Girly Air Force

is a Japanese light novel series written by Kōji Natsumi and illustrated by Asagi Tōsaka. A manga adaptation by Takahiro Seguchi launched Monthly Shōnen Ace in October 2018, and an anime adaptation by Satelight is set to premiere in January 2019.

Plot
Earth has come under attack by the Zai, a mysterious "armed group" using unusually highly advanced weapon systems far superior to any Terran military technology. A young Chinese-Japanese teenager named Kei Narutani and his Chinese girlfriend Minghua, both living in Shanghai, are force-evacuated to Japan when the city is attacked by the Zai. During their escape by sea, several Zai fighters begin sinking the evacuation fleet when Kei suddenly witnesses the Zai being repelled by a strange fighter. When the plane subsequently crashes, Kei rushes to aid the pilot but is surprised to find a pretty girl at the controls.

After arriving in Japan, Kei begins investigating the origins of the strange fighter, and before long he is captured by Japanese secret service agents. He learns from them that it was a Swedish fighter retrofitted with special reverse-engineered technology developed by the JASDF. But in order for the tech function properly, they require s an autonomous interface unit called "Anima", androids shaped like human girls who are made from salvaged Zai parts, hence why the planes are codenamed "Daughters". The girl Kei encountered, by the name of Gripen (after the plane she flies), is such an "Anima" unit who formed an emotional attachment to him when he came to her aid. When her supervising developer notices that effect, he invites Kei into the Anima project and act as Gripen's partner in order to boost her flight performance and prevent her from being scrapped.