RX-93-ν2 Hi-ν Gundam

The RX-93-ν2 Hi-ν Gundam (pronounced "High-New") is an alternate interpretation of the RX-93 ν Gundam which appears in Mobile Suit Gundam: Beltorchika's Children. It is piloted by Amuro Ray.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
In addition to a more bulky design, the Hi-v sports an exclusively white and violet color scheme to distinguish it from the white and black paint job on the v Gundam. The Hi-v also features more efficient thrusters across its body along with a more powerful Minovsky reactor core, boosting its overall output.

The most prolific difference, however, is its distinct back boosters and revised fin funnel system. The fairly standard backpack design of the ν Gundam is replaced with a much more unique dual "long booster" system, with another long booster situated between them and two propellant tanks angled below the dual long boosters. These boosters were capable of great accelerations, and the propellant tanks extended the duration of time the boosters could remain active. The long boosters also served as the storage area for the unit's fin funnels. Also, unlike the ν Gundam, the Hi-v Gundam could recharge the fin funnel's power supply, extending their performance time.

Apart from the obvious visual differences, the Hi-ν also expands on the ν Gundam's armaments, with the addition of a powerful machine gun in its right forearm as well as the inclusion of an extra beam saber, bringing the number of beam sabers up to three. The suit can also use a Hyper Mega Bazooka Launcher, an improved model of the weapon used by the MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki during the Gryps Conflict, when heavier firepower is required.

Thanks to its psycoframe, a vast improvement over the psycommu system prevalent among mobile suits designed to be used by Newtype pilots, Amuro Ray had much greater control over the mobile suit, piloting it almost as if it were an extension of his own body and bringing out the suit's fullest performance.

Armaments

 * 60mm Vulcan Guns
 * A basic armament found on many Federation mobile suits. While essentially ineffectual against mobile suit armor, these head mounted shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire and are useful in intercepting incoming missiles/rockets, destroying mobile suit sensors, and engaging lightly-armored vehicles.


 * Machine Gun
 * Located in the Hi-ν's right forearm is a high-caliber machine gun. It serves as a counter to the use of enemy I-fields (as most beam attack would be rendered useless), and is powerful enough to destroy other mobile suits with a concentrated stream of fire.


 * Beam Sabers
 * The Hi-ν Gundam carries three beam sabers for close combat, with one being stored in the left forearm for rapid deployment and the other two stored in the back-mounted binders. The beam sabers stored in the wing binders are capable of producing a second beam blade from the bottom of the hilt for surprise attacks or handling multiple opponents in combat; it is curious to note that the forearm-stored saber is incapable of such a feat. All three sabers' beams are tinted a royal blue to match the Hi-ν's paint job.


 * Fin Funnels
 * The Hi-ν Gundam carries 6 fin funnels, mounted on the mobile suit's back in a wing-like formation. These remote weapons are the Hi-ν's trump card in engaging enemies from a single opponent to multiple enemies. Compared to previous remote weapons, the fin funnels' power rating is increased, giving them firepower comparable to beam cannons. The Hi-ν is capable of refueling and recharging its fin funnels. The fin funnels can arrange themselves into geometric formations to deploy the fin funnel barrier like the ν Gundam, a defensive field that can repel any attacks with lower output than the fin funnel's.


 * Beam Rifle
 * The Hi-ν Gundam carries a beam rifle powered by E-Pacs as its primary weapon, its output is variable and at maximum output can rival the mega particle cannons used by the warships at that time. The particle beam fired from it can penetrate almost any armor that has not been treated with specific counter-measures.


 * New Hyper Bazooka
 * The Hi-ν is also armed with a new hyper bazooka that has improved firing range and destructive power compared to the Hyper Bazooka used by other Earth Federation MS. It is capable of destroying an enemy unit in a single shot and is mostly used to take out slow, heavily armored targets.


 * Hyper Mega Bazooka Launcher
 * The Hi-ν's most powerful armament. When in use, the hyper mega bazooka launcher would be directly connected to the Ra Cailum's reactor due to it immense power consumption. It is able destroy a fragment of the asteroid base Axis with a single shot.


 * Shield
 * The shield is a thick sheet of armor designed to take severe punishment that would normally destroy a mobile suit. Since the introduction of beam weaponry, shields have been treated with an anti-beam coating allowing it to withstand several beam shots before the coating wears off. Typically physical shields can only take so much damage before they succumb to the pressure and break. Similar in appearance to ν Gundam's, the Hi-ν Gundam's shield is emblazoned with Amuro's emblem. It features a built-in 7.8 MW beam cannon and several missiles. In the redesigned version, the missiles were not present.

Special Equipment & Features

 * External Propellant Tanks
 * Mounted on the back, the external propellant tanks substantially increase the amount of fuel the Hi-ν Gundam can carry, thus increasing its operational flight time. When the fuel is depleted, the tanks can be ejected to decrease mass. The propellant tanks also mount thrusters near the bottom to improve the suit's mobility.


