XXXG-01W Wing Gundam

XXXG-01W Wing Gundam (aka Wing Gundam or Gundam Zero-One) is the titular mobile suit of Gundam Wing. It was developed in the L1 Colony Cluster by the engineer Doctor J as a tool to take revenge on the OZ organization for the assassination of the pacifist leader of the colonies, Heero Yuy. Wing Gundam was used mainly in missions against OZ and the Romefeller Foundation. The unit was primarily piloted by the series' main protagonist Heero Yuy (a teenage boy who was code-named after the martryed pacifist).

Technology & Combat Characteristics
Out of the five original Gundams created for Operation Meteor, Wing bears the closest resemblance to their common ancestor, the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. It boasts incredible speed and can transform into a high-speed aircraft form known as "Bird Mode." Though most of its weapons are relatively standard, its signature buster rifle is an exceptionally powerful beam cannon. In every respect, Wing is a scaled down version of the Wing Zero. This was done possibly to reduce the strain placed on the pilot by the ZERO System and the superior capabilities of the Wing Zero. Wing's weapons are also considerably less powerful than those found on the Wing Zero, as Wing was designed to be "strong," but not "overpowering" like its ancestor. The Gundam's wings are the reason behind its speed.

Armaments

 * Buster Rifle
 * Wing Gundam's signature weapon, which can fire either a narrow beam akin to that of a beam rifle or a huge blast like that of a beam cannon; a particle weapon capable of destroying multiple enemies in one shot. Its energy supply allows only three shots in the latter mode. The power of the buster rifle creates a 150 metre diameter of high heated energy, and also an electromagnetic field effect. The rifle can be reloaded with extra E-pacs through a break-action similar to a double-barrel shotgun. In the Katoki version this weapon can be mounted on a back waist point when not in use. Because it is not powered by the Gundam's reactor, it is capable of being used by other mobile suits as well.


 * Beam Saber
 * Used for close combat and easily capable of cutting through the toughest Titanium Alloy. It is stored within the Gundam's shield when not in use.


 * Vulcan Gun
 * Mounted within the Gundam's head; are used as a secondary long-range weapon.


 * Machine Cannon
 * Mounted on the clavicle sections of the Gundam; are also used as a secondary long-range weapon and have higher power than the vulcan guns.


 * Shield
 * Made of high-strength Gundanium Alloy; it can also be used as a ramming weapon. The shield can be mounted on the left arm, held with the Gundam's left hand, and can be mounted on its back when not in use or for the transformation into Bird Mode.

Special Features

 * Bird Mode
 * When transforming into Bird Mode, the Gundam's head and waist rotate backward, the legs fold up with the feet pointing backward, the shoulder pads fold close, the hands retract inside the forearms, and the talons fold over the forearms. Finally, the shield and buster rifle attach themselves onto the Gundam's back to form the nose, and the Gundam's wings spread open. In this form, Wing is capable of high-speed flight travel within Earth's atmosphere. The Gundam is also capable of transforming into Bird Mode without its buster rifle.


 * Search Eye
 * A focus of data gathering. When the antennas and main cameras do not suffice, the Gundam's secondary eye comprised of the large jewel on its chest is used to gather visual and radio-wave data.


 * Self-Destruct System
 * Like the other four Operation Meteor Gundams, Wing is equipped with a self-detonation device, in order to prevent the suit or any of its data from being obtained by the enemy.

Variants

 * Wing Gundam Ver. Ka/Ver. EW
 * To hold with the designs seen in Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Hajime Katoki redesigned the five original Gundams from the beginning of the series, including Wing. The redesigned Wing is still capable of transforming into Bird Mode and looks significantly more similar to the redesigned Wing Zero. In addition to cosmetic change, Katoki's version of Wing can hold 6 spare energy capsules for the buster rifle (3 on both forearms), increasing the buster rifle's usage to nine shots in a single sortie.

Operation Meteor
After being built in outer space, Wing Gundam was sent to Earth with Heero to begin Operation Meteor. However, during Wing's descent to Earth, it was intercepted by an Earth Sphere Alliance assault carrier commanded by OZ's Zechs Marquise. Heero destroyed two of the carrier's Aries suits with Wing's buster rifle, but Zechs used his Leo suit to grapple with and weigh down the Gundam. Wing then crashed into the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Japan, and Heero abandoned it.

After leaving Wing at the bottom of the sea, Heero enlisted as a student at the St. Gabriel Institute in order to disguise himself. He later stole several underwater torpedoes from an Alliance naval base, in order to destroy his Gundam before it fell into enemy hands. However, Wing had already been found by Duo Maxwell, pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe. Wing was set to self-detonate, but Duo deactivated the device. Duo caught up with Heero as he raised both of their Gundams out of the sea. Heero then fired the missiles at the two suits, which badly damaged them both, but did not destroy them.

After Duo later recovered both Gundams, Heero repaired Wing by stealing parts from Deathscythe (much to Duo's dismay) and he began using it for numerous missions. These missions included destroying an enemy carrier transporting Gundanium Alloy and taking out OZ's northern Pacific Ocean supply base. When OZ sent mobile suits to attack the St. Gabriel Institute with the intent of killing Relena Darlian, Heero used Wing to repel the attack, believing that OZ had discovered where he was hiding out.

