FF-S3 Saberfish

The FF-S3 Saberfish (also translated as Shaverfish) was an Earth Federation high-speed space and atmospheric fighter built by the Hervic Company. Designed to launch from the Federation's Columbus-class carriers or to, in dire straits, attach to and launch from the hulls of the Federation's Salamis and Magellan-class space warships, the Saberfish could also be utilized in atmospheric combat.

The Saberfish was armed with four 25 mm machine guns and 12 missile launchers, which gave it enough firepower to kill a first-generation mobile suit such as Zaku II or a Musai-class light cruiser.

History
Developed as a joint effort between the Earth Federation Space and Air Force, the Saberfish was developed as part of the Earth Federation's Year 70 Armament Reinforcement Plan in U.C.0076. The Saberfish first saw combat during the One Year War, and was widely used in the opening stages of the conflict. Although it had decent status as a space fighter the introduction of the Principality of Zeon's mobile suit technology rendered the fighter practally obsolete. Lacking the armor, heavy weapons, and AMBAC system of Zeon's Zaku's, the Saberfish became both out maneuvered and outgunned. Also lacking any kind of melee weapon, the Saberfish could easily be destroyed in the close range fights Zeon favored. Thus Federation pilots were often forced to resort to swarm tactics in order to overwhelm its opponents. However, when up against later generation mobile suit models or an ace pilot, the Saberfish were hopelessly outmatched even with numerical superiority.

In terms of atmospheric performance, the Saberfish was thought to perform much better. As Earth's gravity limited mobile suits to ground combat, the Saberfish's only threats in the air were the poorly made Dopp Fighter's and the sluggish Gaw Attack Carrier's. In the later half of the One Year War the Saberfish was taken out of frontline service in space, having been replaced by the more heavily armored RGM-79 GM and more maneuverable RB-79 Ball. Nevertheless, it continued to see service well into U.C.0087, despite the continued odds stacked against it. Many Federation mobile suit aces of the One Year War such as Bernard Monsha, South Burning, and Yu Kajima first earned their wings piloting this spacefighter.