 * Psycoframe Cockpit
 * The Hi-ν's cockpit is lined with nanoscopic psycommu receptors, allowing a Newtype pilot to operate both the mobile suit and psycommu weaponry with ease. Amuro Ray would make great use of this feature, controlling the Hi-ν and maneuvering its fin funnels like extensions of his own body. One MSN-03-2 Psyco Geara Doga that was shot down during the battle at Fifth Luna had its psycoframe used to enhanced Hi-ν's own.

History
Like the ν Gundam, the Hi-ν Gundam is not able to push Axis by itself, resulting in the same end result that the movie has previously given us. Although, in the novel, we have more details about the technology and how the psycommu work. One of the biggest examples is the spiritual manifestation of Amuro's son, protecting the Gundam in a similar fashion to the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam.

Notes and Trivia

 * Hi-ν is merely called the Nu Gundam in the Beltorchika's Children novel; it was intended to be an alternate rendering of the Nu Gundam as seen in Char's Counterattack.
 * The name Hi-ν is a vestige from the original Hi-streamer novel (which is the basis of the Char's Counterattack movie).
 * The Hi-ν received a new design for the release of its Master Grade model in February 2007. This version was overall slimmed down and replaced the Original Violet detailing with Royal Blue
 * A second Master Grade model utilizing Izubuchi's original design was released in August 2014 under the Ver. Ka line supervised by Hajime Katoki. The FA-93-ν2HWS Hi-ν Gundam Heavy Weapons System Type P-Bandai add on featured the leopard spotted pattern on the shield shown in the original Beltorchika's Children illustration.
 * The most common and referenced view of the Hi-ν Gundam is its SD (Super Deformed) form, thanks to the Super Robot Wars and SD Gundam G Generation series. Only through official sketches, information, drawings and fanarts based on these do we have a notion of its true proportions.
 * The RX-93-ν2 is highly admired by fans of the series and the directors themselves. Examples can be seen in both the games (where the Hi-ν appears directly) and shout outs within the series themselves (Strike Freedom Gundam, Reborns Gundam, Gundam AGE-FX).
 * The OVA Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G (2010) features the first animated appearance of the Hi-ν outside of its SD form, where it served as an antagonist and sported a black/yellow/white variant of its paint job reminiscent of the RX-93 ν Gundam's. It was piloted by Koji Matsumoto. It's worth to note that the GPB version of the Hi-ν in the OVA was built using parts from three separate 1/144 HGUC Hi-ν Gundams in order to use all six fin funnels, since each kit only has a pair of fin funnels that fully function. However, the GPB Hi-v kit that was actually released is a simple recolor and does not match the modifications from the OVA.
 * The Hi-ν Gundam is an unlockable unit in the mecha action video game Another Century's Episode: R for the Playstation 3, and is obtained by playing through the game's story mode five times.
 * In the PSP game Gundam Assault Survive, the Hi-ν Gundam is the most expensive Gundam unit to be bought in the entire game, costing up to 12,100,600 G, and is with the highest tuning point possible for a unit, summing up to 37,178 pts. It also appears as one of the Hyper Bosses within the game, and is argued to be the most powerful Gundam in the game.
 * Earlier source material, such as video game profiles, often misinterpret the Hi-ν as the "completed" design of the ν Gundam.
 * The backstory of the Hi-ν as provided in the HGUC and MG model kit (released in 2009 and 2006 respectively) all referenced events in the novel and did not state that it is the "completed" design of the ν Gundam.
 * The Hi-ν Gundam has appeared in a few Super Robot Wars games. In most cases, its stats are an upgrade over the normal ν (though in its initial Alpha and Alpha Gaiden appearances it was weaker than the ν HWS attack wise), though it does not replace the ν (so you can put another Newtype pilot in the older suit). In comparison, its rival, the Nightingale, has only appeared in three games (Alpha 2, D, and Compact 2), and has only been playable one time. The Hi-ν is usually considered the ultimate form of Real Robot, alongside Mazinkaiser (Super Robot) and Shin Getter Robo (Combining Robot)
 * In Super Robot Wars Destiny, there is a combo attack between the ν/ν HWS, and Mass Produced ν with Hi-ν involving the two using their Fin Funnels together.
 * Hi-ν Gundam is a 3000 unit in the PS3 game Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs . Originally released as a first edition DLC, Hi-ν Gundam is now available via free on both the Japanese PSN and HK PSN. Hi-ν Gundam's EX Burst Attack is the Hyper Mega Bazooka Launcher, marking the first time in franchise history an official depiction of what is considered to be Hi-ν Gundam's ultimate weapon.
 * Hi-v Gundam has a mouthpiece with three vents and a violet-colored chin instead of the traditional two-vented one with red-colored chin.
 * Following the release of Izubuchi's new intepretation, its visual appearance has sometimes been featured as a combination of both the original art and the newer 2007 rendition in merchandise format and also video game appearance.