ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam

In late CE 73, ZAFT creates a new series of advanced mobile suits to succeed their previous generation of Gundams, which were all lost in the previous war. Since the Treaty of Junius bans the military use of the Neutron Jammer Canceller, these new Gundams use conventional battery power instead. However, technological improvements over the last two years mean that battery efficiency is improved, and Phase Shift armor is less power intensive than it had once been. To further improve endurance, ZAFT also introduces the new Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System, which allows a properly equipped battleship to remotely recharge a mobile suit's battery.

One of these new suits is the ZGMF-X23S Saviour, a transformable unit specializing in aerial combat. The Saviour is armed with a large beam rifle, a pair of beam sabers stored in its shoulder, and CIWS guns, as well as a pair of back-mounted pods containing beam and plasma beam cannons. These pods can fold under the Saviour's arms to fire in mobile suit mode, and also constitute its primary armament when it transforms into a high-speed airplane-like flight mode.

The ZGMF-X23S Saviour uses the operating system Generation Unrestricted Network Drive Assault Module.

The Saviour is produced separately from the other 4 new Gundams, and after the fall of Junius Seven it is assigned by Chairman Gilbert Dullindal to Athrun Zala, newly reinstated to ZAFT and appointed by Dullindal to the elite FAITH detachment. Athrun then flies the Saviour Gundam back to Earth and joins the crew of the battleship Minerva, but after disabling the mobile armor YMAG-X7F Gells-Ghe in the Gulnahan Ravine near Suez he accomplishes little in combat. He manages to tie up ZGMF-X24S Chaos pilot Sting Oakley in most engagements by providing a difficult to hit target, but takes very little offensive action against the EA forces. Saviour is later damaged beyond repair by Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X10A Freedom in a naval battle off the coast of Crete.

The Saviour was built using the ZGMF-YX21R Proto-Saviour as its basis. The Proto-Saviour, unlike ZAFT's other new mobile suits, was designed and constructed on Earth. Aside from having a black and white color scheme instead of red, the Proto-Saviour is visually indistinguishable from the Saviour, and is identical in armament. Shortly after the "Break the World" terrorist attack, the Proto-Saviour is stolen by EA forces under the command of LOGOS operative Matisse, and is refitted with the Mirage Colloid Virus Spreader and redesignated with the model number RGX-04. It makes its combat debut by attacking a shuttle carrying EA fugitive Edward Harrelson and escorted by TS-MA4F Exass pilot Morgan Chevalier and ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom pilot Riika Sheder, presumably to sow further distrust between the EA and PLANT. Its is driven off by Terminal pilot Jean Carrey in his MBF-M1 Astray, which is equipped with a Verne 35A/MPFM Multipurpose Flight Module.

ZGMF-X23S Saviour
Manufacturer: Integrated Design Bureau User: Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty Unit type: prototype attack use transformable mobile suit Overall height: 18.61 meters (mobile suit mode) Weight: 77.13 metric tons Special equipment: Phase Shift armor, Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery Armament: MMI-GAU25A 20mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, M106 "Amfortas" plasma beam cannon x2, MA-7B "Super Fortis" beam cannon x2, MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm machinegun x2, MA-M941 "Vajra" beam saber x2, MA-BAR70 high-energy beam rifle x1, MMI-RD11 aerodynamic shield x1 Pilot: Athrun Zala

ZGMF-YX21R (RGX-04) Proto Saviour
Manufacturer: Integrated Design Bureau User: Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty Unit type: prototype attack use transformable mobile suit Overall height: 18.61 meters (mobile suit mode) Weight: 77.13 metric tons Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery Armament: MMI-GAU25A 20mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, M106 "Amfortas" plasma beam cannon x2, MA-7B "Super Fortis" beam cannon x2, MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm machinegun x2, MA-M941 "Vajra" beam saber x2, MA-BAR70 high-energy beam rifle x1, MMI-RD11 aerodynamic shield x1

Trivia

 * Saviour's head crest displays the text "X23S TRE", which means "Three" in Italian and is a reference to the Saviour's series number.
 * The name Saviour may be a poke at G-Saviour and the way Saviour being destroyed by the Freedom being known as being "Savioured" seems to reinforce this.