ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam

After successfully stealing four of the Earth Alliance’s prototype Gundam mobile suits, ZAFT reverse engineered them and incorporated new technologies such as Phase Shift armor and beam sabers into their own mobile suits. With these new technologies, ZAFT also built several Gundams of their own under the direction of leader Patrick Zala. Unlike previous Gundam designs, these new units featured a dangerous new technology: the N-Jammer Canceler. ZAFT originally developed the N-Jammer to prevent the Alliance from using nuclear weapons, but this also meant that mobile suits had to be powered by short life batteries. By creating the N-Jammer Canceler, a mobile suit could use a nuclear fission reactor and function for a nearly unlimited amount of time, even with Phase Shift armor activated. Unfortunately, the N-Jammer Canceler technology proved to be a Pandora’s Box that fell into the wrong hands.

The ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam was the final Gundam that ZAFT introduces in the war. One of the new technologies present in the Providence Gundam was the DRAGOON (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network) system. With the DRAGOON system, 11 units were stored on the Providence Gundam’s massive backpack. These 11 units could be controlled wirelessly and attack an opponent from multiple directions. With a total of 43 beam gun nozzles, the Providence could unleash devastating firepower with its all-range attack. However, the DRAGOONs could only be controlled by pilots with a high level of spatial awareness. In addition to the DRAGOON system, the Providence Gundam was also equipped with a composite armed shield system on the left arm. This system housed a beam saber and two small beam guns. Additionally, the Providence Gundam was armed with two chest vulcan guns and could carry a “Judicium” beam rifle in its right hand.

The Providence Gundam entered combat at the end of the Bloody Valentine War on September 26, C.E. 71. It was assigned to ace pilot Rau Le Creuset, who by this point had revealed a sinister agenda. As an imperfect clone of Al Da Flaga, Rau desired to judge humanity and destroy both Coordinators and Naturals. With his powerful new mobile suit, Rau took on his longtime nemesis (and by genetics, son) Mu La Flaga. The power of the DRAGOON system proved overwhelming to Mu’s outdated GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam, as well as to Dearka Elsman’s GAT-X103 Buster Gundam. In the final moments of the war, Rau heavily damaged Kira Yamato’s ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam and destroyed his METEOR support system. However, Rau was mortally wounded by Kira’s beam saber and killed by a misfire of the massive GENESIS doomsday laser. During the Second Bloody Valentine War in C.E. 74, ZAFT introduced a similar design, the ZGMF-X666S Legend Gundam.