MBF-M1 M1 Astray

The Astray is a Mobile Suit in the Cosmic Era timeline.

Combat Abilities
The armament of the Astray is virtually the same as the one used on the Astray prototype units in their original, unmodified state as well as the one used on their Earth Alliance counterpart of their time the GAT-01 Strike Dagger. The M1 Astray is an all-purpose, all-environment mobile suit, suitable for use on Earth or in space. Its weaponry includes two "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, which are mounted in the head and used to shoot down incoming missiles or close units and for close combat two Type 70 beam sabers, which, like the ones on the prototypes, are mounted behind the shoulders when not in use. The Astray also uses a Type 71 beam rifle for ranged combat. The Astray is among the mass produced mobile weapons which seem to lack the ability to mount any optional weaponry as the suit is never seen with any other armament besides its main one.

System Features
To increase mobility, the M1 Astrays are fitted with a fixed "flight pack" derived from the GAT-X105 Strike's Aile Striker pack. After the first Bloody Valentine War, some Astrays are fitted with the "EF-24R Flight Rotor Shrike", which mounts on the existing flight pack for improved aerial capabilities.

History
The Astray series mobile suits are a series of light mobile suits build by the Orb Union during the Bloody Valentine War to protect their neutrality. Benefiting from the Earth Alliance's G Project research, the Astrays copy most of the major features of the Gundam mobile suits except for Phase Shift armor, which Orb cannot duplicate by observation. The model number of the Astrays is "MBF" (for Main Battle Figure), which was also used on the prototype models, which were the MBF-P01 Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame, MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame, MBF-P04 Astray Green Frame and the MBF-P05LM Astray Mirage Frame.

The base production model of the Astray is the MBF-M1, commonly simply called the "M1 Astray". The M1 Astrays were test-piloted by Asagi Caldwell, Juri Wu Nien, and Mayura Labatt, but little progress was made until Strike pilot Kira Yamato assisted in creating a Natural-use operating system. Even before this OS was completed, Orb put the M1 Astray into mass production. However, this proved insufficient when the Earth Alliance invaded Orb, as even though they proved individually superior to the Strike Dagger, Orb's forces were eventually overwhelmed. Several of the surviving M1 Astrays were loaded onto the battleship Kusanagi to escape into space, where they provided the bulk of the Three Ships Alliance's mobile suit compliment. Many of these Astrays were however destroyed protecting the ships of the Alliance, among them the three of the test pilots.

When he joined the TSA, Jean "Glittering Star J" Carry piloted an M1 Astray with a white paint scheme, modified it with more verniers for extra maneuverabilty, and a beam sniper rifle like the one used by the MBF-M1A M1A Astray. This unit has been called the "MBF-M1 Astray Jean Carry Custom"". He survived the war, and joined up with the Orb defense forces.

Besides the variant M1A Astray, former Morgenroete technician Yoon Sefan created the MWF-JG71 Raysta, a civilian mobile suit based upon the M1 Astray. This suit is eventually mass produced by the Junk Guild and used mainly by them.

In CE 73, the successor to the Astray series, the MVF-M11C Murasame is fielded. The Murasame features similar but increased armament and is capable of transforming into a jet fighter for aerial combat. Also some of the older Astray units are outfitted with Flight Rotor Shrike units for increased aerial abilities.

Variants

 * MBF-M1A M1A Astray
 * MWF-JG71 Raysta