Model number: RX-78-3
Code name: Gundam "G-3"
Unit type: prototype general purpose mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Rollout: UC 0079
First deployment: UC 0079
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso with Core Block System using FF-X7 Core Fighter
Dimensions: overall height 18.5 meters; head height 18.0 meters
Weight: empty 43.4 metric tons; max gross 60.0 metric tons
Armor materials: lunar titanium alloy
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1380 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 55500 kg total
Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 0.93 G; 180-degree turn time 1.1 seconds
Equipment and design features: sensors, range 5700 meters; magnetic coated joints
Fixed armaments: 2 x 60mm vulcan gun, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x beam saber, power rated at 0.38 MW, stored in recharge racks in backpack, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: BOWA·XBR-M-79-07G beam rifle, powered by rechargeable energy cap; BLASH·XHB-L-03/N-STD 380mm hyper bazooka, clip-fed, 5 rounds per clip plus 1 round in chamber, can be stored on rack on rear waist armor; RX·M-Sh-008/S-01025 shield, can be optionally stored on backpack

Technical and Historical Notes

Following the destruction of two of the three RX-78-2 Gundam prototypes being assembled and tested at the Federation's Side 7research colony in September UC 0079, the remains of the two damaged units were loaded aboard the Earth Federation Forces' White Base assault carrier, eventually making its way to the underground Jaburo military headquarters on Earth. The remains of the two damaged RX-78-2s would be cobbled together into a new testbed unit, designated the RX-78-3 Gundam, or "G-3." The G-3 would be used for testing new mobile suit technologies and ideas, the most well-known feature being the magnetic coating system developed by Mosk Han. By applying this electromagnetically-charged material to the G-3's motors and joints, the mobile suit's maneuverability and response time was increased by 30%. This successful technology would later be applied to the remaining RX-78-2 Gundam still operating in the field aboard White Base.

Miscellaneous Information

Pilot: Amuro Ray
Appearances: MSV (Mobile Suit Variations); Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space; Mobile Suit Gundam: Pilot's Locus
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara