Guyana

Wings folded

Unit type: atmospheric mobile suit carrier/gunship
Dimensions: length 220 meters, width 188 meters (wings folded 102 meters)
Armament: 10 x 2-barrel GN beam cannon; 8 x 24-tube GN missile launcher
Powerplant: argon-cooled nuclear reactor, output rated at 105000 kW; 2 x GN drive, output theoretically unlimited based on remaining particle supply
Propulsion: 16 wheel road system; GN vernier array
Hangar capacity: 8 mobile suits
Catapults: 2

The Guyana is the Earth Union's primary combat vessel for use in terrestrial environments. As with a variety of Earth Union combat systems, the warship was originally designed and fielded by the Human Reform League, and remains in use to this day due to its high degree of combat effectiveness.

Powered by a pair of GN drives, the Guyana is capable of cruising through the air at a relatively "leisurely" pace. The massive braces of GN verniers along the ship's wings give it excellent stability, allowing it to move in essentially any direction regardless of which way the hull is pointing. The boxy hull of the vessel contains a substantial hangar capable of fielding eight GN drive mobile suits at once, and all can be quickly deployed thanks to rapid-resetting catapults. A conventional nuclear reactor is used to maintain a full charge in the vessel's GN drives, while the latter are utilized to provide lift and energy for the weapon systems. While primarily intended for use as a gunship, the Guyana can land and roll across the ground like a land battleship on a powered set of wheels, in which case the vessel's wings fold against its fuselage.

The Guyana's primary armament is a battery of twin-barreled GN beam cannons, which are mounted singly on traversable mounts across the hull and wings. Due to the very spread-out arrangement, the ship has no blind spots - at least two positions are able to fire at any target. To supplement its cannon armament, a series of multitube GN missile launchers are mounted on the dorsal and ventral sides. The GN missiles are designed to be rapid-fired in groups, and are primarily intended to be used defensively against enemy mobile suits due to their very good turn rate.

Thanks to its combination of mobility and heavy firepower, Guyana-class ships are deployed throughout the Earth Union as mobile suit motherships and patrol craft; groups of the carriers are used for attacks against highly fortified rogue positions, and have been at the forefront of numerous pacification campaigns against former Guild bases and other operations since the mid-220s.