RX-78-3 Gundam "G-3"

The RX-78-3 Gundam "G-3" is a variation of the original RX-78-2 Gundam. It first appeared as part of Mobile Suit Variations model kit series, designed by Kunio Okawara and later reappeared in the game Gundam Battle Universe and Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
During the attack on Side 7, in September UC 0079, two of the three RX-78 Gundam prototype mobile suits were destroyed. The destroyed parts made their way to the Pegasus-Class assault cruiser White Base, and then to the Earth Federation's General HQ in Jaburo. Once there, the parts were cobbled together and the RX-78-3 Gundam (nicknamed G-3 for being the third incarnation of the Gundam) was born. The G-3 Gundam became a testbed for the magnetic coating that was later applied to Amuro Ray's RX-78-2 Gundam and his intended unit the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex". Visually, the G-3 is very similar looking to the Gundam, except for its gray and light blue paint scheme.

Armaments

 * 60mm Vulcan Gun
 * Mounted in the head the pair of Vulcan guns were 60mm Gatling Guns and have a high rate of fire. Primarily used to ward off advancing enemies, shoot down missiles or other fast moving targets, they also made good use as an anti-aircraft and anti-personnel weapons. The Vulcan guns however had a hard time piercing heavy armor (though they had shown the ability to do severe damage to Mobile Suit's if fired at point-blank range)and thus were not often used against larger, more heavily armored foes.


 * Beam Rifle
 * A revolutionary weapon for it's time, the Beam Rifle is the primary weapon used by the Gundam. Making use of the Federations E-cap (or "energy capacitor") technology, the rifle uses charged concentrations of mega-particles as ammunition. This gives the beam rifle firepower equivalent to that of a battleship's main cannon. As the mega particles destroy matter on a molecular scale, the beam rifle can penetrate even the thickest armor and destroy its target in a single shot. One weak point of the rifle was its energy limits. The rifle could only be fired 16 times before depleting its energy and becoming useless.


 * Beam Saber
 * The Gundam is the first ever mobile suit to use a beam-oriented weapon in melee combat. The sabers are stored on the backpack, and can transform into the Gundam Javelin, a large pole with a three pronged beam at the end. The beam sabers use Minovsky particles held in place by an I-Field to form an effective cutting surface that can slice through nearly any material. The particles for the beam sabers are stored by E-cap in the hilt of the saber, which is recharged from the Gundam's reactor when the saber is returned to its socket. Once activated, beam sabers do not rely on the mobile suit's reactor and can be thrown or discarded as decoys. The beam saber is most often used for close range combat or as an emergency weapon once all other ammunition has been depleted. One can be used as a reserve weapon, or both can be used simultaneously in a twin sword fashion.


 * Beam Javelin
 * The beam javelin is an alternative to the beam saber, it has a higher output than the standard beam saber, and the beam's shape allows for a greater amount of armor penetration ability. The long reach of the weapon gives the RX-78-3 a considerable advantage in close quarters combat.


 * Gundam Hammer/Hyper Hammer
 * The Gundam Hammer is essentially a large spiked ball attached to a chain, and provides the Gundam with a ranged melee weapon. The Gundam could either throw or swing the Hammer around itself in order to impact and damage its target through the sheer mass of the hammer. Later, it was upgraded into the Hyper Hammer and had several rockets mounted into the ball in order to allow it to maneuver more effectively in space as well as the ability to change its direction before impact, and to increase the damage it could cause.


 * 380mm Hyper Bazooka
 * Technically a large rocket launcher it could fire several 380mm missiles to attack targets at long range. No mass-production MS's armor is able to stop this weapon. While very powerful, it has a slow rate of fire and a fairly little amount of ammunition. Most oftenly used to take out slow, heavily armored targets.


