Model number: ZGMF-X20A
Code name: Strike Freedom Gundam
Unit type: assault mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Union (based on a design by the PLANT Clark Design Bureau)
Operator: Earth Union
First deployment: UC 241
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: overall height 18.9 meters
Armor materials: low-density ceramic composite
Powerplant: ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 8826 kW
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; Variable Phase Shift (VPS) armor
Fixed armaments: 2 x MMI-GAU27 31mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; MGX-2235 "Callidus" multi-phase beam cannon, mounted in torso; 2 x MA-M02G "Super Lacerta" beam saber, stored in recharge racks in hips, hand-carried in use, can be combined into double beam saber; 2 x MMI-M15E "Xiphias 3" railgun, fire-linked, mounted on hips, barrels fold out in use; 2 x MX2200 beam shield generator, mounted on forearms
Optional hand armaments: 2 x MA-M21KF high-energy beam rifle, powered by replaceable energy pack, 30 round charge per pack, can be combined into long-barrel beam rifle or stored on hip armor storage racks ("Xiphias 3" railguns must be folded to rear)
Remote weapons: DRAGOON system, stored on backpack: 8 x EQFU-3X wing unit, each mounts MA-80V beam machine gun
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Technical and Historical Notes |
The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam was one of the last mobile suits developed by ZAFT near the end of the Space War, and was designed to operate in tandem with its sister unit, the ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam. While Just was primarily intended for use in short range combat, Freedom mounted a number of heavy weapons and featured excellent mobility, allowing it to decimate numerically superior forces with withering firepower and quickly move about the battlefield to where it was needed. Both units served admirably in the final battles of the war, and were mothballed after ZAFT was dissolved during the peace that followed.
During the UC 230s, the high-performance Gundams were brought out of storage for mobility testing incorporating new technologies that had been developed in the postwar period, including the installation of modern fusion-type reactors for power generation. A design concept for a greatly upgraded Freedom was created around this time frame, although it existed only in simulation data until UC 241. The year before, the Earth Union had bought the original Freedom Gundam for use by Stephen Robert, the 431st Counterinsurgency Battalion's first Coordinator pilot, and would later fabricate the much upgraded ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam from the data obtained from the Clark Design Bureau.
Strike Freedom makes use of a variety of new technologies developed in the postwar period to enhance the original abilities of its predecessor while essentially preserving a similar combat focus. Like the original Freedom a pair of potent railguns are mounted to Strike Freedom's hips, which are normally folded away so as not to interfere with the motions of the mobile suit's limbs. The solid shield and plasma beam cannons of the Freedom Gundam have been deleted and replaced by a pair of wrist-mounted beam shield generators and a small but highly effective DRAGOON
(Disconnected, Rapid movement, Armament Group/Overwatch and
Observation Network) system, respectively, granting the mobile suit greatly improved defense as well as the ability to strike multiple enemies at once with its remote weapons. The DRAGOON units are not as well armed as the original DRAGOON-armed ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam but sport much improved maneuverability, allowing Strike Freedom to effectively make due with a significantly lower number of remote weapons while still acting as a great force multiplier. The DRAGOON units cannot be used in an atmospheric environment, but the units themselves retain their use as Freedom Gundam's variable wing binders that grant a significant degree of its overall maneuverability. In space, the units can be ejected to grant Strike Freedom a boost to mobility by venting plasma from its reactor out of their charging ports, which creates a visually impressive wing-like effect for a short time. To comensate for the loss of the Freedom's backpack-mounted plasma cannons a single multi-phase beam cannon is installed in the Gundam's lower torso, giving it an extremely potent weapon to use both at range as well as at relatively short distances. A pair of vulcan guns in the mobile suit's head are installed for combat at close distances, and it also equips two beam sabers of the same type as the ZGMF-X19A ∞ Justice Gundam's, which can likewise be combined into a double-ended sword. On a similar vein, Strike Freedom Gundam can be armed with a pair of beam rifles which can be linked together to increase both overall firepower as well as effective range, giving it a limited sniping capability to boot.
To reduce the power load on the reactor - the powerful energy weapons can create a significant drain if they're used at once - Strike Freedom is fitted with a newer variety of Phase Shift armor that can strengthen or reduce its protective value in anticipation of different weapons being deployed against it. The Variable Phase Shift armor is normally controlled by an onboard computer that attempts to recognize threats and respond accordingly, although it can be disabled in which case a default power is assumed that more or less replicates the effects of standard Phase Shift armor. An override exists that allows the pilot to manually raise or lower power should they believe they have better judgement than the computer.
Armaments cutaway
EQFU-3X DRAGOON units
MA-M21KF beam rifles
MM-M15E railgun and MA-M21KF beam rifle
MX2200 beam shield
Plasma venting
Profile view
Rear view
