Destroyer pictures were in my Skype the other day.

Here's the real answer: While the SDF Macross and Star Destroyer and all their fighters are busy destroying each other--

--Captain Tylor shows up in the Soyokaze and somehow comically defeats them all without trying.

You're welcome. ;P

thou with the range on dreadnaughts im not sure of the star destroyers range, mostly i know its in a several km range not sure if its hundreds thou

I have to go with the Macross as well. I notice a lot of people have greatly under valued craft each vessel brings to the fight. Logically there is No reason for the Macross to come within range of the star destroyer, unless attempting to ambush using a fold... but even that would be a pointless risk.
SDF all the way

While, The SDF-1 is awesome in offense the pinpoint barrier would be no match for the thousands of cannons of the star destroyer. Another thing is that the SDF-1's armor is no joke it has not proven its worth against plasma based weapons used by the star destroyer.

so sadly my vote goes to the star destroyer.

SDF-1 gets my vote

Take out 1 of the Shield generators on the Star Destroyer and it's game over..

SDF-1

Hmm....the last time I recall the Macross being dragged into a otaku-debate firefight it was in victory against the Brunhilde, White Base, and the Exelion.

Knowing that the sheer improbability of our two subject battleships, SDF-1 and the Imperial II-class, being brought into an epic confrontation would likely have involved the traversing of several dimensions or universes. Seeing that attempting to figure out the chances of either ship actually being able to physically cross paths and unleash hell upon the other would amount to near-silliness, I would make a suggestion to how the fight would pan out:

The Star Destroyer, being able to completely overwhelm the Macross with an indefinite barrage of laser-cannon fire, would have coerced Captain Global, concerned for the safety of his crew and passengers, into a complete and unconditional surrender. The Imperial forces would then begin to send a landing party to board and commandeer the Macross, when suddenly - in a complete act of temporal/spacial silliness - the Transcendent Super Spiral Dreadnought Gunmen Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann would make a completely unexpected intrusion, and proceed to obliterate Macross and Star Destroyer; having mistaken the two for minions of the Anti-Spirals.

Too many variables. What's the bridge crew like, distance, is the Macross already transformed, who's piloting the fighters/ Valkyries, is Macross city populated or vacant, is this the dyrl sf-1 or sdfm tv version?

Star Destroyer all the way.

Star Destroyers don't have female pop stars. SDF Macross all the way.

@King of Hearts: Given that the variables have to be severely skewed in its favor for it to even have a fighting chance, I unfortunately have to vote against the SDF-1. My pick for the winner is Grand Admiral Thrawn's old workhorse, the Imperial-II Star Destroyer.

On that note, someone please give me an animu based on the Heir to the Empire trilogy. I wanna see Thrawn go Akagi-meets-LotGH on some motherfuckers.

@Pangloss. I see what your saying. But I'd just like a setting.

Against one Star Destroyer, or closely-clustered Star Destroyers, the SDF-1 could win with its main cannon. Against something more than one Star Destroyer, intelligently deployed, things are much less certain. The Valkyries are at least as good as an X-Wing, and the movies have shown that the Rebel Forces make short work of TIE Fighters. However, I think they would still have a rough time against the Destroyer, and the SDF, after it fires that one big shot, doesn't stack up favorably, with its point-defense system and the uncertainty of being able to pierce the thing's shields.

So: SDF-1 in a 1-on-1 match, but the Star Destroyer has the advantage that you can build a fleet of them.

I hate to say it, but I don't think a Star Destroyer really has the punch and versatility needed to take on the SDF Macross. Now if it were a Super Star Destroyer, no match.

SDF-1, hands down. It could punch the Star Destroyer

If we were talking Super Star Destroyer, this might take some thought, but SDF wins this one too easily. The Valkyrie would run rings around and destroy TIE fighters, and would probably take out the command deck with no need for the f***huge main cannon.

Also, the Imperials build bad spacecraft. And they're slow. I mean, if the Ewoks can beat Imperial foot-soldiers, it's not too much of a stretch to suggest that the SDF (which kicks ass) can beat Imperial Star Destroyers (which don't kick ass).

I'm totally not blinded by Macross love.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it, and that it wasn't mentioned in the initial article, but the Macross does have a second barrier system: the omni-directional barrier system. Not only does it protect all of the Macross from attacks (opposed to the pin-point system which only protects small number of places at a time) but when it gets overloaded it causes an explosion that can take out an entire city and yet leave the Macross it's self unharmed.

