AL-97 Atlas (OVA version)

Model number: AL-97
Code name: Atlas
Unit type: military labor
Manufacturer: Hishii Heavy Industries
Operator: Japan Self-Defense Forces
Rollout: January 1997 AD
Accommodation: pilot only, in canopy style cockpit in torso
Dimensions: overall height 9.40 meters; overall width 6.35 meters
Weight: standard 3.60 metric tons; full 8.27 metric tons
Armor materials: high tension steel
Powerplant: unknown
Maximum weight lifting capacity: 3.25 metric tons
Minimum revolving radius: 4.35 meters
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 20mm Gatling gun, mounted on back over right shoulder
Optional hand armaments: none

Although labors were most commonly used for construction projects, labor manufacturers also developed labors for military use. One such unit was the AL-97 Atlas, which was used by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The hulking Atlas was armed with a 20mm Gatling gun that was originally developed for use by NATO gunships. A stolen Atlas unit figured into a coup d’état by JSDF officer Kai Kiyoteru, a former acquaintance of Tokyo labor police Capt. Kiichi Goto.

First appearance: Mobile Police Patlabor: Early Days
Original mechanical designer: Yutaka Izubuchi

Rear view