Model number: AM-005
Code name: Barrelion
Unit type: mass production heavy support armored module
Manufacturer(s): Tesla Leicht Institute, others
Operator(s): numerous
First deployment: February UC 230
Accommodation: pilot and gunner, in tandem standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: overall height 23.6 meters
Armor materials: titanium-elektron nonferrous composite
Powerplant: 2 x ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1345 kW each
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; Tesla drive system
Fixed armaments: railcannon, 25 round internal magazine, mounted above head in main body; 2 x beam cannon, variable independent-fire/fire-linked, mounted on main body; 2 x missile launcher, 18 round magazine per launcher, mounted as arms
Optional hand armaments: none

Technical and Historical Notes

The unfairly-maligned Iris Corporation had garnered a reputation for designing unusual mobile weapons in the post-Interregnum period, and perhaps more infamously, another for passing them off to anyone with cash on hand. One of Iris' last major inventions, the Tesla drive, proved an incredible boon to their production of mobile weapons. The Lion series of armored modules - a less-expensive alternative to typical mobile suit designs - immediately proves popular in the post-Interregnum defense market, with numerous Lions and their various offshots appearing in the hands of both legitimate operators and outlaw militias and such organizations by the mid-220s. This proliferation of inexpensive yet effective weapons technology eventually results in the forced shutdown of the Iris Corporation. Its successor, the Tesla Leicht Institute, continues development of the armored module concept well beyond the original design parameters.

The Lion series' most significant drawback is its relatively mild armament, including a total lack of beam weaponry. Its armor protection also leaves something to be desired, leaving a high mobility and low production cost as its main selling points. The understandably more militantly-leaning Tesla Leicht Institute accurately concludes that this leaves the Lion in a bit of a pinch in large scale combat against well armed and organized enemy forces - such as (hypothetically speaking) the Earth Union's GN-X series of mobile suits. This inherent drawback spurs on the development of an entirely new armored module platform intended specifically for heavy-duty battle situations: the AM-005 Barrelion.

Compared to the original Lion, the Barrelion sports more than twice the overall mass and features drastically improved armor protection. Although furnished with two fusion reactors, with one entirely given over to generating electricity for the Tesla drive, its great heft and bulk still renders it painfully slow as far as armored modules are concerned. However, it is still capable of sustained flight, and can maneuver surprisingly well for its size, which remains a crucial advantage towards mobile weapons that are restricted to ground combat. A crew of two is provided to enable the armored module to attack enemy units while on the move, although duplicate controls allow one pilot to operate the Barrelion in an emergency.

The Barrelion's primary weapon is a massive railcannon fixed to the module's torso - a set of giant magnetic recoil dampeners prevent the Barrelion from flipping over during firing. To supplement the hard-hitting railcannon, a pair of high-energy beam cannons are mounted behind it, allowing the Barrelion to reliably engage mobile weapons normally immune to conventional ballistics. Two missile launchers, furnished with high capacity magazines, round out the Barrelion's armament and leave it fully capable of attacking targets at all ranges. It is not provided with any sort of provision for hand-to-hand combat, but the Barrelion's prodigious bulk can make an effective, if improvised, attack in the form of a ramming maneuver.

Because of its significantly greater cost, the Barrelion is not nearly as common as previous armored module designs. However, its capability as a combat unit cannot be denied, and even a single Barrelion can greatly reinforce the firepower of a Lion unit. It is not widely used by outlaw elements, but Earth Union analysts believe this to be only a matter of time.

Lineart

Feet and propulsion
Railcannon detail
Rear view