TMF/A-802 BuCUE

Technology & Combat Characteristics

The TMF/A-802 BuCUE is a mobile suit designed for ground combat. Unlike other ZAFT mobile suits, the BuCUE is a quadruped, looking more like a dog than a human. The four-legged design distributes the weight of the BuCUE, giving it greater balance and the ability to move on irregular or difficult terrains on earth much more easily and nimbly than standard two-legged MS. Additionally each leg is equipped with a caterpillar-treads. BuCUE can enter a "tank-mode" by crouching down and moving on these treads, giving it greater speed when travelling on terrains such a sandy deserts or snowy fields.

Because BuCUE do not have manipulator hands they cannot use standard mobile suits weapons. Instead, the BuCUE possess a turret mount on its back that can mount either a 2-barrel 450mm railgun or a 13-tube 400mm missile launcher for ranged combat. These were originally the BuCUE's only weapons. After ZAFT's theft and study of the G Project mobile suits, ZAFT upgraded the BuCUE by incorporating a twin beam saber mounted in the units head, allowing it to charge at an enemy unit and cut it in half. In terms of defense, the BuCUE possesses an armor strong enough to withstand impacts from conventional hand weapons, such as RPGs.

Armaments

• 2-Barrel 450mm Railgun

One of two weapons that can be mounted on the suit's turret mount on its back, these two barrel railguns use electricity, rather than gunpowder, to accelerate the projectiles, giving them a stronger impact and longer range than other weaponry. Due to the BuCUE's quadruped design, it is able to fire steadily, without worry of recoil or kickback.

• 13-Tube 400mm Missile Launcher

The other weapon that can be mounted on the suit's turret mount on its back, it contains missiles that are larger and stronger than the missiles used by most mobile suits. Andrew Waltfield calculated it would take exactly 76 BuCUE missiles to drain the Strike Gundam's Phase Shift.

• Twin Beam Saber

The suit's primary melee weapon and only beam weapon, it is a later addition to the suit. Mounted in the mouth, it is primarily used for hit and run attack, in which the suit hits an enemy unit as it charges forward.

History

While invading Earth during the First Alliance-PLANT War, ZAFT created the BuCUE, a quadrupedal mobile suit used for ground combat, and it soon became one of the key factors in planetary battle operations. After the Archangel descended down to Earth and landed in Africa, several BuCUEs attacked the ship and managed to cause trouble for it and its only mobile suit, the GAT-X105 Strike, until Strike's pilot Kira Yamato was able to adjust to the new terrain. BuCUEs were also deployed in large numbers during Operation Spit Break, the attack on the EA headquarter JOSH-A.

In CE 73, the BuCUE is still used in large numbers during the Second Alliance-PLANT War, for example in battle against the massive EA mobile armor GFAS-X1 Destroy. During this time, a new and more advanced version of the BuCUE is introduced, the TMF/A-802W2 Kerberos BuCUE Hound, which proves to be a formidable opponent even for ace pilots.

During the first war, ZAFT also created the TMF/A-802 P-Mod.W BuCUE Waltfeld Custom Type, which served as a testbed for the commander version TMF/A-803 LaGOWE. Another variant produced was the TMF/TR-2 BuCUE Tactical Reconnaissance Type, which was used for recon missions.

Variants

• TMF/A-802 P-Mod.W BuCUE Waltfeld Custom Type
• TMF/A-802W2 Kerberos BuCUE Hound
• TMF/TR-2 BuCUE Tactical Reconnaissance Type

Gallery

Tank mode

BuCUE concept design

BuCUE: illustration by Kimitoshi Yamane (from G Field)

Gunpla

1/144 Original "TMF/A-802 BuCUE" (2003): box art)

1/144 HG Gundam Seed "TMF/A-802 Mobile BuCUE" (SEED Remaster Version; 2012): box art

Action Figures

Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA / MIA) "TMF/A-802 BuCUE" (2006): package front view.

Notes and Trivia

• In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny, the BuCue has the ability to disable lock-on using a smoke screen despite not having smoke dispensers as standard equipment.

Reference

TMF/A-802 BuCUE Lineart

TMF/A-802 BuCUE Lineart

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External links

• BuCUE on MAHQ