and usually bloodily losing against their sheer numbers. narrow straits, yes, deep ocean, no), so human defenders get a lot of scenes trying to hold them with prepared and mobile defenses. BETA can't fly or swim, but they can travel underwater for relatively short distances (e.g. Storming the Beaches: Seen on multiple occasions from the defensive side.

Alternate history caused by Alien Invasion? Check.

Spiritual Successor: The non- Extra ones can be considered a successor to the Gunparade March in many aspects.

Self-Deprecation: 'Chicken Divers', which refer to pilots who have survived a second orbital drop, is a Gallows Humor title they applied to themselves, as 'cowards' (chickens) who ran away from death twice.

The standard military code for 'impending G-Bomb deployment' is CODE666, which is first seen at the aptly-named Operation Lucifer.

The number designation of the unit the main cast of the Unlimited/Alternative prequel/sidestory Schwarzesmarken belongs to: the 666th TSF Squadron.

Number of the Beast: Two examples in sidestories.

Humongous Mecha/ A Mech by Any Other Name: Tactical Surface Fighters (TSFs) typically stand about three to four stories tall, and have a tactical role akin to attack helicopters on steroids: even though they can fly, they're treated mainly as close air support vehicles rather than high-flying aircraft, since their flight ceiling is relatively low even if Laser-class BETA aren't around.

Hotter and Sexier: Strike Frontier, a gacha game, has (unvoiced) H-scenes for SR girls, including pre-existing characters such as Yui (in her adult and younger versions), Yuuhi, and various others.

Eventually justified in Alternative when it is discovered that they're actually nonsentient deep-space mining drones created by an extraterrestrial civilization, and don't have the capability to recognize humans as living beings.

Horde of Alien Locusts: The BETA, which mine any and all available resources wherever they go, including humans.

Hero of Another Story: There's the occasional stories about the main casts of Alternative, The Euro Front, The Day After and Total Eclipse.

Muv luv characters total eclipse