All the Macross would really have to do is turn on the omni-directional barrier system, get near the Star Destroyer and wait for it to blast the barrier system enough to cause the overload.

Easy win for SDF-1.

THE SDF-1 Macross would be the clear victor.

Lets take a look what it has going for it. The main gun we all know can vaporize everything in it's path vaporizes people I never seen anything
get vaporized in Star Wars nothing short of the death star taking out a capital ship in one blast. with a range of 120k miles long and 2k miles wide.
And it only takes 5 mins per shot it could stay out of the effect range and wear the Star Destroyer down if it wanted to. And that's if it some how
survived the first shot. I don't know how strong their shields are but everyone thinks that their shields can repel anything. I've read and played many Star Wars games and the proton torpedoes that took out the death star are nothing more than small nuclear warheads. Even the almighty super star destroyer in one
book I read and own was affraid of a potential volley of over 150-300 warheads.

Then who knows if the shield generators would survive the first attack. In some games you take those out and they have no shields and in others you knock out about 1/3 or so of their remaining power.

Next the macross has 4 railguns with a range of 10k miles. Those would have to hurt at the speed the shells travel, then it has 8 beam cannons with 4 of
them that could bear down at a time on one target. And 24 anti fighter mech missle launchers so if any tie fighters even got through would have that to
deal with. The last line of defense it has is the 588 destroids all through out the ships hull armed with lasers, missles, and guns I doubt any fighters
would even have a chance facing all that. Not counting the pin point barrier which even though their is only 3 of them can repel any and I mean any attack causing no damage if it blocks it.

In addition their is 300+ Valkyries fighters and if they are all fast packed with 6 nuclear missles each they could nail the star destroyer themselves. Plus I almost forgot they have 120 Ghost unmaned fighters helping out.

Now lets look at what they are facing. 36 turbolasers which are essentially anti-fighter guns. Not that much punch if we are talking about 2 capital
size ships going at it. 8 octuple barbette turbolaser cannons, these probably have more punch for larger ships. And 20 heavy ion cannons which don't destroy if you played the games they disable shields and or short circuit ships. I'd bet alien tech could survive being shorted circuited that's if they even take a hit. As for Tie fighters they have no shields, carry no missles, and fighter wise they are out numbered about 6 to 1.

Their are 2 ways I see the battle going. The first Macross fires it's main gun and it takes only 1 shot to vaporize the Star Destoryer battle over.

Or two, first shot does some damage they are still in the fight with all their arsenal giving them everything at their disposal wish full thinking but I'll give it to you. Then the macross fires a volley of shells from their 4 rail guns. At this point still out of the range from a counter attack. Then fires the 4 beam cannons and say by some miracle they're still around and kicking. Now they are in about range of the Star Destroyer. You have 300 Valkyries fighters all armed with a full load of 6 nukes. That's 1800 nuclear warheads total flying at the Star Destroyer so I'm sorry if a proton torpedo is just a regualr nuke and say these are equal or even less powerfull their is no chance in hell their shields could survive that number of warheads and still not being destroyed.

We all know pretty much even if both sides fighers were deployed the barrage of micro missles the Valkyries carry would descimate the ties before they could react. Even if some did, the speed and agility of the variables would would out fly them. And the macross anti-mech/figther defense along with the destroids would clean up the rest.

So their you have it if I haven't convinced you then you probably believe that the star Destroyer could take on a modern Star Trek Enterprise and all the advanced technology they have at their command.

Somehow I'm not surprised by the results so far. To expect something not from an anime to stand up to something from an anime on an anime-based website was an overly-optimistic hope at best.

Oh well, White Base and Super Spiral Dreadnought Cathedral Terra would pwn them both. White Base through sheer campiness factor, and SSDCT through campiness factor and spiral power.

What lemmons said.

Easy win for Macross.

Seriously, it can take out the entire zentradi armada. It could probably take the whole imperial fleet as well (sans death star).
Omnidirectional barrier FTW.

Macross due to sheer firepower, this coming from a Star Wars fan.

@Gee-Man
It's a number game really. If you line up the official canon numbers of both craft, then the SDF has a clear advantage over the. Makes sense when you consider that it was designed to be the main focus of a series, whereas the Imperial II was not. The SDFs biggest advantage is that it's combat capabilities are a bit more in line with real world military design. With its weapons designed to engage threats a distance whereas Lucas and co. seem to have made the ISD and other Star Wars ships for close in ship to ship engagements which admittedly, look more exciting on screen (ship combat in Macross usually involves the ship at a distance, firing away in support of it's fighters - not every exciting most of the time).

