Macross Delta (TV)

The character Hayate Immelman's last name is likely taken from the WWI flying ace Max Immelman, whose name is associated with two different aerial maneuvers, one a modern day aerobatic move and also the original "Immelman Turn" combat maneuver that was named after him.

The Aerial Knights' SV-262 Draken III is based on the Swedish fighter plane Saab 35 Draken.

The series' second ending theme "Rune ga Pikatto Hikattara" incorporates melodies from the Earth, Wind and Fire song "September".

The Macross Elysion is named after Elysium, which is the Greek concept of afterlife. Its left arm, the Aether, is named after the Greek demigod of the upper sky. Its right arm, the Hemera, is named after the Greek goddess of the daytime.

Planet Ragna is named after Ragnarök, the Norse mythology series of multiple events.

Macross Delta draws inspiration from the German composer Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," the famous Ring Cycle of four works based loosely on Norse and German mythology. The idol group name Walkure is likely from Die Walkure (The Valkyrie), the second of the four works. The SV-262 Draken III (Swedish for dragon) is opposed by the VF-31 Siegfried. Siegfried is the third of the Ring Cycle and is also the name of the titular character who slays Fafner, a giant who turned into a dragon.

In episode 1, Chuck Mustang calls one of his aerial maneuvers the "Submarine Attack". As he is a Fire Bomber fan, this is a reference to the band's song "Submarine Street".

In episode 3, Hayate does an aerial maneuver with his VF-1EX based on the movements of a seacat. This is a reference to episode 3 of Macross Zero, where Shin Kudo based the air-sea adaptability of his VF-0D on flying fish.

The white/red/black livery of Mirage's VF-1EX in episode 3 closely resembles the original Jetfire toy from the Transformers series. Jetfire was a recolored 1/55 scale VF-1S Super Valkyrie toy Hasbro licensed from Matsushiro Toys, which acquired the molds from the now-bankrupt Takatoku Toys. When Bandai purchased the molds of the toy from Matsushiro in 1984, they had to respect Matsushiro's original contract with Hasbro and continue manufacturing the Jetfire variant.

The scene where Freyja sings aboard Hayate's Siegfried unit in episode 5 is a nod to Macross: Do You Remember Love?, which had a similar scene with Hikaru Ichijyo and Lynn Minmay.

In episode 9, Freyja spots Hayate and Mirage alone on Ranka Beach, which is named after Ranka Lee of Macross Frontier.

In episode 11, Zack and Hack sing an acoustic version of "Remember 16", a Fire Bomber song from Macross 7.