Model number: ZGMF-X23S
Code name: Saviour Gundam
Unit type: prototype attack use transformable mobile suit
Manufacturer: Integrated Design Bureau
Operator: ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)
First deployment: C.E. 73
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: overall height 18.61 meters (mobile suit mode)
Weight: max gross weight 77.13 metric tons
Armor materials: unknown
Powerplant: ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) armor; deuterion beam energy supply system, allows for remote recharging of energy with battleship Minerva
Fixed armaments: 2 x MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MMI-RD11 aerodynamic shield, mounted on left arm; 2 x M106 "Amfortas" plasma beam cannon, mounted on backpack, can be fired in mobile suit and mobile armor mode; 2 x MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm machine gun; 2 x MA-7B "Super Fortis" beam cannon; 2 x MA-M941 "Vajra" beam saber, stored on shoulders, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: MA-BAR70 high-energy beam rifle, power rating unknown

Technical and Historical Notes

In the postwar era, ZAFT unveils its "Second Stage" of advanced new Gundam mobile suits. One of these designs is the high speed transforming ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam. As with other Gundam designs, the Saviour Gundam is equipped with Phase Shift armor that blocks conventional weapon attacks. Because the Junius Treaty bans the use of N-Jammer Cancelers in mobile suits, ZAFT develops the deuterion beam energy supply system to replenish the battery's energy on the battlefield. When the Saviour Gundam's energy runs low, it can receive the incoming energy beam from its mothership Minerva and recharge its battery. In its mobile armor mode, the Saviour Gundam is fast and highly maneuverable in both space and Earth's atmosphere. The Saviour Gundam is equipped with a wide variety of armaments for use in its two modes. Its main armament is a pair of "Amfortas" plasma beam cannons which can be used in both configurations. The Saviour Gundam's other armaments include two beam cannons, vulcan guns, a beam rifle and two beam sabers.

When a new war begins between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT in October C.E. 73, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal assigns the Saviour Gundam to Athrun Zala after reinstating him to ZAFT as a member of FAITH (Fast Acting Integrated Tactical Headquarters). Durandal gives Athrun free reign to act as he sees fit with his authority as a member of FAITH, but he requests that Athrun join the crew of the Minerva and help it play a role similar to that of the Archangel in the previous war. After a brief encounter with the Orb Union's military, Athrun rendezvous with the Minerva at ZAFT's Carpentaria base and participates in battles in the Indian Ocean and Middle East. The Saviour Gundam is heavily damaged while engaging Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam in a naval battle near the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Following the battle, the damaged mobile suit is declared a total loss.

Miscellaneous Information

Pilot: Athrun Zala
Appearances: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY; Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam Vs. Gundam
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

Lineart

MA-BAR70 high-energy beam rifle
MA-M941 "Vajra" beam saber
MMI-RD11 aerodynamic shield