 * Shield
 * Hand-carried, forearm-mounted or stored on the Gundam's backpack, the shield is a simple defense used to block most incoming ballistic and explosive projectiles. Also used to great effect in close quarters battle with enemy mobile suits. Has a view port than can be sealed off with an internal blast plate. The shield is also used to deflect heat away from the mobile suit when undergoing atmospheric re-entry.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Core Block System
 * The prototype mobile suits produced by the Earth Federation Forces' Operation V, are equipped with a central block which houses the mobile suit's cockpit, control systems and main power source. This core block can eject in case of emergency and unfold into a small Core Fighter.


 * Hardpoints
 * An attachment point for weapons, shields, spare ammunition, or optional mission-specific equipment. Hardpoints can also be used to store carried weapons when a mobile suit needs its manipulators free for other purposes.


 * Learning Computer
 * A critical component of the Gundam's success in combat, the Learning Computer System was similar to a modern day black box. It recorded the data from each of the Gundam's battles for further use. However, the system could also actively learn and improve the capabilities of the Gundam. This was conceived of as a means to get around the difficulty of training pilots. The computer could apply various programs for walking, fighting, and working to the case at hand, independently reaching decisions and making improvements. Once adequate data had been accumulated, the programs could be transplanted, allowing even a machine operated by a novice to perform like a veteran pilot.


 * Heatproof Field
 * A system installed in the RX-78-3 Gundam, which pumps out air to counter the friction heat of atmospheric entry. The mobile suit's internal cooling systems must also be engaged to deal with the heat that penetrates the air field.


 * Magnetic Coating
 * A special membrane treatment applied to mobile suit joints to improve their response speed. The mobile suits developed by the Earth Federation Forces use special actuators called field motors, whose efficiency is increased by the magnet coating process. The treatment also reduces friction resistance in the mobile suit's joints. First tested on the RX-78-3 Gundam, this process is then applied to the RX-78-2 used by Amuro Ray, reducing the time required for changes of direction by roughly 27%.

History
In the novel version of Mobile Suit Gundam, the G-3 became Amuro Ray's mobile suit in the later half of the war after his Gundam was destroyed in battle with Zeon Newtype Lalah Sune. It had the magnetic coating added to the joints to increase response time for its pilot. Other than the gray color scheme, it is identical to RX-78-2. The G-3 Gundam was later destroyed in battle by Leroy Gilliam, a member of Char's Rick-Dom Squad, which proved fatal for its pilot.

In the manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet, the G-3 is stationed aboard the White Base II and piloted in combat against Zeon remnants by Giorgio Miguel, a Zeon double agent.

In the manga Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Hidden Shadow G, the G-3 falls into the hand of a ninja clan and modified into the Hidden Shadow of G.

Notes and Trivia

 * The RX-78-3 Gundam is the closest to Yoshiyuki Tomino's conception of the Gundam. As he wanted to stress that it was a true military machine, a weapon of war a "real robot", he originally wanted it's entire color scheme to be dull and grayish, however the sponsor had concerns that this would limit it's appeal to children and marketability as a toy, hence the final version in series follows the color scheme of the RX-78-2 rather than the RX-78-3.
 * In most of SD Gundam G Generation games, the Gundam Hammer is omitted from the G3's move list and has a double Hyper Bazooka attack as opposed to a single one. The Hammer's omission may be a reference to Tomino's original concept and the fact the movies also omitted this weapon.
 * In the first Super Robot Wars Alpha game, it was a hidden unit that was superior to the RX-78-2 in various ways, particularly higher mobility and limit (limit on how much of the Pilot+Suit's mobility will be counted) and more post movement weapons. Properly upgraded, Amuro could use it for a longer time before hitting its limit. This allowed most players to give the Re-GZ to another pilot and wait until the Nu Gundam becomes available.
 * In SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online, the G-3 Gundam is considered an A-Rank unit, given its increased stats compared to the B-Rank Gundam and even the A-Rank Gundam (Magnetic Coating). It is also one of the first units you can obtain via missions by completing a certain mission on Normal.
 * In Mobile Suit Gundam Gihren's Greed "The Menace of Axis", if the player wins the One-Year War as the principality of Zeon, they will steal several Federation units, and acquire the plans for the Gundam G-3, as opposed to the RX-78-Z1 Zeon Gundam featured in earlier installments.