The LHM-BB03S Millennium is a battleship introduced in the animated film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom.
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
The Millennium is a ZAFT-designed battleship of the Super Minerva-class, and the successor to the LHM-BB01 Minerva. It is operated by the peacekeeping organization Compass as their flagship.
Unlike its predecessor, the Millennium does not have a dedicated third catapult for the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam and its Silhouette Packs, instead having two large general-purpose linear catapults to the sides of the ship. Smaller launch bays under the catapults allow for the separate deployment of various support craft, including Silhouette Flyers.
The improved engine power of the Millennium allows it to exit Earth's gravity and into space without the use of an external booster unit, instead relying solely on positronic interference from its Tannhäuser cannons to achieve sufficient escape velocity. It also possesses hydrojets for more efficient propulsion when traveling on water, and the Millennium even has the ability to submerge underwater for emergencies.
A feature inherited by the Millennium from its predecessor is its armored bridge, which has increased protection for the crew. Unlike the Minerva where the interior of the bridge descended into the more cramped armored bridge, the Millennium's entire bridge section retracts into the ship in order to maintain its spacious arrangement without compromising protection. When in retracted form, the captain and helmsman can raise themselves up in a tandem seating formation to a separate "battle bridge" that features improved visibility.
Armaments[]
- QZX-2 "Tannhäuser" Positron Blaster Cannon
- The ship's most powerful weapons are the four QZX-2 "Tannhäuser" positron cannons hidden at the prow, giving it superior firepower over its predecessor. When fired, the Tannhäusers can fire shots in four different directions, allowing it to hit multiple enemies over a much larger area.
- "Goten" Heat Ram
- The Millennium's bow is equipped with a heat ram, which glows with immense heat when active, and can be used as a surprise weapon to drive the ship directly onto an enemy vessel.
- "Tristan" Dual Beam Cannon
- The ship has three dual beam cannon turrets as its main armament, with two in front of the bridge, and one behind.
- "Kurwenal" Linear Cannon
- The "Kurwenal" linear cannon is mounted on the main body, in front of the forward Tristan beam cannons. This cannon is usually hidden on top of the hull on a retractable turret.
- 40mm CIWS
- The Millennium uses 40mm CIWS guns for intercepting missiles and mobile suits.
- 2-barrel Separate Guided Cannon
- The Millennium uses four 2-barrel wired gunbarrels for all-range attack. These guns are normally kept on the ship's prow for use as defensive armament.
- Missile Launchers
- The Millennium is equipped with multiple missile launchers, located behind the bridge. They are capable of launching "Neidhardt" space missiles, "Parsifal" ground missiles, or "Dispar" interceptor missiles. The missiles can be cold-launched from the ship and set to fire their thrusters on a delayed timer, allowing them to serve akin to self-propelled mines, dubbed by Murrue as the "Badgiruel tactic".
- Anti-Beam Depth Charge Launchers
- The ship is mounted with a large number of anti-beam depth charge launchers to the front of the ship, which can release a cloud of beam-dispersing particles to protect the Millennium from enemy beam fire. The particles, however, also decrease the efficiency of the Millennium's own beam weapons.
Special Equipment & Features[]
- A special heat-absorbing gel used by the Millennium to protect itself from the heat of atmospheric entry. This substance evaporates away as the ship descends, so it must be continually replenished by the gel dischargers on the underside of the hull.
- Crystalline Armor
- The Millennium can use its ablative gel dispensers to coat itself in a special substance that hardens into an ablative heat and shock-protective crystal shield. This shield is capable of defending against even multiple Positron Blaster Cannon attacks, but can only be used once per sortie.
History[]
The Millennium served as the flagship of Compass in C.E.75, under the command of Alexei Konoe, participating in various peacekeeping operations on Earth. It would deploy a mobile suit contingent to Africa to defend Aldrin City against an attack from Blue Cosmos remnants.
When Compass was invited into the Kingdom of Foundation to undertake a joint operation against Blue Cosmos remnants within the Eurasian borders, the Millennium stayed within the waters around the Foundation's capital city Ishtaria. It attempted to destroy a nuclear missile headed towards the city by sending out Lunamaria Hawke in her ZGMF-2025/F GELGOOG Menace to intercept it. However, a second missile slipped past their defenses, and the Millennium performed a crash dive into the sea to escape destruction from the nuclear explosion.
In the aftermath of the Eldore incident, the Millennium docked at Onogoro Island in the Orb Union, where it was impounded following the suspension of Compass' activities. The ship was then commandeered by a small strike force led by Murrue Ramius in a false hijacking, in which Alexei ceded command of the ship to Murrue, and the ship loaded up with new mobile suits and weapons delivered from Akatsuki Island. During the Millennium's escape from Orb, Kira Yamato broadcasted worldwide that Foundation was the one who fired the nukes on their own citizens, causing Aura Maha Khyber to redirect Requiem's target from Orb capital Olofat to the Millennium, an attack which the Millennium barely evaded (thanks to Arnold Neumann) by emergency braking before it proceeded to perform atmospheric exit via positronic interference.
In order to improve their commando team's chances of infiltrating the space fortress Artemis to rescue Lacus Clyne from Foundation captivity, the Millennium and its mobile suit squad would engage the combined forces of Foundation and the ZAFT coup d'état fleet to secure a path towards the Requiem superweapon. During the battle, the Millennium succeeded in crippling the Foundation's flagship, the BCI-183 Gullveig, via a ramming attack, and ultimately destroying it through a sustained weapons barrage.
Gallery[]
Lineart[]
Anime[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The Millennium's prow has "02" marked on it, identifying it as the second ship of Compass. The marking is actually part of a longer number sequence with the "02" enlarged, and the full designation on the hull reads "SCC-102", following after the Archangel's "SCC-101".
- Following the Minerva's naming convention, the "Kurwenal" is named after a character from Tristan und Isolde, one of Richard Wagner's operas.
Appearances[]
- Movies
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom
- First Appearance
References[]
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