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RGM-84 Zeta Gundam Platoon Leader Mobile Suit (RGM-84B, -84C, -84FA)

I. Dimensions:

II. Type

• Design: Anaheim Electronics (with Rheinmetall Heavy Industries on the FA series)
• Builders: Anaheim Electronics
• (RGM-84B, 84C) One man, all weather, platoon leader mobile suit.
• (RGM-84FA) GBP-07 external booster, armor, and weapons pack optimized for defensive combat outfitted onto a conventional Zeta Gundam Plus.

III. Service Use

• RGM-84B: Served with the RDF Space Marines and Marines from 2055 until replaced by the RGM-84C.
• RGM-84C: Served with the RDF Space Marines and Marines from 2058 until replaced by the RGM-90 Refined Zeta Gundam.
• RGM-84FA: Served with the RDF Space Marines from 2058 until replaced by the RGM-90Refined Zeta Gundam.

IV. Propulsion

Engines:

(RGM-84B)

• 5 x Icarus Aerospace AST-30, four thrusters mounted in pairs on the either side of the back and one in the middle, total thrust 120 kN each.
• 2 x Icarus Aerospace AST-31 thrusters on the back of the legs, total thrust 104 kN each.
• 4 x Icarus Aerospace FF-8 high maneuverability vernier thrusters mounted on heels of the mobile suit, total thrust 36.4 kN each.
• Assorted small reaction thrusters and gyroscopes for all-environment maneuvers, attitude adjustment, and stability.

(RGM-84C)

• 4 x Icarus Aerospace AST-36, four thrusters mounted in pairs on the either side of the back, total thrust 202 kN each.
• 4 x Icarus Aerospace AST-34 four thrusters mounted in pairs on either leg, total thrust 135 kN each.
• Assorted small reaction thrusters and gyroscopes for all-environment maneuvers, attitude adjustment, and stability.

(RGM-84FA)

Main Engines of standard model, plus:

• 2 x Icarus Aerospace AST-34 four thrusters mounted in pairs on either heel, total thrust 135 kN each.
• 8 x Rolls Royce FF-8 high-thrust vernier thrusters on the shoulders (4), and chest (4), total thrust 36.4 kN each.

Powerplant:

• 2 x RRD-4 Miniaturized Fusion-cell energizer providing electrical power to the mecha.  Maximum output, 3200 kW each.

Fuel Capacity:

• 24 standard canisters of reaction mass
• 1 dedicated canister for each tachyon rifle
• 271.4 liters of D2O reactant for fusion engines.

V. Performance

VI. Electronics

Radar tracking:

(RGM-84B)

• Phillips AN/APG-170 X-Band, pulse Doppler, providing long range detection and tracking of targets at all altitudes.
• General Electric GN/TPG-243 medium range UWB phased array pulse-Doppler, for detection and tracking of targets, and with battlefield surveillance modes.
• Westinghouse AN/APX-18 IFF friend or foe interrogator.

(RGM-84C)

• Hughes AN/APG-182 X-Band, pulse Doppler, providing long range detection and tracking of targets at all altitudes.
• Hughes GN/TPG-247 medium range UWB phased array pulse-Doppler, for detection and tracking of targets, and with battlefield surveillance modes.
• Westinghouse AN/APX-20 IFF friend or foe interrogator.

Optical tracking:

(RGM-84B)

• Phillips AN/DOS-4100 multi-band digital camera system, for medium range, traversable, UV, infrared imaging and optical band detection and tracking.
• Thomson AN/LT-9 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.

(RGM-84C)

• Phillips AN/DOS-4700 multi-band digital camera system, for medium range, traversable, UV, infrared imaging and optical band detection and tracking.
• Thomson AN/LT-10 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.

Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):

• Loral AN/ALR-31 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• Loral AN/AIR-20 Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
• General Electric AN/ALQ-280(V) active sensor jammer
• Tracor AN/ALE-16 Chaff and flare dispenser
• Westinghouse AN/AMJ-8 Active Missile Jammers
• Multiple VHF and UHF antennas
• Bose Loudspeakers producing sound up to 90 decibels.

VII. Armament

Cannon

• 2 x Smith & Wesson tri-barrel 60mm autocannons:  Mounted on either side of the head of the mobile suit, the 60mm cannons provide anti-personnel firepower as well as a close range alternative to its other more powerful weapons.  Each cannon can fire at 600 rounds per minute with a 1000 round belt feed.  Ammunition is the standard mix of of Tungsten-coated depleted Uranium Armor Piercing Spin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APSSDS), High Explosive Armor Piercing (HEAP) and tracer rounds.

