RGM-79G GM Command

The RGM-79G GM Command is a mass produced general purpose mobile suit and variant of the RGM-79 GM, built by the Earth Federation. The unit is featured in the anime mini-series Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
Built along the same frame of the RGM-79SP GM Sniper II, the GM Command was intended to be a high performance mobile suit for commanders of MS squadrons. It featured more thrusters to make it more agile to the standard GM. There was also a space version made of the GM Command, the RGM-79GS GM Command Space Type, which was essentially the same as the ground type, but removed the equipment needed to work on Earth and in space colonies. Both versions of the GM Command were too expensive to mass produce in great numbers so limited numbers were fielded during the final weeks of the One Year War.

Armaments

 * 60mm Vulcan Gun
 * A standard armament of the mobile suits that are descended from the Earth Federation Forces's RX series is a pair of head mounted 60mm vulcan guns. These shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire but have little power and can't damage the thick armor of a mobile suit, though it can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors. The weapons are ideal for shooting down small, fast moving, lightly armored targets such as missiles, small land vehicles, and attack helicopters.


 * Beam Saber
 * Unlike the standard GM, which has only 1 beam saber stored on its backpack, the GM Command has 2 beam sabers stored on the back of its skirt armor.


 * Shield
 * Shields are simple in their design, being essentially thick slabs of metal that the equipped mobile suit can use to absorb the impact from attacks that, for whatever reason, cannot be dodged. However shields can only withstand so much pressure before becoming damaged themselves. As technology progressed it became necessary for shields to be treated with an anti-beam coating as a measure of defense against beam weapons which can normally penetrate any physical barrier, however the coating gets gradually burned away each time a beam strikes it until it is rendered useless.


 * Typically shields used by GM series mobile suits are almost the length of the mobile suit's height and are carried in the left hand.


 * Bullpup Machine Gun
 * Because of the expense and difficulty of producing beam rifles, or even beam spray guns, the Earth Federation also produced mobile suit sized machine guns and bazookas, similar to what Zeon's Zaku mobile suits used, because they are cheaper and easier to produce, requires less energy, and is overall easier to maintain because it relies on older, less complex, well known technology. In addition machine guns had the advantage of holding considerably vastly greater amounts of ammunition, and mobile suits could carry fresh clips around to reload their weapons should the current clip run out. This allows a mobile suit to operate with greater independence as during the One Year War the only known way to rearm a spent beam rifle was to return to a base with the proper recharging equipment.


 * The trade off is that machine guns are less effective. If a beam rifle or beam spray gun should so much as glance off of an arm or a leg, that limb will be rendered useless if it is not outright destroyed, and a hit to the torso is almost always fatal. Machine guns have greater difficulty penetrating the armor of a mobile suit, and must typically be fired from at least mid-range with multiple shots hitting the target before it can take down the target. And even then it is not always a sure thing.

History
The GM Command was built in the last weeks of the One Year War, however they were never produced in the numbers to make a difference to the Federation's war effort. Those that were built typically did not see front-line action, instead being regulated to colony and base defense. A number of these machines were assigned to the Federation forces stationed at the Neutral Side 6 Libot Colony, at least three of which were assigned to Gray Phantom's Scarlet Team. There these mobile suits would battle with the Zeon forces' mobile suits that had infiltrated the colony in search of Feddie activity. Initially while the Federation was hesitant to aid the colony in their defense they had no choice when the Zeon's MS-18E Kämpfer appeared to be too much for the Colony defense forces. However despite being superior to the standard GM and had already defeated several MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai several days earlier, the Kämpfer was too much and wiped out all of Scarlet team's mobile suits, as well as anything else that stood in its way until it reached the Gundam.

Variants

 * RGM-79GS GM Command Space Type