@dfens /salute o7

the sdf needs to transform for its main weapon which makes it slower and vulnarable while it transforms but the sdf has a chance.To face the imperial and change while in combat would be foolish so some time needs to be bought.A fold to some region before the imperial gets to firering range would send the sdf to a safe spot where it can trasform.From here its just a matter of waiting for them while they charge up the cannon and fire once they are spotted.Even if its shield hold up they would be weaker so the fighters can get to work taking out key points to futher weaken them or take the out and with the weak tie fighters as opponents they wont be stopped.After shooting the sdf could use the the omni-directional barrier and get close to the imprial ship without getting torn apart .it then scatters its fighters then unleashes the energy once it overloads directly above or next to the imperial ship. or fighers can be deployed after the overload so the imperial would be attacked by its main cannon shortly after followed by the barrier meltdown.this way Once the barrier explodes you could use all the fighter firepower over 800 vessels(valkrie and destroids).Follow by the valkries taking out key points. Anothther point for the sdf the imperial is without a doubt a beast but its main blast are at the front of the ship by placing the sdf right infront of the commanding station wich is at the top of the T it has no fear of its main attack its like taking koku without fear of hiskameha or simon without the giga drill.Imagine the omni barrier meldown from that position.

also i feel like 300 valkries could infaltrate the place and blow it up from the inside by entering through the hangers.

i mean if one ship could take on the death star

imperials make beast like ships but they are full of openings

i have no idea if this makes sense im under and shit doesnt compute .so i vote for the SDF p.s. those toy figures on the bottm they keep starring at me its freaking me out.

The SDF Macross will win, as long as the battle is accompanied by cheesy j-pop music.

For the purposes of this fight, I'm assuming neither ship gets the drop on the other.

The SDF-1 has the ability to deliver heavier blows with a period of time between shots/punches/etc. The Star Destroyer has the ability to continually pound a a target over time. So if this were Super Robot Taisen, I would argue the SDF-1 would likely win in a straight up shoot out.

As for the fighters, the SDF-1 again, has more ships which are more versatile than the standard imperial fare which means that the specialized bombers and gunships while arguable more effective versus capitals, have to wade through scads of gunfire and (most importantly) missiles before they can even get into range.

The third category is the crews. In terms of quality, the star destroyer has, percentage-wise, more soldiers/naval operators than the SDF which supports a civilian population which could be compromised if it comes to boarding actions. As for captains, I'm biased towards the SDF-1.

So, two for the SDF, one for the star destroyer. SDF wins.

wit wait is Vader on the Star Destroyer or not?

Ok, serious vote time now. I cast my ballot to the Macross, because if not I fear that somehow we might be haunted by more awful singing from drunken VAs.

the drunken singing will never end.

Lemmons + Dfens = SDF all the way!

The Star Destroyer. It would blast everything the Macross sends at it, while having plenty of firepower left over to shoot the Macross before it can transform.

SDF-1 Macross because of 300 Valkyries vs. 74 TIEs. Even in the unlikelyhood that the TIEs shot down the Valkyries for a one-for-one exchange, that still leaves 226 Valkyries to maul the star destroyer like the Zeon Zakus did to the Federation fleet at the Battle of Loum/One Year War (see Youtube--> Char at the Battle of Loum).

Historical precedents:
WW2: December 1941- Naval Battle off Malyasia where a British task force is destroyed by land- and sea-based Japanese warplaces.
WW2: April 1945- Japanese task force led by the superbattleship IJN Yamato is sunk north of Okinawa.

Now if the match-up was Spacebattleship Yamato vs. Star Destroyer, that would be a toss-up.

The Star Destroyer could use it's ridiculous amount of firepower to tear the SDF-1s defenses to shreds, especially when it can only protect three parts of the ship at once instead of the whole thing. Besides, the Star Destroyer can wipe out the SDF-1 and go into hyperspace before the Valkyries get anywhere near it. As for the transformation; one, there is now way it would survive the transformation without getting ripped apart. Two, even if it could transform and get to the Star Destroyer alive, let alone without crippling damage, punching it won't do much. Remember, Star Destroyers went through asteroid fields and survived collisions from other Star Destroyers. They would be somewhat damaged, but can still shoot the shit out of the SDF-1. Now, I really want to go watch Empire again.

