Model number: GNX-704T/AC
Code name: Ahead Commander Type
Unit type: advanced capability commander's use all-environment mobile suit
Manufacturer(s): Human Reform League
Operator(s): Human Reform League, Earth Union
First deployment: February UC 218
Retired: January UC 228 (officially)
Accommodation: pilot only, in panoramic monitor cockpit in torso
Dimensions: overall height 20.8 meters
Armor materials: GN particle-impregnated composite
Powerplant: GN drive, output theoretically unlimited based on remaining
particle supply
Equipment and design features: 4 x GN vernier, 2 mounted on shoulders,
2 mounted on lower back; sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x 30mm GN vulcan gun, fire-linked, mounted in head;
2 x GN short beam cannon, variable independent-fire/fire-linked, mounted on upper GN verniers; 2 x GN beam saber, stored in racks in shoulders, hand-carried in use; 2 x GN claw, mounted on tips of fingers
Optional fixed armaments: GN shield with defense rod, mounts on either arm
Optional hand armaments: GN beam submachine gun, powered by GN drive, can be modified into GN beam rifle
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Technical and Historical Notes |
The discovery of the GN drive, thought to be a lost technology from before the Interregnum, completely outed the Human Reform League's development of mobile suits beyond the sturdy but simplistic Tieren series. With an incredibly high energy output compared to the Tieren's onboard nuclear reactor, the
faculty of using the GN drive as a mobile suit's powerplant necessitated a total overhaul of the League's design essentials. The result is the GNX-704T Ahead, so named because it is believed to put the Human Reform League ahead of all the major powers in terms of the capability of its mobile suits.
Designed and produced shortly after the standard model, the GNX-704T/AC Ahead Commander Type is a variant designed for use by squad leaders. Compared to the basic model, the Commander Type is better optimized for
close combat, and has an overall higher degree of performance and mobility, although some firepower has been sacrificed to achieve that end. The basic Ahead's single lower vernier has been replaced by a double model, while the shoulder arrangements have been rotated 90 degrees for greater lateral
control while also allowing a larger degree of freedom of movement for the mobile suit's arms, a key trait for particularly aggressive hand-to-hand combat maneuvers. The Ahead also features a redesigned head with a more boxy appearance, similar to previous Tieren models intended for unit leaders. Because of the modifications, the Commander Type is no longer capable of being equipped with an Automaton container.
The Ahead Commander Type mounts the same set of GN vulcan guns, GN claws, and GN beam sabers as the standard model, although the latter have been tweaked and modified to produce a larger length blade than normal. Additionally, two rapid-firing GN short beam cannons are positioned in the mobile suit's verniers. Though having a rather short range due to their stubby barrels and the rapid particle dispersion, the higher rate of fire is excellent for chewing up a target at closer range, and is often used to either soften up or finish up another combatant in melee combat. The ablative GN shield has been modified with a defense rod-like mechanism, allowing the unit to generate a temporary and localized GN field for the purposes of deflecting incoming attacks, and is somewhat longer in terms of overall dimensions. A special version of the standard Ahead's beam submachine gun/rifle was also created, offering similar firepower in a more compact package easier to use during a close-quarters battle. The Commander Type is not provided with the usual GN bazooka due to there being no safe firing posture as a result of the new placement of the upper set of GN verniers.
With the formation of the Earth Union in UC 221, the Earth Sphere Alliance and Human Reform League set about standardizing their mobile suits around the GN-X series of mobile suits. As a result, many Aheads were "demilitarized" and had their GN drives removed for use in the newer mobile suits. However, due to the Ahead's overall higher level of mobility, a limited number were retained for "special purpose units" and other work outside of frontline combat despite the official retirement of the mobile suits in UC 228.
Cockpit
GN beam rifle
GN beam submachine gun
GN claw
GN shield
GN verniers
Head
Rear view
