Cosmic Era Superweapons

This article describes Cosmic Era Superweapons in the fictional Mobile Suit Gundam universe.

Nuclear Technologies
After the Bloody Valentine War all military use of these technologies was banned by the Treaty of Junius.



Neutron Jammer
The N-Jammer or Neutron Jammer is a device which suppresses nuclear fission reactions by blocking the movement of free neutrons (it is probable that nuclear fusion, which does not rely on neutron emission, would be unaffected by an N-Jammer, however current nuclear fusion technology relies on a nuclear fission reaction to attain the correct temperature for fusion to occur, thus the N-Jammer works on nuclear fusion as well). Its effective range is so great that even a handful of these devices are sufficient to cover the entire Earth, nullifying all nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants on the planet's surface. The N-Jammer also has the side effect of disrupting radio waves, severely restricting the range of radar and conventional communications, and for this reason space warships are equipped with these devices as an electronic countermeasure. Its effects appear to be analogous to the Minovsky Effect in Universal Century.

The N-Jammer was originally developed in the PLANTs under the supervision of Supreme Council member Orson White. These devices were first employed in the battle for the space station Yggdrasil on February 22, C.E. 70, and on April 1 of that year the ZAFT forces drove countless N-Jammers into Earth's surface as the first phase of their Operation Uroboros campaign. The nations of Earth, which had previously depended on nuclear fission as their primary power source, were plunged into a severe energy crisis called April Fool's Crisis as a result.

During the winter of CE 70-71, at least hundreds of thousands of Naturals died on Earth because of lack of energy for heating, due directly to the presence of N-Jammers on Earth. However, the Treaty of Junius outlawed the use of N-Jammers in combat, either in a defensive role or as a weapon.

Trivia: when the famous Super Robot Wars series decided to have Mobile Suit Gundam Seed collected into it's game, some users pointed out that having N-Jammers will make other Nuclear powered units not able to move. However, since all other Gundam series units uses Nuclear fusion as their power source and Laser activated nuclear warheads as nuclear weapons, this is not a problem.



Neutron Jammer Canceller
Neutron Jammer Cancellers or N-Jammer Cancellers are devices used to cancel the effects of the ubiquitous N-Jammers.

ZAFT deployed Neutron-Jammers to disallow the Earth Alliance use of nuclear weaponry and reliable power generation. ZAFT also invented this device to cancel this effect in order to use nuclear weapons / generators. This would means nearly limitless supply of energy and a complete superiority over other battery powered Mobile Suits that had to be recharged periodically. In its debut episode, Kira takes the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, equipped with an ultracompact nuclear fission reactor, from a PLANT (a space colony resembling an hourglass) to the JOSH-A base in Alaska, a flight requiring three days of constant operation, with no need to refuel. In fact, it's not clear that the ZGMF-X10A Freedom and ZGMF-X09A Justice were ever refueled during their operational lives. The "G.U.N.D.A.M" acronym for Mobile Suits equipped with a N-Jammer Cancellers are Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module. The NJC also cancels the ECM effects of the N-Jammer, the mobile suits equipped with an NJC can use radar for targeting and aiming, making them to have longer range and more accurate fire.

Because the use of N-Jammers was banned by the Junius Treaty which ended the Bloody Valentine War, N-Jammer Cancellers are now semi-outdated technology; however, because of the still-present N-Jammers which were dropped on Earth during the War as offensive weapons, all nuclear power reactors on Earth are equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers. The Neutron Stampeder weapon appears to be derived from the N-Jammer Canceller.



Neutron Stampeder
An experimental defensive weapon designed by ZAFT to protect against nuclear attack. The device is mounted on a Nazca-class destroyer, and is nearly as large as the ship itself. When activated, the Neutron Stampeder emits a massive energy wave, which causes any nuclear weapons, and apparently any electronic devices that comes in contact with, to short-circuit. Unfortunately, the emitters fry themselves after firing, so the weapon can only be fired once.

The Neutron Stampeder was first fielded in CE 73, when it thwarted an Earth Alliance attempt to attack the PLANTs with nuclear missiles, causing the Alliance fleet to be completely wiped out.

Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor
The hyper-deuterion nuclear reactor is a hybrid system created by ZAFT (and also used by Terminal) which combines a nuclear fission reactor with the deuterion technology. This two generators complement each other and thus in theory power-downs shouldn't occur. This system works the following: the deuterion system functions like a battery which stores the power coming from the nuclear engine and then converts it into electricity. Thanks to this hyper-deuterion reactors are more powerful and efficient than conventional fission reactors. The hyper-deuterion reactor is currently used by the ZGMF-X3000Q Providence ZAKU, ZGMF-X42S Destiny, ZGMF-X666S Legend, ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice and ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. It is notable that even with the hyper-deuterion reactor, the ZGMF-X42S Destiny once ran out of power because the deuterion charge couldn't keep up with the constant use of the Wings of Light. Despite all using the same reactor the "G.U.N.D.A.M" acronym for the Destiny and Legend is Gunnery United Nuclear-Deuterion Advanced Maneuver while the acronym for the Infinite Justice and Strike Freedom is Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex.

The Destiny also features a second energy storage unit in the form of a Hyper Capacitor which allows this unit to increase the energy storage capacity of the Deuterion battery to aid keep a balanced power rate between its energy based weapons and the Wings of Light. Currently, only the Destiny is confirmed to equip the Hyper Capacitor. It is unknown if the Legend, Providence Zaku, Strike Freedom or Infinite Justice have the Hyper Capacitor.

It has been suggested that the reason for the difference in the OS between the Destiny/Legend and the Strike Freedom/Infinite Justice is because the first ones draw their power from the Deuterion Reactor, while the second ones draw it directly from the fission reactor, leaving the the Deuterion Reactor as a backup-battery of sorts, to be used in case the Neutron Jammer Canceller or the fission reactor needs to be deactivated. However, this matter still awaits official confirmation.



GENESIS
GENESIS (Gamma Emission by Nuclear Explosion Stimulate Inducing System) is a huge gamma ray laser built under the orders of Patrick Zala as ZAFT's ultimate weapon. GENESIS uses multiple nuclear devices with Neutron Jammer Cancellers to produce a massive burst of gamma radiation, which is reflected back by an external alignment mirror and focused by a second mirror into a laser beam. This laser is sufficiently powerful that if it were to hit the Earth, a great part of the surface would be destroyed and nearly all life on the planet would be exterminated. The external mirror is reduced to a radioactive scrap in the blast and must be replaced for another shot to be fired. GENESIS is also protected by multiple layers of Phase Shift armor and can be concealed by Mirage Colloid. The weapon is stationed behind the ZAFT space fortress Jachin Due and thus protected by not only the station but also by a huge ZAFT fleet.

GENESIS is first deployed in September C.E. 71 after the nuclear attack of the Earth Alliance on ZAFT’s other space fortress, Boaz. With its first shot it destroys a great part of the Alliance’s fleet and thus forcing them to retreat for a short time. On the next day the superweapon fires its second shot on the Ptolemaeus lunar base not only destroying it completely but also wiping out over half of the Earth Alliance reinforcements fleet. The third shot is intended by Patrick Zala to fire on Earth (the target being Washington D.C., the capital of the Atlantic Federation) but before it is able to fire, Patrick’s son Athrun Zala flies with his ZGMF-X09A Justice inside the weapon, where he detonates his unit, thus destroying the huge weapon shortly before it is able to emit the destructive burst. Only a small amount of energy is emitted which destroys the badly damaged ZGMF-X13A Providence.

Originally GENESIS was intended to be used as a propulsion system for ships to reach far away places in the solar system.



GENESIS Alpha
Another GENESIS unit (perhaps created before the one used by Zala) which is at first under the command of ZAFT member Ash Grey. Like its sister unit it is equipped with multiple layers of Phase Shift and a Mirage Colloid cloaking device. Ash uses it to give his ZGMF-X11A Regenerate a boost which allows the suit to travel at very high speed. Nevertheless Ash is defeated and GENESIS Alpha is taken over by the Serpent Tail, who at first try to destroy it but later it becomes the base of the Junk Guild. The Junk Guild ship ReHOME uses it after the war to fly to Mars. At one point the Earth Alliance invaded GENESIS Alpha and found the ZGMF-X12A Testament in it, which they then took with them. Two years later an alliance of the Junk Guild, the Serpent Tail and Rondo Mina Sahaku uses GENESIS Alpha in a failed attempt to avert the "Break the World" terrorist attack by pushing the remains of Junius Seven away from Earth.



