OZ-12MS Taurus

Model number: OZ-12MS
Code name: Taurus
Unit type: mass production all-environment mobile suit
Manufacturer(s): Earth Sphere Alliance
Operator(s): numerous
First deployment: UC 215
Retired: UC 226
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: mobile suit mode: head height 16.8 meters
Armor materials: titanium alloy
Powerplant: ultracompact fusion reactor, power output rated at 1825 kW
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown
Fixed armaments: 2 x beam saber, stored in racks in hips, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: beam rifle, 30 round charge, can be stored on backpack storage rack and fired as fixed weapon in flight mode; beam cannon, 8 round charge, can be stored on backpack storage rack and fired as fixed weapon in flight mode

Technical and Historical Notes

Once forces from both the Space Revolutionary Army and ZAFT landed on Earth, both parties claiming liberation for the people of Earth, the Earth Sphere Alliance began to drastically alter its strategic plans. While formerly domination of the socialist Human Reform League was foremost on their interest, the reality of a war in space could no longer be ignored, and the Alliance set into creating a third generation of mobile suits that would be able to carry the fight to the colonies with great efficiency.

The Taurus represents the Alliance's first true "high performance" mobile suit. While still relatively lightly armored, the Taurus is an extremely advanced design capable of reconfiguring its body into a streamlined aircraft-like shape. While fairly nimble on its feet and capable of long jet-assisted jumps, the "flight mode" configuration gives it mobility on par or better than the Aries in atmosphere and vastly superior to space-configured Leos in zero gravity. The Taurus' variable geometry operations can be accomplished in the space of a matter of seconds, allowing pilots the ability to quickly change strategy as the tactical situation demands. For safety reasons, the Taurus is internally limited to no more than about 8 G's during maneuvering: its mechanical capability is signifcantly higher, but few pilots can safely withstand such forces.

As a newer breed of mobile suit, the Taurus is armed exclusively with beam weapons, giving it a substantial advantage over many of the earlier spacenoid mobile suit forces. In addition to a newer and faster-firing beam rifle, the Taurus may also be armed with a very large and powerful beam cannon, capable of totalling almost any existing mobile suit - even a near miss has crippled enemy targets not possessing excellent armor protection. Initially, the Taurus was not provided with any melee weapons, typical of Alliance design and tactical doctrine of the period, although later models were modified to house a pair of beam sabers (the same type used on the Leo) with storage racks positioned in the mobile suit's hips.

For all intents and purposes, the Taurus was a highly effective and successful design. While its armament wasn't very versatile, the firepower it offered was unquestionable, and the excellent maneuverability and all-region capability made it extremely popular with pilots and strategists alike. With the widespread adoption of mobile dolls in the Alliance military, the Taurus became chiefly used as an observation and fast attack unit, leading squadrons of Virgos into combat then dropping back to the rear to provide command and control faculties. The mobile suits were finally retired in the mid-220s as the Alliance and Human Reform League put aside their differences to form the Earth Union, and GN-powered mobile weapons became the order of the day. After their deactivation in Alliance/Earth Union service, a significant number of Taurus were sold off to security organizations and other "legitimate" operators, and since then have spread to a variety of armed groups who value them for much the same reason as the Alliance pilots did a decade or more earlier.

Lineart

Beam cannon
Beam rifle
Beam saber
Cockpit
Flight mode armaments
Flight mode detail
Rear view
Transformation sequence