FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam

Model number: FA-78-1
Code name: Full Armor Gundam
Unit type: FSWS (Full-armor System and Weapon System) prototype general purpose mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
First deployment: unknown
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso with Core Block System using FF-X7 Core Fighter
Dimensions: head height 18.0 meters
Weight: empty 62.5 metric tons; max gross 93.1 metric tons
Armor materials: Luna Titanium alloy
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1,380 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: total output 60,500 kg
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x vulcan gun, mounted in head; 360mm rocket launcher, mounted on torso over right shoulder; 4 x missile bay, mounted in shoulders and knees; twin beam rifle, powered by rechargeable energy cap, mounted on right forearm
Optional hand armaments: none

As the RX-78-2 Gundam continued to perform beyond all expectations during the last months of the One Year War, a program was initiated by the Earth Federation Forces to develop and investigate options for possible upgrades to the Gundam. Called FSWS (Full-armor System and Weapon System), engineers developed several options under this program that involved adding external systems to boost the Gundam’s performance in different areas. One such design concept was the FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam, which featured a tremendous amount of firepower for a single mobile suit. In addition to removable external armor modules all over the Gundam’s body, new weapons were added, including a rocket launcher, several missile launchers, and a large, handheld 2-barrel beam gun. A Type B variant featured a different set of armaments. Despite the extra thrusters mounted in the external armor, all the extra weight created an unacceptable loss of speed and performance. In the end, the Full Armor’s concepts served as the basis for the much-improved FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam. A separate unit with different equipment, the FA-78 Full Armor Gundam, was deployed to Side 4’s Thunderbolt Sector.

Pilot(s): Heinz Baer, Takashi Kitamoto
First appearance: MSV
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

Rear view