GAT-01A1 Dagger

Although the Earth Alliance was slow to catch up to ZAFT in mobile suit development, it managed to produce several prototype mobile suits, including the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam. The GAT-01A1 Dagger was intended to serve as a mass production version of the Strike Gundam. However, due to the Alliance’s need to quickly field a mass production suit to fight ZAFT, they instead produced the intermediate GAT-01 Strike Dagger, a simpler, stripped-down design. Afterward, production continued on the Dagger (nicknamed “105 Dagger” after the Strike Gundam’s model number). Unlike the Strike Dagger, the Dagger could use the same Striker packs as the original Strike Gundam. In addition, the Dagger featured EMP (electromagnetic pulse) shielding, a critical feature lacking in the Strike Dagger. The Dagger was also coated with ablative gel similar to the Archangel class battleships, providing increased defense against beam weaponry. The Dagger’s armaments included two CIWS vulcan guns, a pair of beam sabers and several hand-carried machine guns.

The Dagger series entered combat late in the Bloody Valentine War and was assigned to ace pilots such as Morgan Chevalier. Morgan’s GAT-01A1+AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Dagger participated in the Second Battle of Jachin Due, the final battle of the war. After the war, Morgan fought with Alliance defector Edward Harrelson’s GAT-333 Raider Full Spec. In the postwar era, the Alliance introduced a slightly improved version of the Dagger, the GAT-02L2 Dagger L. Several new Striker packs were created for the Dagger L, which were compatible with the Dagger. Even after the introduction of the Dagger L and the newer GAT-04 Windam, the Dagger series remained in service during the Second Bloody Valentine War and participated in the defense of the Alliance’s Heavens Base headquarters in Iceland during ZAFT’s Operation Ragnarok.