MS-09R-2 Rick Dom II

The MS-09R-2 Rick Dom II is a fictional mobile suit with two different models appearing in Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket and Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory respectively.

Technology and Combat Characteristics
The MS-09R-2 Rick Dom II is a product of the United Maintenance Plan and an upgraded version of the already exceptional MS-09R Rick Dom. Because it was originally developed for space combat, its armor and overall form are shaped into flat surfaces as air resistance is nonexistent in space. Its main improvements were overall increased thruster acceleration, along with the addition of more attitude control verniers for improved maneuverability. Because of the increased fuel consumption, the Rick Dom II's producer, Zimmad, added a pair of external propellant tanks to allow the Rick Dom II to operate in the field longer.

Armaments

 * Scattering Beam Gun
 * A chest mounted scattering beam gun. Does little damage to enemy mobile suits but can be used to blind enemy pilots for several seconds. The output of the chest beam cannon has been increased, improving its reliability as a weapon.


 * Heat Saber Type7
 * The Rick Dom II features an improved version of the Dom Type2 heat saber. Stored on the backpack when not in use, this weapon bears a strong resemblance to the beam sabers used by Earth Federation mobile suits, however it still relies on the older technology of using thermal energy to superheat a metal blade, allowing it to melt through the armor of an enemy machine at high speed.


 * 360mm Giant Bazooka II
 * The primary weapon of the Rick Dom II, which is a redesigned version of MS-09 Dom series' 360mm Giant Bazooka, with improved shape charges and firepower. The Giant Bazooka II is magazine-fed with 5-round capacity. A single round is particularly effective in anti-ship warfare, and can blow the torso off of an enemy mobile suit.


 * MMP-80/90mm Ver.8 Machine Gun
 * As part of the United Maintenance Plan, new weapons were produced. They could be paired by numerous weapons such as the MMP-80 90mm machine gun. The machine gun is magazine-fed with 32 rounds per mag.


 * 880mmRB-T27 Raketen Bazooka
 * A new heavy bazooka that uses a five round mag.


 * Sturm Faust
 * An explosive weapon with a rocket propelled warhead, it was designed before the beginning of the One Year War as an anti-ship weapon. Useful both in space and under gravity, it was mainly deployed for anti-ship attacks during the early days of the war. The Sturm Faust likely made a good anti-mobile suit weapon during the latter days of the war, as Zeon mobile suits could be equipped with both a Sturm Faust and a more typical ranged weapon for greater versatility. As a non-guided weapon, it is difficult to hit targets with high mobility. Can be stored on waist armor storage racks.


 * Giant Heat Sword
 * A prototype heat weapon which was developed specifically for anti-ship warfare, the giant heat sword featured a long and large super-heated blade which could chop off Federation warship armors with ease. The Rick Dom II unit piloted by Guy Helmuth of Marchosias regiment, was equipped with a giant heat sword supplied by Zeon's Granada Base.

Special Equipment & Features

 * External Ejectable Propellant Tanks
 * An external tank used for propellant storage. This extra propellant greatly extends a mobile suit's operating range, and enables it to stay in combat longer. When the propellant is consumed, the tank can be discarded to reduce the mobile suit's weight. These tanks use a two-layered construction, with one layer containing propellant, and the other holding extra coolant.

History
Very late in the One Year War, the Principality of Zeon launched their United Maintenance Plan to upgrade and improve existing mobile suit designs, and to streamline its own manufacturing capabilities. Several new mobile suit designs were produced from this, including the MS-09R-2 Rick Dom II.

The Rick Dom II is an improved version of the MS-09R Rick Dom, a space-use version of the MS-09 Dom both of which the Principality of Zeon introduced during the latter part of the One Year War, and had a significantly higher performance. The redesign put the mobile suit on more even terms with the advanced mobile suits being deployed by the Earth Federation and even the Principality's own MS-14 Gelgoog. It was designed very late in the war, therefore very few units were produced.

Despite being built in limited numbers several of the Rick Dom II mobile suits participated in skirmishes with Earth Federation Forces stationed at Side 6 during the month of December of U.C. 0079, the last month of the One Year War. These skirmishes had little overall strategic value and were carried as part of an operation to discover and destroy an advanced Earth Federation mobile suit, the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex", that the Zeon military had tracked from a Federation Antarctic base. One unit was piloted by Guy Helmuth of Zeon's regiment the Marchosias and carried a giant heat sword for close range combat. Guy and his Rick Dom II would participate in the battles of Solomon and A Baoa Qu.

A number of Rick Dom II units that did survive the One Year War made it to the Delaz Fleet, and took part in Operation Stardust. However, some of those units had slightly fewer thrusters, possibly due to the unavailability of replacement parts for the mobile suits. Despite being an antiquated machine this unit would be deployed in U.C. 0096 by the Zeon Remnants.