MBF-M1 M1 Astray

The MBF-M1 M1 Astray is a mass-produced mobile suit for the Orb Union in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The armament of the Astray is virtually the same as the one used on the Astray prototype units in their original, unmodified state as well as the one used on their Earth Alliance counterpart of their time the GAT-01 Strike Dagger. The M1 Astray is an all-purpose, all-environment mobile suit, suitable for use on Earth or in space. Its weaponry includes two "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, which are mounted in the head and used to shoot down incoming missiles or close units and for close combat two Type 70 beam sabers, which, like the ones on the prototypes, are mounted behind the shoulders when not in use. The Astray also uses a Type 71 beam rifle for ranged combat. It also has a shield which is effective against beam sabers, but useless against a GuAIZ's beam claw or a beam rifle shot. The Astray is among the mass produced mobile weapons which seem to lack the ability to mount any optional weaponry as the suit is never seen with any other armament besides its main one. As well, the M1 Astray seems to have a low tolerance for using other weaponry, as one Astray piloted by Rondo Gina Sahaku had the servos in one arm completely blown when it used the MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame's Gerbera Straight katana.

Armaments

 * "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS
 * The Igelstellung 75mm multi-barrel Close In Weapon System is a pair of head mounted Vulcan guns. These guns are small-caliber (for a mobile suit) shell firing weapons that are designed to shoot down missiles and lightly armored vehicles, but are ineffective against the heavier armor of a mobile suit.


 * Type 70 Beam Saber
 * The type 70 beam saber is the standard close combat beam weapon of Orb mobile suits. The MBF-M1 M1 Astray is equipped with two beam sabers.


 * Type 71 Beam Rifle
 * The type 71 beam rifle is the standard ranged beam weapon of the Orb military. The beam rifle fires a charged energy beam that is highly effective against most targets, such as mobile suits, but was less effective against targets designed to take beam attacks, such as laminated armor or shields treated with an anti-beam coating.

System Features

 * EF-24R Flight Rotor Shrike
 * After the first Bloody Valentine War, some Astrays were fitted with the "EF-24R Flight Rotor Shrike", which was mounted on the existing flight pack for improved aerial capabilities. When equipped with the flight rotor shrike the Astray was capable of independent flight in the Earth's atmosphere, though at fairly low velocities when compared to newer flight capable mobile suits.


 * Flight Pack
 * To increase mobility, the M1 Astrays are fitted with a fixed "flight pack" derived from the GAT-X105 Strike's Aile Striker pack. The flight pack did not provide true flight but did increase the suit's overall mobility.

History
The Astray series mobile suits are a series of light mobile suits build by the Orb Union during the Bloody Valentine War to protect their neutrality. Benefiting from the Earth Alliance's G Project research, the Astrays copyed most of the major features of the Gundam mobile suits except for Phase Shift armor, which Orb could not duplicate by observation. The model number of the Astrays is "MBF" (for Main Battle Figure), which was also used on the prototype models, which were the MBF-P01 Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame, MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame,MBF-P04 Astray Green Frame and the uncompleted MBF-P05(Which later become MBF-05LM Astray Mirrage Frame)

The base production model of the Astray is the MBF-M1, commonly simply called the "M1 Astray". The M1 Astrays were test-piloted by Asagi Caldwell, Juri Wu Nien, and Mayura Labatt, but little progress was made until Strike pilot Kira Yamato assisted in creating a Natural-use operating system. Even before this OS was completed, Orb put the M1 Astray into mass production. However, this proved insufficient when the Earth Alliance invaded Orb, as even though they proved individually superior to the Strike Daggers, Orb's forces were eventually overwhelmed. Several of the surviving M1 Astrays were loaded onto the battleship Kusanagi to escape into space, where they provided the bulk of the Three Ships Alliance's mobile suit compliment. Many of these Astrays were however destroyed protecting the ships of the Alliance, among them the three of the test pilots.

When he joined the Three Ship Alliance, Jean "Glittering Star J" Carry piloted an M1 Astray with a white paint scheme, modified it with more verniers for extra maneuverabilty, and a beam sniper rifle like the one used by the MBF-M1A M1A Astray. This unit has been called the "MBF-M1 M1 Astray Jean Carry Custom". He survived the war, and joined up with the Orb defense forces.

Besides the variant M1A Astray, former Morgenroete technician Yoon Sefan created the MWF-JG71 Raysta, a civilian mobile suit based upon the M1 Astray. This suit is eventually mass produced by the Junk Guild and used mainly by them.

In CE 73, the successor to the Astray series, the MVF-M11C Murasame was fielded. The Murasame featured similar but increased armament and was capable of transforming into a jet fighter for aerial combat. Also some of the older Astray units were outfitted with Flight Rotor Shrike units for increased aerial abilities.

Variants

 * MBF-M1A M1A Astray
 * MWF-JG71 Raysta

Trivia

 * In the GBA Gundam SEED game, it's possible for the Archangel crew to obtain an Astray, though for only one stage. This is done by having Kira ignore Birdy flying off while in ORB.
 * Other than its colors, the Astray's shield is identical to the shield of the GAT-X105 Strike and GAT-X102 Duel
 * The HG Gundam Seed Remaster Gunpla of the M1 Astray is given an extra "plastic model exclusive" armament in the form of two Anti-Ship Swords that can be mounted on the hip armor when not in use.
 * The instruction manual in the Gunpla kit specifies the M1 Astray unit numbers of the three test pilots: Asagi's designated unit is 211, Mayura's is 212, and Juri's is 213. Bundled number decals allow the option of displaying these unit numbers or applying a custom one.