MS-11 Action Zaku

The MS-11 Action Zaku (aka Act Zaku) is a Principality of Zeon mass production general purpose mobile suit. It was featured as a mobile suit variation in MS-X, it later appeared in the anime Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the manga Mobile Suit Gundam: Outer Gundam.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
Built under the Pezun Project at Zeon's Pezun space asteroid base, the Action Zaku was planned to be a new mass-production model mobile suit that the Zeon would field to sway the tides of war back into their favor. The Action Zaku was the testbed for the new "magnetic coating" technology developed by the Zeonic Company. The special magnetic coating materials were applied to the joints of the Action Zaku, which could be electrically charged to produce a magnetic field. This field caused the components of the joints to repel one another, reducing the friction caused by joint movement to almost nothing, creating a faster and much more responsive mobile suit.

The Action Zaku was also designed with a much higher output reactor, allowing it to wield beam weaponry. A custom beam rifle was in production for the Act Zaku to use. However, the design for the weapon was not complete by the time the Act Zakus were deployed, so they were issued machine guns instead, however as Mallet Sanguine's Action Zaku was seen using a beam rifle before the war ended it's possible that the beam rifle managed to be produced but in limited numbers. The Act Zaku was also issued a heat tomahawk for use as a melee weapon.

Armaments

 * ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun
 * The 120mm machine gun is a standard weapon for Zaku type mobile suits. It is a shell firing gun that does not require energy to be used, however its effectiveness against heavy armor is very little. The ZMP-50D used a 100-round drum magazine.


 * 280mm Zaku Bazooka
 * The 280mm Zaku Bazooka was another standard weapon that could be equipped to a Zaku type mobile suit. The bazooka fired explosive rounds that were quite effective against the armor of Earth Federation mobile suits and battleships.


 * Beam Rifle
 * The technology of the rifle allows the weapon to fire compressed mega particles in the form of a beam which has the power to penetrate all but the specially treated materials (Although the beam loses power as it travels so if a target is too far away). It is unknown how many of these was produced during the One Year War, but one is confirmed to used by Mallet Sanguine's Action Zaku. After the War ended, the Federation would produce this weapon and by the time of the Gryps Conflict all of their Action Zaku's would use this as standard equipment.


 * 4-barrel Bullpup Gun
 * The 4-barrel Bullpup Gun is an open-bolt, gas-operated, magazine-fed, mobile suit handheld sub-machine gun. It does not require energy to be used, however its effectiveness against heavy armor is very little. When the magazine is empty, it can be discarded and replaced with a new one.


 * Heat Hawk
 * The heat hawk is the standard melee weapon of the Action Zaku (as well as all other Zaku mobile suits). The heat hawk is shaped like an axe and utilizes heat blade technology. The blade of the weapon is designed to heat to super high temperatures in order to melt, or at least soften, the metal armor of the target, thus causing more damage.


 * Gelgoog Shield
 * The shield is a thick sheet of armor designed to take severe punishment that would normally destroy a mobile suit. Typically physical shields can only take so much damage before they succumb to the pressure and break. The Action Zaku could equipped with a Gelgoog's unique arm mounted shield styled after the shields used by the African Zulu tribe.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Magnetic-Coated Joints
 * The purpose for the Magnetic Coating applied to the mobile suits joints was to decrease friction between joints, allowing for enhanced maneuverability and decreasing the chances for the joints to lock-up. Originally developed for Newtype use, the technology also appears in some Earth Federation's MS (most noticeably the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex").

History
The Action Zaku was introduced too late for the Principality of Zeon. Some units might have actually seen combat during the retake of the Pezun asteroid after the end of the war, quite possibly already equipped with beam rifles. When the Earth Federation Forces captured the Pezun asteroid, they obtained the designs for the Action Zaku, and the concept of magnetic joint coating. The Earth Federation would put the Action Zaku into production for their own use after the One Year War.

At least one custom unit belong to Granada's ace pilot, Mallet Sanguine. This Action Zaku has a commander antenna on its forehead and armed with two heat hawks, and an beam rifle and shield. After Mallet got seriously injured by the RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4 "G04"'s mega beam launcher, he has the Action Zaku's limiter removed - increasing its performance while ignoring his condition - in order to exact vengeance from G04's partner, RX-78-5 Gundam Unit 5 "G05".

The Earth Federation would use the Action Zaku for many years, right up into the Gryps Conflict, though not in as great a number as their other mass-produced machines. By UC 0087 the Action Zaku was fairly outdated when compared to the advanced machines being produced by both sides, and saw resounding defeats during each engagement against the AEUG. By UC 0087 the Action Zaku was phased out of service with the Earth Federation.

Notes & Trivia

 * In the game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, the Action Zaku is an unlockable unit and has its own beam rifle. The design of the beam rifle in the game is similar to the design for the beam rifle the Hi-Zack and Marasai used. This might imply that when the Pezun base was captured by the Earth Federation, they took the design for this beam rifle for their own production purposes.
 * In Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation the Act Zaku is equipped with a Beam Saber for its melee weapon, its stored on a recharge rack on the rear waist armor.