MS-18E Kämpfer


General and Technical Data

Model number: MS-18E
Code name: Kämpfer
Unit type: prototype heavy assault mobile suit
Manufacturer: Zeonic Company
Operator: Principality of Zeon
First deployment: UC 0079
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: head height 17.7 meters; overall height 18.2 meters
Weight: empty 43.5 metric tons; max gross 78.5 metric tons
Armor materials: titanium/ceramic composite
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1550 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 2 x 28500 kg, 2 x 27000 kg, 4 x 12000 kg; vernier thrusters/apogee motors: 16
Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 2.03 G; 180-degree turn time 1.2 seconds; maximum ground running speed 215 km/h
Equipment and design features: sensors, range 6100 meters
Fixed armaments: 2 x 60mm vulcan gun, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x beam saber, stored in recharge racks in hip armor, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: 2 x ZUX-197 Jagdgewehr shotgun, pump-action magazine and breech, 9 round magazine, can be stored on backpack storage racks; 2 x 360mm giant bazooka, clip-fed, 5 rounds per clip, can be stored on backpack storage racks; 2 x panzer faust, rocket-propelled warhead, can be stored in racks on legs; chain mine


Technical and Historical Notes

In the last days of the One Year War, the Principality of Zeon developed the MS-18E Kämpfer, a fast assault unit. The Kämpfer ("käempfer" being German for "fighter" or "champion") sacrificed armor protection in exchange for many thrusters and verniers, making it very fast and maneuverable. Armed with an array of giant bazookas, shotguns and panzer fausts, the Kämpfer could approach a target at high speed, make a fast strike, and quickly escape. This "hit-and-run" concept made the Kämpfer a very powerful and deadly mobile suit; however, its speed and high number of thrusters resulted in high fuel consumption and a limited operational time. Despite this minor drawback, the Kämpfer was an excellent mobile suit. Unfortunately for Zeon, it was another case of "too-little-too-late," as the One Year War came to an end and the Kämpfer never saw mass production. A Kämpfer unit was deployed late in the war, attacking an Earth Federation Forces research base in the neutral Side 6 Libot Colony during a failed attempt to destroy the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex" prototype mobile suit on December 20, UC 0079.

Miscellaneous Information

Pilot: Mikhail Kaminsky
Appearances: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket; Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo; Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles; Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space
; Mobile Suit Gundam: The Return of Zeon; Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight
Original mechanical designer: Yutaka Izubuchi

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