(RGM-84C)

• 2 x Rheinmetall TC-05 tachyon cannons: These small tachyon cannons provide the Zeta Gundam with improved medium range combat ability, something the original sorely lacked.  These cannons are hooked directly to the reactor and draw there power from it providing a near infinite payload which improved battlefield endurance.  These cannons can fire linked or individually and deliver a 145 MJ burst every five seconds in linked fire at ranges of up to 25 km.  These cannons are mounted on either side of the mecha near the hips right above the beam sabers

Hand Held Weapon

• 1 x Rheinmetall BR-10 tachyon rifle / 1.0 MW tachyon saber: This hand-held tachyon rifle is the main weapon for the Zeta Gundam, and is easily as powerful as the point defense cannons mounted on many warships. The rifle can fire 60 rounds per minute in full automatic mode at approximately one shot per second. This weapon fires 275 MJ pulses per barrel in each mode, with its own dedicated cell and capacitor banks in the 'magazine' with one spare magazine mounted behind the projectile shield with a payload of 18 shots.  A rather unique ability of this rifle is its ability to be used as a beam saber.  The tachyon saber is several times larger than the standard and consumes much more energy, but is much more powerful, nearly twice as powerful.  The saber draws its power from the same source as the rifle, a energy cell in the rear of the rifle.  The energy conversion works to about one burst for three seconds of of use.  While unwieldy this weapon did prove its value against heavily armored capital ships during the 2057 Neld Invasion.
• or (comes standard with tachyon rifle on RGM-84FA) 1 x Rheinmetall ML-03 tachyon cannon / 3.0 MW tachyon saber: This oversized weapon is approximately twice as large as the standard tachyon rifle and is very cumbersome to work with and can only be used in the vacuum of space.  However, this weapon is able to deliver a devastating blow to multiple targets at once.  This tachyon cannon differs in that it can fire for a sustained period of up to fifteen seconds before the internal capacitor overheats and shuts down.  This gives the RGM-84 the ability to wipe a large area clean of enemy resistance as the beam generated is approximately 15 meters across and over a range of 2000 km.  The cannon can reach a maximum output of 30 GJ(!).  It poses a serious threat to even the largest of capital ships.  The major downside to this weapon is again the refire rate.  Once fired the cannon must enter a ten minute cooling period.  For this reason it is often used in defensive situations when large groups of mecha are swarming the target and when the RGM-84 has adequate cover fire to allow the weapon to recharge.  Like the beam rifle, the ML-03 also can be used as an oversized tachyon saber.  With a power output of 3.0 MW/sec it was capable of inflicting tremendous damage on capital ships at close range, the saber was known to cut several smaller ships of the Neld Invasion fleet clean in two.  Again like the cannon function, the saber has a very short life time of only about fifteen seconds.  Though it was a rarely used function, it did prove handy on several occasions.

Melee Weapon

• 2 x Shinara 0.65 MW tachyon saber: These revolutionary mecha-sized melee weapon were first used on the Gundam mobile suit. The tachyon saber only contains enough energy for about 60 seconds of continuous use. When not in use, the sabers are stored in the waist of the mecha, where they are recharged by the suits reactor. The RGM-84 can switch the beam saber on and off while holding it, in order to conserve power. Once totally depleted it takes 10 minutes for a beam saber to recharge to full capacity. The Zeta Gundam carries two tachyon sabers mounted on its waist.

Missiles

• 1 x ZGIDMMS Zeta Gundam Integral Dagger Multi-Missile System: 22 inboard variable warhead, MPM-23 Dagger short range high maneuverability missiles. Launch ports are two 2-tube launcher located on each wrist. Each launcher has two ready with eleven reloads.
• 1 x MM-6 Multi-Missile System: 6 inboard variable warhead, MPM-20 Pike short range infra-red imager passive radar homing missiles. Launch port is one 2-tube launcher located on the projectile shield. 2 missiles ready, with a two reloads. Various warhead options

(RGM-84FA)

• 1 x FAZGIDMMS Full Armor Zeta Gundam Integral Dagger Multi-Missile System: 72 inboard variable warhead, MPM-23 Dagger short range high maneuverability missiles. Launch ports are a pair of launchers located on the chest. 12 missiles ready per launcher, with two full reloads each.