Neo-GENESIS
In CE 74, a third GENESIS unit is built within the ZAFT mobile fortress Messiah, called Neo-GENESIS. It is smaller than the other two units but still packs lots of power. Neo-GENESIS would be fired twice, one at the Orb Fleet attacking Requiem, which destroyed about half of the fleet, and the other at the Archangel and Eternal, but missed and destroyed part of ZAFT's Lunar fleet. Neo-GENESIS, alongside the mobile fortress Messiah, are destroyed at the end of Second Bloody Valentine War by Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. A notable feature to Neo-GENESIS is that it's the only one out of all three units that does not require its mirror to be replaced, thus making it able to fire more rapidly than its predecessors. However, Neo-GENESIS still needs to be charged beforehand. Because of the lack of the need to replace the mirror and that it's mounted on the space fortress Messiah, the Neo-GENESIS is more mobile and thus more of a danger to any enemy troops due to it being able to reposition itself for better effect on the battlefield whilst firing at a much faster rate than earlier types.

Cyclops System
The Cyclops System is a powerful microwave weapon devised by the Earth Alliance, which consists of a large array of dish emitters. The Cyclops System's effectiveness is actually increased by Neutron Jammers, which restrict the microwaves to smaller area and increase the intensity of the weapon's effects. Once activated, the Cyclops System rapidly heats the water that makes up about 70% of the human body, as well as the propellant and ammunition supplies of mobile suits. Ultimately the intense radiation heat will destroy even buildings and the array itself. To conceal these weapons, the Earth Alliance builds them beneath their own bases as a self-destruct mechanism. The Cyclops System was used twice during the Bloody Valentine War, once to destroy the Endymion Crater lunar base, which was being overrun by ZAFT forces, and once in a trap at the Earth Alliance military headquarters in Alaska, when Atlantic Federation leaders deliberately sacrificed their unwitting Eurasian Federation comrades to wipe out 80% of all ZAFT forces on Earth.

Nibelung
The Nibelung is a massive fixed anti-aircraft cannon positioned to defend Heaven's Base, the Atlantic Federation military headquarters in Iceland. The Nibelung is concealed beneath a false mountain and, when revealed, points directly upward to target any units being dropped from space. It consists of a single tall spire within a concave array of mirrors, which scatter the beams fired from the spire into a wide cone that annihilates everything in flight above Heaven's Base. It is unknown how it really works but from the sight of it it seems to be some sort of combination of ZAFT's GENESIS and the Cyclops System. The Nibelung is used to great effect against a ZAFT space drop operation during the assault on Heaven's Base.

Requiem
Requiem, designated as an "Orbital All-Aspect Tactical Cannon", is the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of the Earth Alliance. Located at the Daedalus lunar base on the dark side of the moon, Requiem is a huge cannon that fires a pale green energy beam. Numerous relay stations, built from abandoned O'Neill cylinder space colonies with their end caps removed, use large Geschmeidig Panzer arrays to alter the beam's trajectory. Using different combinations of these arrays, Requiem can be fired at targets anywhere in the Earth Sphere.

After Lord Djibril escaped from Orb to the Daedalus base, he intended to use this new weapon to wipe out the Supreme Council in PLANT's capital Aprilius One. However, one of the relay stations, Gounod, was discovered by a ZAFT task force led by Yzak Joule shortly before Requiem was fired. Battle damage to Gounod slightly altered the trajectory of the beam, and as a result Requiem missed its intended target. Instead, the beam directly hit and destroyed Januarius 1 through 4 and caused December 7 and 8 to collapse, leading to the deaths of over a million Coordinators. Afterward, the Joule Squadron destroyed the Gounod relay station, but Requiem's design is such that other stations can still be used to aim its beam at PLANT. So ZAFT launched a heavy attack on one of this relay stations (which was strongly protected by the Earth Alliance forces) while the Minerva attacked the Daedalus lunar base in order to destroy the cannon itself. While Rey Za Burrel and Shinn Asuka destroyed the mobile armors which protected the base, Lunamaria Hawke snuck into the base with the ZGMF-X56S Impulse and destroyed the control room just before Requiem could be fired again.

Afterwards ZAFT takes control over Requiem and uses it to destroy the Arzachel lunar base of the Earth Alliance as well as a great part of their fleet. Also it is shown that the beam emitter is equipped with positron reflector units. However it is unknown if this is part of the original EA design or if it is a new addition by ZAFT. Just before the next shot could be fired at Orb, the Requiem was destroyed by the ORB-01 Akatsuki and ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice when both units destroyed the main energy core.The Requiem has five relay stations in total, and three of them are named "Gounod", "Fauré" and "Czerny". These names, given to the relay stations, are all from music composers who composed requiem masses, a religious music work for the dead, usually played during funerals.