EB-06 Graze

The EB-06 Graze is a mass-produced mobile suit featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS television series.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Graze is a state of the art mobile suit series built by Gjallarhorn and deployed within the Earth Sphere and space. It is developed based on the Calamity War era mobile suit, V08-1228 Grimgerde and its Valkyrja Frame. An excellent machine with low development and operational cost, the Graze is said to be the culmination of current technology.

The machine's frame was carefully designed for general purpose use, and through exchanging armaments and armor, it can adapt to various environments as well as use various loadouts to meet the needs of different mission. The frame was also developed to be lighter and simpler; compared to the Gundam Frame that represents Calamity War era MS, the Graze’s frame is made using much lesser structural material.

The Graze’s head not only contain sensor(s) that excel at measuring Ahab Waves, infrared and so forth, it also has a spherical module that is exposed during optical long-distance viewing and precise measurement. The legs contain retractable thrusters, which are stored within when not in use. This reduces the damage dealt to the machine when they are hit. When used under gravity, the Graze is equipped with lightened armor equipment to ensure its mobility. For space use, it is equipped with a booster unit on its back for high speed movements. An almost identical booster unit can also be equipped for use under gravity, but it is mounted on the rear skirt armor instead.

During the development process, many prototypes of the same model were assembled. An example is the EB-05s Schwalbe Graze, which has higher output and mobility, and is a sister machine using the same frame. In pursuit of greater versatility, improvements are being made to the machine and this resulted in diverse weaponized variants. The aim of this is to reduce operation costs while enhancing stability. There is also a commander version of the standard Graze known as EB-06s Graze Commander Type.

It's an easy to handle machine for pilots as well as mechanics, and inside Gjallahorn many have voiced their praises for the machine's performance. Thus, there is a negative opinion on the development of a next generation main machine. The smallest operating unit within the Gjallarhorn Mobile Suit Corps is three units: a Commander unit and two Standard units.

Armaments

 * GR-W01 120mm Rifle
 * Graze's standard shooting armament. High accuracy, high utility value as the main or support weapon.


 * Short Rifle
 * When required, the 120mm Rifle can be configured into a short rifle by removing the sensor equipped standard barrel. The short rifle has lower range and accuracy, but is ideal for close combat-use in conjunction with the Battle Axe.


 * GR-H01 9.8m Battle Axe
 * Because MS are protected by Nanolaminate Armor, direct blows are considered to be extremely effective during MS battle. The Battle Axe is an equipment developed for MS battle. It is stored on the side of the waist when not in use.


 * GR-W02 320mm Bazooka
 * A rocket firing weapon developed for Graze's use, it is mounted on a special shoulder rack. The bazooka is positioned behind the shoulder rack when not in use, and rotates forward when deployed. Although there are two grips for the Graze's hands, it is possible to fire the bazooka without holding them.


 * Shield
 * Heat-resistant shield developed for the Graze's use. Nanolaminate Armor has been applied, extremely sturdy.


 * Dáinsleif
 * An illegal weapon banned by Gjallarhorn. It is a category of railgun capable of penetrating Nanolaminate Armor, including those of a ship, and has long attack range. The Dáinsleif used by the Graze replaces the suit's entire left arm, and has additional parts mounted on the rear waist. It fires a large, long spike rod, which is loaded into the back of the Dáinsleif by another mobile suit. Graze using this weapon also had a different, telescopic sensor mounted in the head.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Head Sphere Sensor
 * A spherical sensor is mounted inside the head, it is revealed during optical long-distance viewing and precise measurement.


 * Drop Module
 * Shaped like a large shield, it is used to protect the Graze from the intense heat when entering a planet's atmosphere from space. It also protects the Graze from ground-based attacks as it lands.

History
The EB-06 Graze is a mass-produced Mobile Suit used by Gjallarhorn, it is based on the V08-1228 Grimgerde and its Valkyrja Frame that was created during the last stages of the Calamity War. During the mobile suit development process, many prototypes of the same model were assembled, including the EB-05s Schwalbe Graze. However, this model won the competition to be Gjallarhorn's main Mobile Suit due to possessing good operational and costs aspect.

The standard green-colored Graze was first seen dispatched in a team of three to attack the headquarters of Chryse Guard Security (CGS) alongside several Gjallarhorn Mobile Workers. The purpose of the attack was to capture Kudelia Aina Bernstein. As the Gjallarhorn Mobile Workers took too long to dispatch the TK-53 CGS Mobile Workers, the leader of the Gjallarhorn attack force, Orlis Stenja, decided to engage in the battle himself. With his Graze, he easily defeats several CGS Mobile Workers. However, he was killed when Mikazuki Augus arrived with his ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos. The other two Grazes then participated in the battle, but they were forced to retreat later. The next day, Crank Zent in his Graze challenged Tekkadan to a fair match over Kudelia, and was defeated by Barbatos. Orlis' and Crank's Graze were then salvaged and rebuilt as EB-06/tc Graze Custom.

During Tekkadan's departure to space, Graze units in their space colors were deployed from the Gjallarhorn's Ares base to intercept them. The Graze attack force was lead by Coral Conrad, who eventually used his own Graze to fight against Barbatos but was killed in the process. The space color Grazes later appeared alongside the Arianrhod fleet during the workers' rebellion at the Dort Colonies, and they were used to slaughter the ships and mobile suits used by the rebelling workers. Their attack was interrupted when the Tekkadan decided to get involved. The space color Grazes then made their final appearance in season one of the anime as part of Carta Issue's Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet. They tried to stop the Tekkdan from entering Earth's atmosphere, but they failed as Tekkadan received additional help from Turbines in the form of two STH-05R Roueis. Gjallarhorn's battle on Earth against Tekkadan would be continued by its sister variant, EB-06j Graze Ground Type.

Notes & Trivia

 * The model number EB-06 may be a homage to the MS-06 Zaku II's.
 * The "EB" in EB-06 is a out-universe reference to its designer, Kanakate Ebikawa. The designation of some of the other mass production MS lines in the series also make reference to their respective real world designers.
 * The purple colored Graze is known as 'Graze Ares Color' in the promotional materials for the Bandai online store (Ares is the name of the Gjallahorn's low orbit station near Mars). However, the official website for the anime series noted that the purple color scheme is a space-use color.
 * The Graze also has similarities with the Knightmare Frame in Code Geass series, another of Sunrise's anime like the Gundam franchise. Mainly, the unit's head can open itself and revealing a spherical sensor unit in its head.