Model number: GNX-704T/YN
Code name: Neo Ahead
Unit type: unmanned all-environment mobile suit
Manufacturer(s): Human Reform League
Operator(s): Human Reform League, Earth Union
First deployment: February UC 220
Retired: January UC 228 (officially)
Accommodation: none, unit controlled by GNX-704T/SP Ahead SST
Dimensions: head height 19.2 meters
Armor materials: GN particle-impregnated composite
Powerplant: GN drive, output theoretically unlimited based on remaining
particle supply
Equipment and design features: 15 x GN vernier, 2 mounted on shoulders, 2 mounted in arms, 4 mounted in legs, 1 mounted on waist, 6 mounted in boost binder; brainwave scanning and bit control system; sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x GN claw, mounted on tips of fingers; 2 x GN beam saber, stored in racks below shoulders, hand-carried in use; GN sword, mounted on left shoulder, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: GN beam rifle, powered by GN drive, can mount GN beam saber as bayonet

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.

The GNX-704T/YN Neo Ahead was the final mobile suit produced as part of the Ahead line, and one of the most interesting machines deployed since the end of the Interregnum. Originally devised as an ultra-high-mobility unit, the Neo Ahead's design process was abruptly shifted after it became clear that even the League's enhanced super soldiers would be incapable of withstanding the acceleration forces placed on their bodies. The vernier binder, copied from the Ahead Super Soldier Type, is supplemented by numerous additional GN verniers positioned all over the Neo Ahead's body, providing it with superior maneuverability that is essentially beyond human capability.

However, League researchers developed a highly inventive method for allowing the Neo Ahead to still be used - removing the pilot entirely. By slaving the Neo Ahead to an Ahead SST's brainwave scanning system, the Ahead SST's pilot would be able to control the Neo Ahead purely via mental action. Although they did not realize it, League engineers had essentially re-invented the Old Earth Federation's "flash system", albeit on a somewhat more primitive level. While it does not require the use of a Newtype pilot (which were almost nonexistent within the League's military), the range of the system is extremely short, and the controlled Neo Aheads must usually remain within clear visual range of the Ahead SST to function. Most League super soldiers could reliably control two Neo Aheads in this function, but particularly skilled aces were capable of operating as many as three slave units while still piloting their own machine in combat. Compared to the Ahead SST, the Neo Ahead has a bulkier body to mount the additional GN verniers, while the mobile suit's head and optical sensors have been deleted, relying instead on the awareness of their remotely-operated pilots.

The Neo Ahead's primary weapon is a GN beam rifle similar to that deployed on the standard Ahead. While incapable of being broken down into the more compact beam submachine gun, one of the Neo Ahead's beam sabers can be mounted below the barrel as a bayonet, allowing it to function as an effective melee weapon. The Neo Ahead's beam sabers have been redesigned to produce a thicker blade similar to those employed on the Ahead Commander Type, while a solid-state GN sword has also been provided to conserve particle reserves as well as to penetrate certain field barriers. While derided for its appearance akin to a giant kitchen knife, the weapon is still highly effective. The Neo Ahead includes the standard set of GN claws as well, all in all making it a highly proficient mobile suit for close combat.

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. In the case of the Super Soldier Type and its Neo Ahead complement, this was seen as a particularly unfortunate case of bad timing, with the rather conservative GN-X replacing what had been an extremely inventive system not seen since before the Interregnum. However, a limited number of Ahead SSTs and Neo Aheads were maintained in active service despite their official retirement in UC 228.

Lineart

GN beam rifle
GN beam saber
GN claw
GN sword
GN verniers
Head
Rear view