FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam

FA-78-1 Gundam Full Armor Type ( aka Full Armor Gundam) is a variant of the RX-78-2 Gundam equipped with external armor. It is featured in the original design series Mobile Suit Variation.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The new weaponry of the Gundam FA Type consists of a large rocket-firing cannon mounted over the Full Armor Gundam's right shoulder, four missile launchers, two mounted in the upper torso and two more in the knees, and a new twin-barreled beam gun secured to the right arm. The Gundam Full Armor Type also had several removable armor modules that could be placed over the Gundam's existing armor. These new armor modules also incorporated several additional thrusters and maneuvering verniers.

Armaments

 * 60mm Vulcan Gun
 * Two 60mm caliber vulcan gun thats mounted on the head.


 * Cannon
 * Mounted on the right shoulder is a large rocket-firing cannon.


 * Missile Launcher
 * Four missile launchers, one on each knee and two mounted on the upper torso.


 * Twin Barrel Beam Gun
 * A double barrel beam gun that is secured to the right arm is powered by rechargeable energy cap.

System Features

 * Full-Armor System and Weapon System (FSWS)
 * The upgrade program,developed several options packs to increase the Gundam's already considerable power.

History
As the RX-78-2 Gundam continued to score victory after victory against the Zeon forces in the One Year War, the Earth Federation Forces engineers began to devise several different upgrades to supplement and further increase the combat capabilities of the Gundam. The upgrade program, called the Full-Armor System and Weapon System (FSWS), developed several options packs to increase the Gundam's already considerable power. One of these designs was the Gundam Full Armor Type, which vastly increased the Gundam's firepower and armor.

However, due to the Full Armor Gundam's massive increase in weight, it suffered a sharp drop in mobility which the new thrusters could not sufficiently compensate for. It was deemed that the loss in speed and maneuverability would be unacceptable and the Gundam Full Armor Type never left the development stages. The Gundam Full Armor Type would never be built, and only existed on paper. Although the FA-78-1 Gundam Full Armor Type was deemed to be a design failure while it was still in the planning phases, the Earth Federation continued to design new upgrades to for the RX-78-2 Gundam under Full-Armor System and Weapon System (FSWS) program.However the plans for the unit would later be used as the basis of creating the FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam.

The Gundam Full Armor Type is featured in the game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters In Space. In a "what-if" mission for Shin Matsunaga's Ace Pilot mode, the Full Armor Type is piloted at the Battle of A Baoa Qu by Lieutenant Heinz Baer, but was destroyed after a heated battle against Shin Matsunaga's custom MS-14Jg Gelgoog Jager unit.

Variants

 * RX-78 mobile suit series
 * FA-78-1B Gundam Full Armor Type-B
 * FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam
 * RX-81 G-Line