RX-78-02 Gundam

The RX-78-02 Gundam (RX-78-02 ガンダム) is a mobile suit featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. It was piloted by Amuro Ray during the One Year War.

Armaments
The RX-78-02 Gundam's primary armaments include a pair of beam sabers, mounted one to each side of its backpack, as well as the same beam rifle used by its predecessor, the RX-78-01 Prototype Gundam. In addition to this, it has a pair of Vulcan guns mounted in its head, a small Gatling gun in a recessed compartment on its right shoulder, and a pair of light machine guns on the left shoulder.

The RX-78-02's armament is supplemented by a hyper-bazooka, and it is able to exchange its backpack for one that mounts the same armament as the Prototype Gundam, with the left beam saber replaced by a powerful cannon.

Project Approval
The project was proposed by Tem Ray in the year U.C. 0078 after he watched the footage of a MS-04 operating in the A Bao A Qu region. He immediately realized that, had the Federation gone ahead with mass-producing RX-77-01 -- geared toward ship combat at the time -- the mobile suits would fare poorly against these Zakus. While the Federation at first believed the RX-77-01 would suffice, Tem's theory was proven true during the Battle of Mare Smythii, in which 4 MS-05 Zakus, alongside a MS-04, wiped out 12 RX-77-01, and thus illustrated to the Federation the need of a Mobile Suit geared toward for Mobile Suit Combat, leading to the approval of the RX-78 Gundam development Project.