On a related note, is that an R-9W? I feel doubly sorry for the pilot, then.
It is just an R-9A Arrowhead though given what the pilot is facing, the R-9W Wiseman would give said pilot a much better chance of survival (or the R-9WF Sweet Memories for the truly Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, and Death–Defying). I would not blame the pilot for refusing to pilot any ship in the Wiseman series though..
Maybe this particular pilot ended up in Gensokyo as a result from participating in Operation Last Dance and assumed that the Scarlet sisters are new bydo forms. Given the length of the war, it would be understanding.