Mobile Suit
Gundam: Mechanics
Principality of Zeon Mobile Suit
MS-09 Dom
Pilot / Gaia, Ortega, and Mash
After testing of the YMS-09 was completed, the Dom was swiftly approved for mass production. Though its exterior was redesigned, the production version of the Dom was functionally almost identical to the prototype - the only real difference was the addition of a small beam gun in the chest, whose flare could be used to blind the enemy. Production of the Gouf was halted almost as soon as it had begun, and by the end of September 0079 Zeon's Granada and California Base factories were rolling out the first mass-produced Doms.
The first pilots to take this new mobile suit into battle were the famous "Black Tri-Stars" trio of Gaia, Ortega, and Mash. After undergoing land combat training, the trio were equipped with Doms and dispatched to Zeon's Odessa mining base to defend it against an upcoming Federation offensive. As the Federation began Operation Odessa, the Black Tri-Stars were killed in battle with the pilots of the Federation carrier White Base.
Principality of Zeon Mobile Suit
MS-05 Zaku I
Pilots /
Gadem
Gaia, Ortega, and Mash
Topp
The Zaku I is Zeon's first combat-worthy mobile suit. Designed five years before the outbreak of the One Year War, it's now considered obsolete and largely relegated to non-combat work.
The Zeonic Company began trial production of the MS-05A model in May of UC 0075, producing a total of 27 units. In November of the same year, a mobile suit training battalion was formed to gather performance data and practice combat maneuvers. The members of this training battalion were the very first mobile suit pilots, many of whom went on to distinguish themselves in the One Year War. The most famous alumni of this training battalion alumni were Gaia, Ortega, and Mash - the famous "Black Tri-Stars."
Based on feedback from this training battalion, a modified MS-05B version was created for mass production, and approximately 800 of these were produced. Despite its obsolescence, this classic Zaku could still be seen in the field until the very end of the war.
Pilot / Denim, Gene, and Slender
Since the start of the One Year War, the Zaku II has been the backbone of Zeon's mobile suit forces. During the first weeks of the conflict, the standard model was the C type, which was specially adapted for nuclear warfare. After the Antarctic Treaty banned the use of nuclear weapons, the C type was replaced by the slightly modified F type, which ultimately became the most heavily-produced variety of Zaku II. Though it can be used on Earth, the F type is primarily designed for space combat, and most of Zeon's terrestrial forces use the (externally identical) J type instead.
The Zaku II's standard weapons are a 120mm machine gun and a high-temperature cutting blade called a "heat hawk." It can also carry a 280mm bazooka - the same model used in the early days of the war to launch nuclear warheads, now loaded strictly with conventional explosive shells
Pilots /
Ramba Ral
Habe and March
The Gouf is a new ground combat mobile suit designed to replace the aging J type Zaku II. Its most famous pilot is Captain Ramba Ral of the Space Attack Force. Dispatched to Earth to avenge the death of Colonel Garma Zabi, Ral battles several times with the dreaded Federation mobile suit Gundam. The electric-blue Gouf he uses is supposedly the YMS-07B model - the second prototype version - but it's identical to the mass-produced MS-07B that appears thereafter.
During its development, the Gouf was enhanced with supplemental leg thrusters and built-in weapons. The standard built-in armaments were a set of five 75mm machine guns and an electrified grappling cable called a heat rod, installed in the left and right hands respectively. Due to delays in part availability, the first 32 units were produced without built-in weapons; these were given the model number MS-07A, to distinguish them from the fully-equipped B type. Both varieties could also use the machine guns and bazookas designed for the Zaku II.
This variation of the Zeon's venerable Zaku is a special space combat model. It sports upgraded thrusters to enhance maneuverablity. Not that many R types were built. They became rare prizes for the Zeon elite pilots.
Pilot / Boraskyniv
In the last months of the One Year War, Zeon's designers began shifting their focus away from humanoid mobile suits towards heavily-armed and -armored mobile armors. The Zock, one of the last amphibious mobile suits, was a product of this philosophical shift. With its unique front-to-back symmetry, battery of mega particle cannons, and stubby, non-functional legs, this hovering colossus was more a mobile gun platform than a conventional mobile suit.
Three prototype units of the Zock were constructed. Two were assigned to the North Atlantic's "Manta Ray" submarine squadron, one of which was lost when its carrier was sunk by Federal Forces anti-submarine planes. The third unit was given to Colonel Char Aznable's "Mad Angler" squadron, and was destroyed during an attempted invasion of the Federation's Jaburo base.
Pilots /
Callahan
Godard
A third entry in the field of amphibious mobile suits came from a company called MIP, whose MIP-X1 space fighter had been rejected in favor of Zeonic's mobile suits almost a decade earlier. This time, the company fared much better. Powerful, heavily armed, and highly mobile, MIP's Z'gok was equally deadly in the water and on dry land.
Incorporating lessons learned from the Gogg and Acguy, the Z'gok was equipped with an air-cooling system for extended land operation, and the mega particle cannons in its claws were far easier to aim than the Gogg's belly guns. Its head, like that of the Acguy, sported a 360-degree mono-eye - as well as six 240mm rocket launchers.
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