Other Military Cargoes available include:

• GBP-07: Heavy armor and weapons package for the RGM-84C Zeta Gundam Plus. Onboard weapons include (see above for details):
  • 1 x ML-03 tachyon cannon / 3.0 MW tachyon saber
  • 1 x FAZGDIMMS-1 Full Armor Zeta Gundam Dagger integral multi-missile system

VIII. Armor

The armor on the RGM-84 is a low-mass lunarium titanium composite plating that is the standard for command mobile suits known as Gundarium. Aside from the superb protection provided against projectiles, missiles, and other kinetic weapons, this armor is also fairly resistant to plasma globes (annihilation discs), lasers, and to a lesser extent, particle guns too, owing to the fact that the armor can flake off and evaporate in layers under fire from such high-energy weapons, taking much of the weapon's energy and converting it into the latent heat of sublimation in the armor. The armor stops all small arms fire, and has good resistance to all weapons commonly mounted on combat mecha. This new armor is also much lighter than most armors weighing a full two thirds less than the traditional armor's mounted on mecha but is almost twice as expensive to make.

The Zeta Gundam provides full protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards, using an overpressure cockpit environment activated by radiation and hazardous chemical sensors, or manually when biological warfare conditions are anticipated. The internal consumables supplies can provide atmosphere for three days maximum.

IX. Development

Following the development of the RGX-78 Gundam Mark II and its moveable frame design, Anaheim sought to develop a practical movable frame mobile suit to replace the RGM-78NT-01 as the RDF's platoon leader mobile suit design.  Thanks to much of the data gathered by the Gundam Mark II, design of the Zeta proved easier than previous designs and went ahead quiet quickly  thanks in part to is design team lead by LTJG Camille Bidan, a 17 year old mobile suit ace and engineering genius came up with the RGM-84 Zeta Gundam together with LT Astonage Medosso, a mobile suit mechanic.  The design was a radical departure from the original Gundam and Gundam Alex designs.  The Zeta looked much different, much more streamlined than the blocky RGM-78 series.  Along with the movable frame, several new technologies were employed to assist in increasing the balance and agility of the mobile suit.  A pair of wing binders as they became known were added to the back of the suit as well as a tail binder which carried an additional thruster and acted as additional limb for balancing.  

The RGM-84's armament was also different than its predecessors.  In addition to the standard tachyon rifle and beam saber which were upgraded, it also featured an internal missile launcher on each wrist which gave it additional short range combat option other than its rifle.  An very powerful optional weapon was developed for use with the Zeta giving it standoff defensive and offensive abilities.  The ML-03 tachyon cannon is basically an miniature version of a warship class tachyon cannon.  It gives Zeta the ability to destroy an entire group of closely packed mecha in one shot not to mention threaten even large capital ships. The Zeta was also a leap forward in agility from the previous generation thanks to both the magnetic coating and the new wing and tail binders.  These new systems when combined with the new thruster layout gave the Zeta increased combat endurance in case of engine failure and improved efficiency in and out of an atmosphere.

First rolled out in mid 2054 at the Anaheim Electronics testing facility on Luna, the Zeta Gundam quickly underwent testing and impressed the military so much that immediate production and ordered enough to replace the RGM-78NT-01 currently in service.  The Zeta Gundam first entered service in 2055 and quickly proved itself to be as advertised, much faster and more agile than the Gundam Alex not to mention a more varied weapons suite.  In 2057 Anaheim produced the RGM-84C Zeta Plus.  This mobile suit featured more powerful engines and an additional pair of small tachyon cannons mounted on the hips of the mobile suit to boost the medium combat capabilities and battlefield endurance of the Zeta Plus.  In the spirit of the previous series of FAWS as seen on the RGM-78 series Anaheim also developed an armor and weapons package for the RGM-84.  Dubbed the GBP-07 the system adds additional armor plating at key points across the mobile suit along with extra weapons.  The system carries an additional fifty MPM-23 Dagger missiles for a total of 72 missiles.  In addition the system is designed to carry the ML-03 easily on the back making the Full Armor Zeta Gundam among the most heavily armed mecha in the known galaxy. 

The RGM-84 series first saw major conflict in the Transient War in 2057 and quickly distinguished itself against all types of mecha especially the Male Power Armor and the fearsome Female Power Armor.  The Zeta Gundam continued to see wide service for the next several use and saw service in the beginning of the 4th Robotech War and was finally fully retired in late 2065 when it was replaced by the RGM-90 Double Zeta Gundam.

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner and Ron Ferrara
Copyright © 1998-2001 Jeffrey R. Spillner, Ron Ferrara

Page Last Updated on December 7, 2001 @ 00:00 GMT