The Aegis-class cruiser is a naval battleship introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
Technology & Combat Characteristic
The Aegis-class cruiser serves as the backbone of Orb Union's naval forces and is used primarily for guarding Orb's territorial waters. Based on a trimaran construction in which the ship's hull is divided into three sections, it has hydrofoils that can decrease the drag from the water and increase speed, allowing the ship to reach speeds of more than 50 knots. Armed with several guns and large number of missile launchers, the Aegis-class also has three flight decks for deploying three Helis, and although the ship is not designed to support mobile suits, three mobile suits can be temporarily tethered to its flight decks for deployment in battle.
Armaments
- 250mm Rapid Fire Gun
- A large caliber gun mounted at the front of the Aegis-class cruiser, it has a high firing rate of 66 rounds per minute.[1] The gun can fire different types of shells, such as specialized fragmentation burst, explosively formed penetrator, or armor-piercing shells, at ranges of excess of 32km.[2]
- Anti-Ship Missile Launcher
- The Aegis-class cruiser has 18 missile launchers for anti-ship combat, 5 on each side of the bow and 4 on each side of the aft.[1] Due to the launchers' unique design, the anti-ship missiles have a wider firing angle.[1]
- Anti-Air Missile Launcher
- The Aegis-class cruiser can fire a large number of anti-air missiles from launchers (said to range from 132 to 164 launchers) arranged in rows spread across the ship. It is known that three rows of launchers are located at the bow, behind the 250mm rapid fire gun, with the starboard, port, and aft having four rows of launchers each.[1]
- 25mm Anti-Air Gatling Gun
- Three 25mm anti-air gatling guns with short firing range, but very high accuracy serve as the ship's last line of defense against enemy missiles, aircrafts, etc.[1] One is positioned in front of the bridge, and the other two are located before the rear flight decks.
History
First Alliance-PLANT War
These cruisers were used during the First Alliance-PLANT War, alongside the older and smaller Kuraomikami-class destroyers. They were deployed in large numbers during the Battle of Orb, when the Earth Alliance attacked the nation, during which many of them fell victim to the Alliance's new Gundam mobile suits.[3]
Second Alliance-PLANT War
The Aegis-class cruiser remained in service in C.E. 73 during the Second Alliance-PLANT War. Many of these vessels were part of the large Orb fleet which fought alongside the Alliance fleet against the ZAFT battleship Minerva in the Battle of Dardanelles[4] and Battle of Crete[2]. When ZAFT later attacked Orb, these ships were again deployed to defend the country as they did in the previous war.[5]
Gallery
Lineart
Anime
Illustrations & Artwork
Games
Notes & Trivia
Appearances
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- Episode 25 (HD Remastered Episode 24), The Land of Peace - (First Appearance)
- Episode 38 (HD Remastered Episode 36), Decisive Fire
- Episode 39 (HD Remastered Episode 37), Athrun
- Episode 40 (HD Remastered Episode 38), Into the Dawn Skies
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- Episode 12 (HD Remastered Episode 12), Blood in the Water
- Episode 14 (HD Remastered Episode 14), Flight to Tomorrow
- Episode 22 (HD Remastered Episode 22), Sword of the Blue Skies
- Episode 23 (HD Remastered Episode 23), The Shadows of War
- Episode 27 (HD Remastered Episode 27), Unfulfilled Feelings
- Episode 28 (HD Remastered Episode 28), Survivors and Sacrifices
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Official File/Mechanics Vol.2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-28, Survivors and Sacrifices
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-38, Decisive Fire
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-23, The Shadows of War
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-42, Freedom and Justice
External links