F99 Record Breaker

The F99 Record Breaker is an experimental mobile suit that appears in Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: Steel 7

Technology and Combat Characteristics
The F99 Record Breaker is a prototype mobile suit design that that Strategic Naval Research Institute developed. The sole purpose of the mobile suit is to serve as a testbed for a miniaturized version Minovsky Drive system that was used on the Mother Vanguard. For this purpose the Record Breaker succeeded with flying colors, being faster and more maneuverable than any previous mobile suit. The Minovsky Drive was incorporated into four X-shaped thrusters that bore a passing resemblance for elegant insect wings, though whether the four thrusters were needed or if the design was carried over from SNRI's previous design, the F97 Crossbone Gundam.

As with most prototype mobile suits the Record Breaker was fully combat capable, though it did not have any built in weapons. Instead it utilized a powerful beam rifle. The butt of the rifle could disengage with the barrel, revealing a Zanber-style beam saber, indicating that the weapon was derived from the Zanbuster used by the F97 Crossbone Gundam.

Though its full speed was never stated, there is a given reference. It is stated that the F99 Record Breaker could travel the distance between Earth and Jupiter in less than a week, whereas ships designed to travel such distances required a minimum of three months even when the distance between Earth and Jupiter was at its shortest.

Aesthetically the F99 Record Breaker shares some physical similarities to the F97 Crossbone Gundam, but it looks quite a bit like the mobile suits used by the Zanscare Empire, indicating that Ballistic Equipment and Space Patrol Armory may have taken a part of designs when they broke away from SNRI.

SNRI officials planned to redesign the Record Breaker's exterior to make it look more like a Gundam-class mobile suit to improve its selling points to the Federation.

History
The 'F99 Record Breaker is a prototype mobile suit developed by SNRI and produced in the year 0136 U.C.

SNRI built three Record Breakers piloted by SNRI test pilots Yon, Ulysses, and Doretsuku who were taught by Minoru Suzuki. The machines and their pilots were stationed at an SNRI production and research facility on the moon.

When the Crossbone Vanguard pirates discovered that the Jupiter Empire was planning to use a colony laser on the Earth they realized that the only way to get to the Jupiter Sphere from the Earth Sphere with enough time to stop the first attack was to use a Minovsky Drive. However the only ship with a Minovsky Drive, the Mother Vanguard had been destroyed three years prior. It seemed hopeless until Tobia Arronax remembered that SNRI was developing mobile suits that could use the Minovsky Drive. Knowing it was their only hope the pirates quickly made their way to the moon base to plead their case to SNRI to let them use the mobile suits.

The Record Breaker was first seen performing maneuvers as the Little Gray was docking.

Though the SNRI officials were hesitant they ultimately agreed to let the Crossbone Vanguard to use the Record Breakers for their mission. However before any action could be taken the Jupiter Empire attacked with a number of their Amakusa mobile suits, piloted by normal pilots instead of bio-brains, and a new Cornigs mobile suit piloted by Callisto's Shadow. The Record Breakers and the XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X-1 Kai Kai "Skull Heart" sortied against the Jovian Forces. Tobia Arronax warned the pilots of the Record Breakers back, telling them that they couldn't risk the mobile suits being damaged. However despite not having any combat experience Yon, Ulysses, and Doretsuku showed the power of the Record Breakers by out-flying the Amakusas and picking them off one by one, destroying most of them without taking any damage.

However the pilots were soon outmatched by Callisto's Shadow and his bird-like Cornigs. Callisto's Shadow had an unnatural ability to predict the movements of the Record Breakers, combined with the unusual movement capabilities of his own machine made him impossible to hit, and he quickly destroyed the Record Breakers, killing the pilots except for Doretsuku, and severely damaging the Skull Heart.