F90V Gundam F90 V-Type

Model number: F90V
Code name: Gundam F90 V-Type
Unit type: new style weapons test mobile suit
Manufacturer: Strategic Naval Research Institute
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Rollout: February UC 0112
Accommodation: pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso
Dimensions: head height 14.8 meters
Weight: empty 8.7 metric tons; max gross 21.5 metric tons
Armor materials: Gundarium alloy ceramic composite
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 4,420 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 95,850 kg total (3 x 13,980 kg, 3 x 7,450 kg, 6 x 5,260 kg); vernier thrusters/apogee motors: 66
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; 10 x hardpoint, used for mounting external weapons, armor, and equipment, 1 located on each leg, 1 located on each hip armor plate, 1 located on each front skirt armor plate, 1 located on each forearm, 1 located on each shoulder; 4 x heat radiation fin packs, mounted on shoulder hardpoints and leg hardpoints
Fixed armaments: 2 x vulcan gun, mounted in head; 2 x VSBR (Variable Speed Beam Rifle), selectable mega particle acceleration speed for damage or penetration application, mounted on backpack, hand-operated in use; mega Gatling gun, mounted on right forearm hardpoint; beam shield, mounted on left forearm hardpoint; spare beam shield, stored on right hip armor hardpoint; 2 x beam saber, stored in recharge rack on left hip armor hardpoint, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: beam rifle, powered by replaceable e-pac

One of many F90 Gundam F90 optional armament variations developed by the Earth Federation Forces’ SNRI during the early UC 0120s, the F90V Gundam F90 V-Type (VSBR) was designed to serve as a testbed for next-generation advanced weapons technologies. One of these new technologies was the beam shield, a defensive device somewhat loosely derived from the beam barrier created by the RX-93 v Gundam‘s fin funnels. This device, typically mounted on a mobile suit’s forearm, generated a beam barrier approximately the same size as a standard, hand-carried shield. In order to keep from accidentally doing damage to one’s own mobile suit, a computer control system automatically activated and deactivated segments of the beam shield as needed. The beam shield concept allowed a mobile suit to wield a sort of self-sufficient defensive screen, thus making solid material shields with limited damage-absorption potential virtually obsolete.

The second new piece of technology used by the V-Type was the VSBR, short for Variable Speed Beam Rifle. Although technically a beam gun mounted on the mobile suit and powered directly by its reactor – rather than a beam rifle powered by energy cap technology – the VSBR allowed the pilot to select the speed at which the mega particles used to create the beam fire were accelerated. Slower speed particles produced a beam that was wider and did more raw damage, whereas higher speed particles produced a more tightly focused and higher penetrating beam. This versatility in such a beam weapon allowed the V-Type’s pilot to handle both beam damage on a wider area or focused, high-speed shots to penetrate thick armor or other strong defenses (including beam shields).However, the heat levels generated by the VSBRs and beam shield were very high, and the V-Type was also outfitted with heat-dissipating radiator fins on its shoulders and legs. These fins also helped to serve as stabilizers for the V-Type, assisting with AMBAC (Active Mass Balance AutoControl) functions for added stability and maneuverability.

Pilot: Bergh Scred
First appearance: Mobile Suit Gundam F90
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

Beam rifle

Rear view

Shield