F91 Gundam Formula 91 - F91 Gundam Formula 91

F91 Gundam Formula 91

The F91 Gundam is a high-performance mobile suit developed by Earth Federation's Strategic Naval Research Institute. Considered a late member of the famous Gundam series, it was made almost fifty years after the first Gundam, during a period of the Federation's decline. Although smaller at 15.2 meters tall and 19.9 tons compared to 18.5 m and 60 t for the RX-78 the F91 was immensely more powerful, with an array of advanced weaponry, as well as the revolutionary beam shield, which is much more effective than the solid material shields. F91 inherited the versatile design of its predecessor F90 Gundam, able to adapt to 20+ different mission roles simply by changing gear packs.

The most powerful weapons of this Gundam were its twin "Variable Speed Beam Rifles" (VSBR), which despite the name "beam rifle" were actually built-in weapons drawing their power directly from the mobile suit's fusion reactor. These guns could adjust their mega-particle acceleration, reacting them extremely quickly to produce a highly penetrative beam capable of piercing beam shields, or very slowly to produce a heavy beam that inflicts maximum crude damage. Other than being a weapon, the VSBRs can also be used as additional tail binders for AMBAC maneuvers, significantly improving the suit's combat efficiency. The technology behind the VSBR later served to develop the "Minovsky drive" system equipped by the V2 Gundam in U.C.0150s.

Another powerful feature is the ground-breaking bio-computer, which is a reverse psycommu system that processes and feeds battle data directly to the pilot's brain. This allows ordinary pilots (i.e. Oldtypes) to perform almost at par with Newtypes. However, due to the mental stress, it is best utilized by a Newtype.

These high-performance components, however, created the problem of excessive heat generation. Thus, aside from numerous heat sinks on its shoulders, its mouth can be opened as a vent; The excessive heat can cause the MePE (Metal Peel-off Effect), the "shedding" the outermost layers of the Gundam's exterior armor, which creates an "after-image" effect that could sometimes be used as visual decoys to confuse the enemy.

Gundam F91's prototype design made its debut in war against Oldsmobile Army in UC 0122 with Bergh Scred, former pilot of Gundam F90, as its pilot.

The first completed model of F91 was assigned to the training ship Space Ark, a modified Clop class cruiser in the U.C. 0123. It later become a limited mass-production mobile suit, serving in the ranks of Earth Federation Forces for at least the next decade. Even ten years later they still presented a threat against Seabook Arno's F97 Crossbone Gundam — the VSBR managed to pierce two layers of beam shields before being blocked by the Crossbone Gundam's powerful beam zanber. These F91s piloted by Harrison's squad dealt considerable damage to Seabook's Crossbone Gundam, resulting in him unable to fight back when his wingman Zabine Chareux betrayed and turned on him moments later.

In addition to the basic model, at least two variants of the F91 existed. The first, the HWF-91 Gundam F91 Heavy Weapons Type or Powered Weapon Type, replaces the VSBRs with a pair of 4-barrel beam Gatling guns and 2-tube anti-ship missile pods. The HWF-91's shoulders also have additional armor and cooling fins. The second variant is the Twin V.S.B.R. Type, created by adding an extra pair of VSBRs used by the G-Cannon V.S.B.R. Type.