RGM-79C GM Type C

The RGM-79C GM Type C (aka GM Kai) is an improved version of one of the Earth Federation Forces' first mass production mobile suit, the RGM-79(E) GM Early Type. It first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
This improved model of the GM Early Type was similar to its predecessor in overall capabilities. However, the C-Type did feature greatly improved thrust and maneuverability. Furthermore, its armaments was added with several new weapons, most of them also fielded by the standard RGM-79 GM and its variants.

Armaments

 * Vulcan Gun
 * A standard armament of the mobile suits that are descended from the Earth Federation Forces's RX series is a pair of head mounted 60mm vulcan guns. These shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire but have little power and can't damage the thick armor of a mobile suit, though it can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors. The weapons are ideal for shooting down small, fast moving, lightly armored targets such as missiles, small land vehicles, and attack helicopters.


 * Beam Saber
 * The RGM-79C GM Kai is equipped with a single beam saber stored in a recharge rack in the left side of the backpack. The beam saber is a small cylindrical device held in the mobile suit's hands when operated and is powered by an energy capacitor that is recharged from special racks. The beam saber is capable of cutting through any metal that has not been treated with anti-beam coating. Some GM Kai's were fielded with 2 beam sabers.


 * HWF GMG·MG79-90mm Bullpup Machine Gun
 * The bullpup machine gun is an open-bolt, gas-operated, magazine-fed, mobile suit handheld sub-machine gun. It does not require energy to be used, however it is ineffective against heavy armor. When the magazine is empty, it can be discarded and replaced with a new one.


 * HFW-GR·MR82-90mm GM Rifle
 * The GM Rifle is a simple shell-firing machine gun that is based on older technologies, it has no where near the power of a beam rifle, but it is a weapon that can be cheaply produced and easily maintained. It features different barrel, sensor unit, stock and magazine configurations that allows for different ballistic and handling properties. The ammunition is stored in spare clips that can be replaced when they are used up.


 * BLASH HB-L-07/N-STD Hyper Bazooka
 * Similar to the Zaku's bazooka, the Hyper Bazooka was a heavy weapon used by the GM. Technically a large rocket launcher it could fire several 360mm 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.


 * NFHI·GMCa-type.09/180mm Cannon
 * The Type 09 artillery cannon fires a 180x800 millimeter HE round and is loaded with an eight (8) round box magazine. Maximum effective range 3.0 kilometers. Features include a swivel-out forward hand grip and top carrying handle.


 * BLASH XBR-X-79YK Long-Range Beam Rifle
 * A long-range beam rifle mounted with a high-powered scope, allowing the pilot to hit distant targets with pinpoint accuracy.


 * BR-M-79C-3 Beam Spray Gun
 * Beam spray guns are essentially scaled-down beam rifles. They have a smaller focusing coil which results in a less powerful and more scattered shot. As a result of this, it is less effective at long range, but is better at close range due to a more spread out shot, similar to a shotgun effect. While the beam spray gun is less powerful than the beam rifle, it has been shown to be able to penetrate the armor of a Rick Dom - one of the most heavily armored mobile suits of the One Year War.


 * BOWA·BR-S-85-C2 Beam Rifle
 * The standard ranged armament of the many mobile suits is the beam rifle. The particle beam fired from a beam rifle can penetrate almost any armor that has not been treated with specific counter-measures. The beam rifle has a power rating of 1.9 MW and is powered by a rechargeable energy cap.


 * BOWA XBC-M-83D-2C Beam Carbine


 * HWF GR MLR79-90mm Long Rifle


 * Gundam Hammer
 * The Gundam Hammer was essentially a large spiked ball attached to a chain. It was used to give the MS using it a ranged melee weapon. The MS could either throw or swing the Hammer around itself in order to impact and damage its target through the sheer mass of the hammer.


 * FADEGEL RGM-M-Sh-007 Shield
 * Shields are simple in their design, being essentially thick slabs of metal that the equipped mobile suit can use to absorb the impact from attacks that, for whatever reason, cannot be dodged. However shields can only withstand so much pressure before becoming damaged themselves. As technology progressed it became necessary for shields to be treated with an anti-beam coating as a measure of defense against beam weapons which can normally penetrate any physical barrier, however the coating gets gradually burned away each time a beam strikes it until it is rendered useless.


 * RGM*S-Sh-WF/S-00109 Shield
 * Mounted on either forearm, the Federation small shield is used by all GUNDAM and GM ground type mobile suits. It is capable of deflecting most incoming ballistic projectiles and some explosive warheads. Mount latch and joint/pivot mount position retracted for protection or extended for slashing or punching attacks. Can be thrust into the ground and used as an elevated weapon firing position. Features include top carrying handle and shield claw.

History
The GM Type C was introduced in the final days of the One Year War, participating in the Battle of A Baoa Qu and the attack of the asteroid base's E Field. After the war ended, the Earth Federation Forces (EFF) began a massive restructuring and rebuilding of its military strength. Finally recognizing that mobile suit warfare was here to stay they set about improving on their own mass-produced MS, the RGM-79 GM. The RGM-79C GM Kai unit became the standard production model for front-line units, gradually phasing out the older GM. Ultimately, because the GM Kai's performance is only mildly improved over its predecessor, the EFF would continue to design and build many other GM descendants, such as the RGM-79N GM Custom and RGM-79Q GM Quel. However none of these designs proved to possess what the Earth Federation was looking for and the RGM-79C GM Kai would remain the mainstay unit of the Earth Federation until the development of the RMS-179 GM II and the RMS-106 Hizack.

Variants

 * RGM-79CR GM Type C High Mobility Type
 * RGM-79C GM Type C "Wagtail"
 * RGM-79C GM Type C (Keraunos Squad)
 * RGM-79C［G］ GM Type-C［G］