YOP-04 Balor

The YOP-04 Balor was an unmanned reconnaissance pod used by the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War. It was based on the OP-02c Observation Pod and was designed to improve search capabilities even with the presence of high density Minovsky particles. The Balor was designed for high speed maneuvering and was equipped with a large main thruster and four auxiliary thrusters. Using a specially developed sensor, the Balor had a maximum observation distance of 510 kilometers. Zeon’s 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit tested the Balor in UC 0079 in the wreckage of Side 4. The Balor was damaged in the field as the Jotunheim came under fire from an Earth Federation Forces Salamis class cruiser. Due to its high development costs, only a few Balor prototypes were manufactured, and the design subsequently was never mass produced.