ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam

The ZGMF-X10A Freedom (aka Freedom, X10A) is the second lead mobile suit in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and one of the first mobile suits in the Cosmic Era to feature a Neutron Jammer Canceller. The unit is piloted by Kira Yamato.

Combat Abilities
The Freedom is primarily designed for ranged combat and thus, features a large number of long range weapons. Its armaments includes plasma beam cannons, railguns, CIWS guns, beam sabers, a beam rifle and a shield.

Due to its nuclear reactor which gives it virtually unlimited combat endurance, it can continue to use all of its weapons and Full Burst Mode long after other mobile suits have run out of power as seen in most of the battles with the Calamity, Raider and Forbidden, though at one instance the Freedom's battery nearly runs out of power when Kira tried to save Flay Allster, who was boarding the life raft from the Vesalius. Kira describes the suit as having five times the power of a battery-powered mobile suit, specifically the Strike.

In Gundam Seed Destiny, Shinn Asuka said it is probably "the most powerful mobile suit out there". Also noted is it's exceptional speed, even with it's heavy long range weaponry, it was still able to fly as fast as the more advanced ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam, if not faster. It is also one of the Clyne Faction's symbol of power, along with the Eternal, Archangel and the Justice.

Beam Rifle
The Freedom uses a single MA-M20 "Lupus" high-energy beam rifle, which is the same rifle used by its companion unit, the ZGMF-X09A Justice.

Beam Sabers
The only close combat weapons of the Freedom are two MA-M01 "Lacerta" beam sabers, which are usually mounted on the hips of the suit. As with the beam rifle, the same type of beam sabers are used by the Justice. Kira is has combined both beam sabers into a double-bladed beam saber twice (similar to the ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam). This unique style of wielding the beam sabers allows it to engage multiple enemies in melee combat with ease.

CIWS
As with most other mobile suits, the Freedom features two head-mounted MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS guns, which are used to shoot down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range.

Plasma beam cannons
Another weapon specifically designed for use in Full Burst mode, or destroying enemies, are the two M100 "Balaena" plasma beam cannons. These cannons are the most powerful weapons of the suit and mounted over the shoulders when in use.

Railguns
Specifically for use in Full Burst mode, or going through anti-beam defenses, the Freedom features two hip-mounted MMI-M15 "Xiphias" rail cannons.

System Features
As with the other four units produced by ZAFT during the first Bloody Valentine War, the Freedom is equipped with advanced beam weaponry and protected by Phase Shift armor. However, an additional technology is incorporated as well: the Neutron Jammer Canceller, which counters the effects of the ubiquitous Neutron Jammers and allows these suits to be powered by nuclear reactors. This gives them almost limitless combat endurance, even with Phase Shift armor activated.

The Freedom features a unique 10-wing HiMAT (High Mobility Aerial Tactics) mode for superior speed and agility. It also uses the Full Burst Mode. Several weapons are designed to be specifically used in this mode which are the plasma beam cannons and the railguns.

However, the suit's most powerful weapon is the optional METEOR support system, a large mobile weapons platform with powerful thrusters and an even more powerful armament of battleship-calibur beam cannons, large beam swords, and dozens of heavy missile launchers that are designed specifically for the Freedom and its companion unit Justice.

The Freedom uses the Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex operating system.

History
In mid CE 71, ZAFT created a series of advanced mobile suits based on technology reverse-engineered from the captured Earth Alliance G Project suits. One of these suits is the Freedom, which is the second suit of the ZGMF-X_A series and can be considered the companion unit of the Justice.

Late in CE 71, the Freedom is stolen by Kira Yamato, with the aid of Lacus Clyne. Kira rushed to Earth with the stolen suit and came to the rescue of the Archangel at the Battle of JOSH-A. Along with the Archangel, he defected to neutral Orb and fought alongside his old friend Athrun Zala. Later, he returned to space along with the Archangel and Orb battleship Kusanagi, and met up with the support vessel Eternal, which had been stolen by Lacus Clyne and her supporters, led by former ZAFT commander Andrew Waltfeld, and which carried both METEOR units. Athrun and Kira used the METEORs' firepower to thwart an Earth Alliance nuclear missile attack on the PLANTs on the final day of the war. Afterward, Kira battled against Rau Le Creuset and his ZGMF-X13A Providence. The Freedom was severely damaged in this battle, but Kira managed to impale Rau's cockpit with a beam saber.

After the war, the Freedom was repaired and hidden in a secret underground base in Orb, where it remained for more than two years. It returned to action in December CE 73, after an assassination attempt against Lacus Clyne. Kira launched in the Freedom and manages to defeat the assassins' UMF/SSO-3 ASH mobile suits. Later on, the Freedom was used by Kira in two failed attempts to stop the battling between Orb and ZAFT forces. It also destroyed the GFAS-X1 Destroy in Berlin, killing Stella Loussier. Shortly thereafter, Freedom was destroyed by the ZGMF-X56S Impulse, piloted by Shinn Asuka, during a ZAFT attack against the Archangel. Kira shut down Freedom's nuclear reactor before losing consciousness, and was rescued by the MBF-02 Strike Rouge, piloted by his sister Cagalli Yula Athha.

The independent faction Terminal created an advanced version of the Freedom, called the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, which is eventually piloted by Kira.

Trivia

 * Freedom's head crest displays the text "X-10A DIECI", which is a reference to its model number. Dieci means ten in Italian.
 * The Freedom (and the Strike Freedom as well) is perhaps the most popular Gundam design in years among fans. It has been made into countless figures and resin kits, and Bandai has made a surprising amount of kits for just this one mobile suit.
 * A rather popular joke among fans is the idea of the Freedom with a mono-eye head. Since Freedom's design is a radical departure from ZAFT's traditional mono-eye design, ZAFT would have never built the Gundams; logically, Freedom should have looked more like a GuAIZ. This idea was also seen in the side story manga Gundam SEED Astray R, in which main character Lowe Guele had the idea of replacing the damaged Freedom's head with a GINN's; he later equips the YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam with a GuAIZ head in Astray X. Also note that this idea appears to be inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, in which the Zeta Gundam's head is destroyed and replaced with a Zaku's.
 * It is also speculated that the Freedom is loosely based on the Gundam Double X of After War Gundam X. There is no evidence to support this other than numerous cosmetic similarities (most notably the shoulder-mounted plasma cannons and coloring, which in both is black and white with blue highlights rather than the traditional blue and white with red highlights).
 * The ZGMF-X10A Freedom should not be confused with the RGM-196 Freedom from G-Saviour, or the GF7-023NA Gundam Freedom from G Gundam's 7th Fight manga.
 * Freedom's cockpit is the first in the Cosmic Era to be singe unbroken screen wrapped around the interior in a ring.