The Star Destroyer hands down for one simple reason, its practical. The transformation sequence of the SDF-1 to access its main cannon would take far to much time and leave it vulnerable to a direct assault by combining all the assets the Star Destroyer has. Even if the SDF-1 could transform and still remain operational, it has to sacrifice maneuverability and speed which a absolutely vital in any form of vehicular combat.

TLDR: SDF-1 is for to impractical for proper ship to ship combat.

Star Destroyer, because it has more immediate fire power and could blitzkrieg the SDF-1 before it transforms. Also, being run by the Empire, it has less moral and ethical restraints, allowing for any number of highly questionable strategies and tactics. Relegate the TIE Fighters to defending the generators in order to cover that weakness.

Anything with Yamato cannon = win button.

I adore the Star Destroyer design but the SDF-1 would win hands down. TIE fighters don't have shields so Max and Miriya could likely shred the entire fleet of them. The SDF itself would destroy the Star Destroyer either with its main cannon, punch attack or its exploding barrier that it used to destroy Dolza's ship. I think these are quite convincing and I haven't even mentioned the Minmei attack. Stormtroopers would be totally shellshocked at hearing an idol singer giving the SDF-1 the last edge it needs.

That said, the Yamato could beat both with only its grim determination, manliness and cannon.

The Romano Fafard ~

I vote for the SDF-1, based on the reasons already stated (main gun, total barrier system, numerical superiority of smaller craft, etc.)

I think the Robotech version would be at even more of an advantage, since the omniscient narrator would control the flow of battle: "Rick Hunter began to attack the Star Destroyer's shield generator, as his squadmates Max Sterling and Ben Dixon hold off the enemy TIE Fighters, who are armed with laser cannons and...etc."

SDF-1 could transform well before the ISD is within striking distance. Standard UNS doctrine dicates that the SDF be in battle mode when entering into combat anyway. Also have to consider that the ISD would have to get past the SDF-1's fighter screen which would most likely be armed with FAST packs and nukes. Besides, we have visual proof of the SDF-1 engaging and defeating ships of comparable size and strength to the ISD (average Zentraedi warship is 1.5 to 2 times the size of an ISD, Britai's command ship is the length of a Super Star Destroyer). Also, and overload of the shield barrier has been shown to be able to take out something close to the size of the second Death Star (Boddolza's mothership is at least 510 km from bow to stern and 910 km tall, the DS-2 had a diameter of 900km).

No, Mayweather is just a pussy and demanded Olympic-style drug testing to get out of his boxing match with Manny Pacquiao...oh, wait...wrong discussion section. My bad :)

SDF-1 for the win.

Wow, It seems most people posting are woefully ignorant of modern navel and miliary tactics. So let me explain a few things.

To make it simple
the SDF is more of a carrier type equiped with long range weapons to support its fleet.

The ISD is mostly a gunship with medium range weapons designed to get in the thick of things and duke it out, with a small fleet of fighters for additional defense.

If the fight begins at long range, the ISD has a very poor chance. The longer range weaponry on the SDF will take a signifcant toll, draining energy reserves if nothing else(that is the best case).

If the ISD can surprise the SDF and begin an assualt before the SDF enter battle mode it victory is much more likely.

I don't believe it is needed to go over the differences between the boarded craft. No matter how objective one may be the valkyrie out perform the Tie fighter in every measure related to space combat. Manuverability, firepower and versatility.

There are many other point we could go over but, in an equal fight with both parties prepared for battle, the SDF has the highest chance of victory.

Anyone else with Naval/military experience care to comment?

SDF-1 Macross all the way. I love star wars, but that class of imperial star ship just has nothing on the macross. I mean, look at the Macross Cannon and the Daedalus Attack(i think it was macross punch in robotech, not sure, its been to long and other people here call it macross punch) the imperial destroyers shield cant withstand that. As uber awesome as it is, it just wont hold. And under 100 TIE craft vs all the valkyries? With skull squadron? Roy Focker and his names awesomeness, Ichjou Hikaru, Maximillian, Milia, and countless other skilled valkyrie pilots? No way, that level of imperialness cant hold up on that. However, pitting the eclipse up with this its obvious who wins. But if its the eclipse, then you would have to use the Battle Frontier/Galaxy, and macross would STILL win.