During Heero's mission to the New Edwards Base, all five of The Gundam Pilots were united, thinking they were about to destroy OZ once and for all. However, Heero destroyed an OZ carrier with Wing's beam saber before he found out that it held the pacifistic leader of the Alliance military, Field Marshall Noventa. OZ's leader, Treize Khushrenada, had tricked the Gundam pilots, and the ramifications were clear when OZ took over the world unopposed. Later, when Heero was alerted to OZ's plan to self-detonate the New Edwards Base's missiles in order to eliminate the Gundams, he used Wing to break into the missile silo and disarm the explosives.

Self-detonation and restoration
Wing Gundam's next major mission was in Siberia. Here, OZ was preparing to send its Taurus suits into space, and four of the five Gundams arrived to stop the launch. Wing went into single combat with Zechs' Tallgeese suit, as the other Gundams tried to stop the Taurus suits from reaching their launch site. However, OZ's Lady Une set her trap when she threatened to destroy the colonies if the Gundam pilots did not surrender their suits. In response to this, Heero self-detonated Wing, nearly killing himself as well. The Gundam was essentially destroyed.

Wing fell into the hands of Zechs, who took the Gundam's remains with him from Siberia and began to rebuild it. However, OZ's parent organization, Romefeller, ordered Zechs to have the suit destroyed. Zechs tricked Romefeller by simply destroying a copy, and had Wing taken to Antarctica to be rebuilt for a re-match with Heero.

Wing was mostly rebuilt in Antarctica, but its highly-calibrated inner systems were completely destroyed in its self-detonation, leaving it at a disadvantage. Zechs also left the Gundam's self-detonation device disconnected and it is unknown if it was ever re-installed. Wing was left in the base as Zechs and Heero had their re-match, as Heero had chosen to use Trowa Barton's Gundam Heavyarms instead. During the battle, Trowa used Wing to prevent any enemies from interfering and later warned Heero and Zechs that Romefeller was coming to arrest Zechs for disobeying their order. Trowa then converted Wing into its Bird Mode and picked up Heavyarms, allowing Trowa and Heero to escape.

When the five Gundam pilots returned to space to stop OZ from taking over the colonies, Heero left Wing behind on Earth, due to its inability to fully function in space combat and also because Heero knew OZ would easily be able to detect his presence with his Gundam by his side. Some time later, Wing was found underwater by Sally Po, who eventually turned it over to Lucrezia Noin after the two recovered it while Sally was temporarily imprisoned by OZ. Noin then brought the Gundam to the rebuilt Sanc Kingdom's underground hanger. After Heero returned to Earth with Quatre Winner, they eventually arrived at the Sanc Kingdom as well, where Heero was reunited with his Gundam. After much convincing from Noin and Quatre, Heero used Wing to defend Relena's pacifist nation from the Romefeller Foundation for some time.

Final battle and replacement
When Romefeller sent an army of Virgo mobile dolls to crush the Treize Faction at the base in Luxembourg, Heero used Wing Gundam to help defend the Treize Faction, in order to prevent Romefeller from spreading their forces any further. Though Wing proved to be more of a match for the Virgos than Treize's Leos, the Gundam' right leg was damaged during the battle, causing Wing to fall to the ground, though Heero destroyed several more enemies using the buster rifle, with the Gundam lying down. As more Virgos began surrounding Wing, Treize spoke to Heero on the Gundam's intercom, telling him not to give up and continue fighting. Heero managed to get Wing back on its feet, but it was eventually blasted into a building, disabling the Gundam completely. After the remaining Virgos were destroyed in a suicide attack by three Treize Faction soldiers, Heero exited Wing and abandoned his Gundam for the final time. He soon after was given the Gundam Epyon by Treize, though he would eventually replace that suit with Wing's ancestor, the Wing Zero.

Last heroics
Sometime after the battle at Luxembourg Base, the abandoned Wing Gundam was captured by OZ and taken to a base on the grounds of a military hospital for repairs, where it was fitted with booster rockets, thereby allowing it to fly in space. While one soldier asked another why it needed the modifications for space flight, since nobody remained on Earth capable of piloting it, Treize attempted suicide in space by taunting Zechs into firing the battleship Libra's main cannon directly at him. Sensing that her master was in grave danger, Lady Une, erstwhile in a coma, suddenly awoke, quickly donned a space suit, and commandeered the idle Gundam, launching Wing into space at full speed. Rapidly switching out of Bird Mode, Lady Une arrived just in time for Wing to push Treize's Tallgeese II suit out of the devastating path of the laser beam. Taking the full brunt of the damage, the Gundam was disintegrated below the cockpit. Afterwards, Lady Une emerged from the cockpit and climbed onto the Tallgeese II's hand. Although the Gundam was presumably never repaired again, after surviving destruction as many times as it had, Wing's true fate is not entirely known.