GN-001 Gundam Exia

GN-001 Gundam Exia (aka Gundam Exia, Exia), is the close combat Gundam featured in both seasons of Mobile Suit Gundam 00. The unit is piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
Exia (aka Gundam of Seven Swords) is overall a close quarters combat (CQC) mobile suit (MS) and third generation Gundam. The unit is the successor to its second generation predecessor, GNY-001 Gundam Astraea; much of Exia's design was heavily influenced from Astraea. While there are strong similarities to Astraea, Exia has its own differences from weapons to systems.

Exia was created as a high-mobility unit to greatly supplement it's close combat role. In order to maximize its potential in speed and movement, its legs was given the best human articulation as possible to improve its Active Mass Balance Auto Control (AMBAC). The trade-off is the reduction of armor parts in several joints that reveal it's internal frame; its MS frame is more vulnerable against enemy attacks. However, this has served Exia well as it has the lowest hit-rate amongst the four third-generation Gundams.

The Seven Swords System refers to the wide array of GN Blades that was designed and used on the Exia. While redundancy and flexibility was built into the weapons selection for multiple scenarios and specializations in close combat situations. The development of solid state swords was to anticipate against enemy units that could potentially rival the Gundams. The sheath of GN Particles surrounding the blade interact, disrupt, and cancel out the particles of a GN Field for direct penetration.

In addition, the Exia's extension cone chassis possess an ability that can temporarily increase the output of the equipped GN Drive and the ability of the suit temporarily in "burst"-like mode. However, this ability was rarely used as it is considered unstable however it was seen to be used in its upgraded form, the Exia Repair II.

Armaments

 * GN Sword
 * A solid GN blade attached to a miniature forearm shield, which serves as the Exia's primary weapon, and the largest blade amongst the Seven Swords. It works by applying a GN Field over the solid sword which greatly increases the sharpness and cutting power. The blade can be vertically folded along the forearm, exposing the muzzle of a beam rifle.


 * GN Blades
 * Named as GN Long Blade and GN Short Blade respectively. These are Exia's customized solid swords that differ in size from the main GN Sword. Because the GN Sword has difficulty doing damage without a certain amount of swing and space due to it's size, these were designed in order to give the Exia solid blades that can be used in a variety of situations that the GN Sword has difficulty with. It possess the ability to cut through 2 meters of conventional E-Carbon armor.


 * GN Beam Sabers
 * Mounted on the back of the shoulders. The beam saber is a hilt with the ability to activate beam blade by generating a positron field filled with GN Particles. While they are generally stronger than GN solid blades, one disadvantage is their performance varies depending on the surrounding atmospheric conditions.


 * GN Beam Daggers
 * Possesses the same power output as the beam saber but was designed to generate a smaller and more concentrated beam that is harder to diffuse. This weapon type became obsolete in the future as the ability to manipulate beam saber length blades was achieved.


 * GN Vulcans
 * These weapons are smaller cousins to the GN Beam weapon. Typically locations include head and wrist mounted system, both ensuring a wide field of fire. Purely secondary weapons, they are used to engage soft targets, and in a defensive capacity. Their anti-mobile suit capability is virtually nil, especially against another GN powered unit. While there is no meaningful chance of penetrating another mobile suits armor, there is always a chance that a lucky round could damage joints or sensors. They can also be used in a "spray and pray" fashion once an enemy's armor has been breached, exposing their tender innards. So despite their low power, GN Vulcans can still be a threat no experienced pilot would ignore.


 * While low damage potential limits their offensive utility, the trade off is a high rate of fire. This is very useful when engaging small, fast, maneuverable targets such as GN Fangs and missiles.

System Features

 * Optical Camouflage
 * Trans-Am System

History
The Exia's history & exploits can be found on Setsuna F. Seiei's page.

Variants

 * GN-001 + GNR-001 GN Arms Type-E
 * GN-001/hs-A01 Gundam Avalanche Exia
 * GN-001/hs-A01D Gundam Avalanche Exia`
 * GN-001RE Gundam Exia Repair
 * GN-001REII Gundam Exia Repair II