Gundam (mobile Suit) - Role in Plot

Role in Plot

The deployment of the Principality of Zeon's mobile suits, the MS-05 Zaku I and the MS-06 Zaku II, in the One Year War had given the small nation a major tactical edge over the much larger Earth Federation. Capable of propellant-less maneuvering thanks to their AMBAC systems, and able to be retrofitted to suit a variety of missions and environments, they easily outclassed the Federation's arsenal of fighters and ground vehicles. Realizing that the gap needed to be closed, the Federation instituted Project V (short for "Project Victory"), a development program that would produce a counterpart Federation mobile suit design, with the ability for mass-production a requirement. While the ultimate result of the program was the RGM-79 GM, the engineers in the project tested several design concepts for the mass-production units in the RX-78 series. Some of the developments in the RX-78 models were later incorporated into the GM line, but many were scrapped due to cost and/or complexity.

Only eight RX-78 suits were produced during the One Year War, although continual remodelling and upgrading created the impression that there were more than eight units. Although the RX-78 suits are designated RX-78-1~8, the final digit indicated the design version of the unit, rather than its actual number.

In addition, the EFF (Earth Federation Forces) started a G-4 project which consist of four RX-78s for each of its branches, and EFSF (EF Space Force) used information of the RX-78-4 to develop the RX-78NT-1. According to the director's production notes of Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, it could be considered to be the 9th unit of RX-78 in the One Year War. Although what unit the EFAF (EF Air Force) developed is not specifically mentioned, in the semi-canon manga Mobile Suit Gundam: MS Generation the EFAF created the RX-78E (GT FOUR/Gundam Transformer/Flight & Operations Unifications Reactors), which is different from the eight RX-78s produced. Another unit is the EFGF's (EF Ground Force) RX-78XX, which uses scrap parts of the RX-78s, just like the RX-79 Gundam Ground Combat Type. The EFN (EF Navy) developed the RAG-79-G1 as the G-4 project's marine type Gundam, yet it is only an upgrade of the RAG-79 Aqua GM for Ace pilots with just the head and generator changed. After the One Year War, the GP series are numbered after the RX-78 convention, despite being newly produced units.

The variation among the Gundams was originally indicated by differences in colouration, indicating upgrades to completely internal equipment and technology, although later variants displayed externally-visible upgrades. For example, Unit 4 and Unit 5, which exist mainly in games and as model kits, provide additional mounting points and weaponry.

The RX-78 series introduced Minovsky particle weaponry to mobile suits, developing and deploying the first successful beam rifle and beam saber. These would form the primary component of mobile suit weaponry for at least the next hundred and fifty years. The core block system was also introduced in the RX-78, as well as the RX-75 Guntank and RX-77 Guncannon. This system allowed the pilot to escape the destruction of his mobile suit in a functional aerospace fighter, as well as housing a learning computer that can gather performance data from the suit's combat sorties. This however had to be dropped from subsequent units due to cost issues. However, it was reused on occasion (most notably in the Anaheim Electronics MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam during the first Neo Zeon movement), and later resurrected in UC 0153 by the League Militaire on the LM312V04 Victory Gundam.

After the cessation of the One Year War, the Federation opened up a black-ops mobile suit development program, the Gundam Development Project, in order to develop mobile suits to fill roles that had appeared in analysis of combat operations from the One Year War. After the events of Gundam 0083, all details of the Gundam Development Project were stricken from the official records.

The RX-78 line was finally superseded in UC 0087 by the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, developed by the Titans.