@Emiya
Well to compare the fighter craft of both ships, not only does the SDF-1 carry more, but it's craft are more sturdy and better armed. In full Super configuration, a VF-1 carries enough missiles to give it the edge against superior numbers. Also, the way they fight seems similar to real world doctrine, where the fighters will lock on and fire missiles at their targets beyond visual range to thin them out before going in to engage them in ship to ship dogfighting. Now consider that the Macross version of this usually means the use of tactical nuclear weaponry versus conventional AMRAAMs that are seen in real life.

The tactics of this battle is simple. Both sides like to send their fighters out first, and use their guns as backup.

The star destroyer's guns have trouble keeping track of an A-wing, so I don't imagine that they could track the Valkyries very well. The tie-fighters may have light-speed guns, so they'll take out a few Valkyries, but they cannot stand up against the sheer missile barrage they'd receive in retaliation.

The battle will end before the two ships even get within range. The Valkyries alone will rip the Star Destroyer to shreds.

SDF-1, all the way.

SDF-1 Macross wins, hands down... becuase of a system not listed here.

You see, the four pinpoint barriers can create an omni-directional barrier field that can protect the entire ship. And when it overloads, it creates an explosive effect that can destroy entire cities. (As it does to Ontario). The Omnidirectional Barrier was also crucial in defeating Gorg Boldolza's fortress in Episode 27.

Sorry, even pure defensively, the SDF-1 could easily take out an Imperial Star Destroyer.

And heaven help the Empire if you've got a singer.

Sdf-1. The empire tends to be very headstrong and overconfident.

It'll start out with a scout sighting something in the distance both sides will then prepare for battle.Fighters launching, individuals assuming battle stations or for the sdf-1 citizens seeking shelter. During this time the sdf-1 will begin its tedious transformation. Meaning the Valkyrie pilots would have to hold out for 15 minutes. During these few moments both sides send out recon ships and gather intel on the other. The Imperial captain looks in amazement and curiosity at the other ship and wonders what exactly is taking place.

After the tie fighters are over powered both ships are in position for their various attacks.
Several things could happen:
-Macross fires cannon star destroyer obliterated.

-Star destroyer detects energy build up from the macross and just barely evades suffering damage but continues to fight till the very end due to second volley from Macross cannon.

-Reaction weaponry authorized super Valkyries proceed to bomb Star destroyer. Resulting in destruction of destroyer.

-A macross punch occurs.

-For some reason the generators for the Macross cannon don't work(let's just say the force). The maneuver in the following video is performed for the first time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIGoCbOSH_M

-Minmei sings. All Imperial forces surrender and side with the macross and share technology.

-A boarding party reaches the macross. They hear Minmei's singing and give up.

-A boarding party reaches the macross. They get lost in the depths of the ship and are never heard form again.

-A boarding party reaches the Star destroyer. Upon exiting the craft it is revealed that Kenshiro,Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune are aboard. Death ensues.
Well that's all I can think of for now.

Coming soon... Kenshiro Vs. Darth Vader

just joined up so i can comment on this. This question can be answered depending what time the attack takes places on the SDF. During 2009 during the voyage flight of the SDF it can fire the main cannon in space cruiser mode. After the jump to pluto it lost that ability and needed to transform to fire it main weapon and pinpoint system wasn't created. so this would be during the SDF weakest point, no defense and must have transform to fire the only weapon that matters. Later on it gains pinpoint defense and the ramming maneuver. During the end of the series though its at its strongest with omni defense which can also be used as a weapon. So if only 1 standard star destroyer is going to guarantee win it has to be after jump but before the sdf gain the ability (thru misa or lisa for the robotech fans) for melee combat. A close battle would be during c stage of sdf (transform for main gun but pinpoint barrier and ramming maneuver)
The "A" and "D" stages though SDF easy.
So i break it down like this... SDF "A" vs Star destroyer = SDF
SDF "B" vs Star Destroyer = Star Destroyer (unless the SDF was already transformed)
SDF "C" vs Star Destroyer = too close to call. who ever gets the drop on the other first
SDF "D" vs Star Destroyer = SDF can take on 40 star destroyers easy with omni barrier.

What nobody thought of is what year this is in, so sdf-1 could call in any one, being that if Luca's experimental no fold-fault-time-lag fold engine was completed, all constructed macross's could come to the aid of good ol' sdf-1, no question