The RGM-79(GRS) Armored GM is a Mobile suit that first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front and later the Mobile Suit Gundam - Zeon MS Boys: The War of Independence manga series.
Technology & Combat Characteristics
One of the last in the line of the many GM variants seen in the One Year War, the RGM-79(GRS) Armored GM was second to none in the class of speed. The huge leg-mounted air intakes, four powerful thruster nozzles in the backpack, and bank of twin thrusters mounted in each leg were enough to propel the Armored GM at fantastic speeds, putting it on a level with the RX-78-6 Mudrock Gundam and the Zeon’s MS-09 Dom. There are several similarities in design and performance between Gundam Mudrock and the RGM-79SP GM Sniper II. The Armored GM shares the same leg-mounted thrusters as the GM Sniper ll, and the backpack shares several differences that might signify a scaled-down version of the Gundam Mudrock’s backpack. The question of whether or not the Armored GM is a scaled down version of either suit, or a conglomeration of each suit’s best parts remains unanswered. In either case, the Armored GM saw a very limited production run.
Armaments
- Beam Saber
- The Armored GM is equipped with a single beam saber stored in a recharge rack in the left forearm. It uses Minovsky particles held in place by an I-Field to form an effective cutting surface that can slice through nearly any material. The particles for the beam saber are stored by E-cap in the hilt of the saber, which is recharged from the GM's reactor when the saber is returned to its socket. Once activated, beam saber does not rely on the mobile suit's reactor and can be thrown or discarded as decoys. It's most often used for close range combat or as an emergency weapon once all other ammunition has been depleted.
- HWF GMG·MG79-90mm Bullpup Machine Gun
- Compare to beam weapons, mobile suit sized machine guns and bazookas are cheaper and easier to produce, requires less energy, and is overall easier to maintain because it relies on older, less complex, well known technology. In addition machine guns had the advantage of holding considerably vastly greater amounts of ammunition, and mobile suits could carry fresh clips around to reload their weapons should the current clip run out. This allows a mobile suit to operate with greater independence as during the OYW the only known way to rearm a spent beam rifle was to return to a base with the proper recharging equipment. The trade off is that they are less effective in penetrating the armor of a mobile suit, and must typically be fired from at least mid-range with multiple shots hitting the target before it can take down the target.
- NF GMG-Type.37/100mm Machine Gun
- The standard armament for Federation mobile suit ground forces during OYW, the Type 37 is an open-bolt, gas-operated, magazine-fed, mobile suit handheld machine gun. It fires a 100x450 millimeter round at a rate of 500 rounds per minute and is loaded with a 20-round box magazine. Features include a folding stock and swivel forward hand grip. Accuracy is limited due to the aiming from regular iron sights and not a targeting sensor. Maximum effective range of 1.5 kilometers.
- BR-M-79C-1 Beam Spray Gun
- The Beam Spray Gun was essentially a scaled-down beam rifle. The beam spray gun has a smaller focusing coil which results in a less powerful, and a more scattered shot. As a result of this the beam spray gun is less effective at long range, but is better at close range due to a more spread out shot, similar to a shotgun effect. While the beam spray gun is less powerful than the beam rifle, it has been shown to be able to penetrate the armor of a Rick Dom - one of the most heavily armored mobile suits of the One Year War.
- BLASH HB-L-07/N-STD Hyper Bazooka
- Similar to the Zaku's bazooka, the Hyper Bazooka was a heavy weapon used by the GM. Technically a large rocket launcher it could fire several 360mm missiles to attack targets at long range. No mass-production MS's armor is able to stop this weapon. While very powerful, it has a slow rate of fire and a fairly little amount of ammunition. Most oftenly used to take out slow, heavily armored targets.
- Shield
- Shields are simple in their design, being essentially thick slabs of metal that the equipped mobile suit can use to absorb the impact from attacks that, for whatever reason, cannot be dodged. However shields can only withstand so much pressure before becoming damaged themselves. As technology progressed it became necessary for shields to be treated with an anti-beam coating as a measure of defense against beam weapons which can normally penetrate any physical barrier, however the coating gets gradually burned away each time a beam strikes it until it is rendered useless. The Armored GM's shield is carried on its left arm and its length is almost of the mobile suit's height.
History
The Armored GM was not deployed until very late in the One Year War, and was designed primarily as a ground combat mobile suit. Thus, the capabilities offered by the units were toned down in favor of the more versatile and cheaper RGM-79. One of the few recorded instances of the Armored GM being fielded was January 1, UC 0080, in the vast stretches of the deserts of North Africa. The Midnight Fenrir Corps, answering a distress call from several HT-01B Magella Attack tanks attached to Number 11 Supply Corps, fought off several waves of attacks by standard GMs, supplemented by a squad of the new Armored GMs.
Gallery
External Links
Template:Early Universal Century Mobile weapons