Earth Federation
RGM-79 GM
RX-75 Guntank
RX-77-2 Guncannon
RX-78-2 Gundam
RB-79 Ball
Assault Carrier White Base
Battleship Magellan Class
Cruiser Salamis Class
Assault Boat Public
Transport Ship Columbus Class
Heavy Bomber Deprogg
Fighter-Bomber Fly Manta
Fighter Core Booster
Fighter G-Fighter
Fighter FF-4 Toriaez
Light Fighter FF-X7 Core Fighter
Attack Plane Don Escargo
Transport Plane Gunpellie
Transport Plane Midea
Ferry Plane Dish
Ferry Plane Dragonfly
Land Battleship Big Tray
Tank Type 61 Tank
Hovercraft Fanfan
Aircraft Carrier Himalaya Class

Zeon Dukedom
MAX-03 Azzam
MA-04X Zacrero
MA-05 Bigro
MA-08 Big Zam
MAM-07 Grabro
MAN-03 Braubro
MAN-08 Elmeth
MS-05B Zaku I
MS-06F Zaku II
MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type
MS-07B Gouf
MS-09 Dom
MS-R09 Rick Dom
MS-14A Gelgoog
MS-15 Gann
MSM-03 Gog
MSM-04 Acguy
MSM-07 Zugock
MSM-07S Zugock
MSM-10 Zock
MSN-02 Ziong
Carrier Ship Doros Class
Battleship Gwazin Class
Mobile Cruiser Zanzibar Class
Heavy Cruiser Chibe Class
Light Cruiser Musai Class
Assault Boat Jicco
Transport Ship Pazock Class
Supply Ship Papua Class
Shuttle Komusai
Space Tugboat Sodon
Attack Carrier Gau
Bomber Dodai YS
Fighter-Bomber Gattle
Fighter Dopp
Reconaissance Plane Luggon
Transport Plane Fat Uncle
Ferry Plane Comiyu
Land Battleship Gallop
Land Battleship Dabte
Tank Magella Attack
Personnel Carrier Kyui
Transport Truck Samson
Submarine Tender Mad Angler
Combat Submarine Yukon Class
Reconnaissance Submarine Prober
Ferry Speedboat Sealance

Even before the outbreak of the One Year War, the Earth Federation has begun research into mobile suits based on reports of Zeon's development efforts. But it isn't until a few months into the war, after Zeon's Zakus have ravaged the Federation's space fleet and overrun half the Earth, that the Federation begins its mobile suit crash program in earnest.

Codenamed "Operation V," the project begins in April 0079, and within a few months yields a trio of prototype designs. These are the RX-75 Guntank, an artillery vehicle equipped with treads rather than legs; the RX-77 Guncannon, a bipedal design intended for mid-range combat and fire support; and the RX-78 Gundam, designed for close combat. The Operation V mobile suits are all armored with a new, highly resilient material called Luna Titanium, and equipped with a Core Block System which allows the cockpit to eject and function as a small aerospace fighter (which is thus called a Core Fighter).

The Guncannon and Gundam are the first mobile suits ever to carry beam weapons. The mega particle cannons used on full-sized warships require more power than a mobile suit's reactor can provide, but thanks to an energy storage device called the E-cap (Energy capacitor), the Federation's engineers are able to arm their mobile suits with miniaturized mega particle cannons. Thus, the beam rifle-toting Gundam has firepower comparable to that of a typical cruiser.

Of the three Operation V prototypes, only the Gundam is chosen for mass production. In order to reduce cost, time, and resource requirements, many of the Gundam's features are eliminated - notably, the Luna Titanium armor and the Core Block System. The result is the RGM-79 GM, which is placed in service in November 0079. In addition, large numbers of civilian space pods are converted into the infamously feeble RB-79 Ball, which is used to pad out the Federation's mobile suit forces during its space offensive.

As part of Operation V, the Federation also develops the Pegasus-class assault carrier to carry its mobile suits. Equipped with jet engines and a lift-generating Minovski craft system, the Pegasus class can operate with equal ease on Earth or in space. The White Base, the second in the series, is nonetheless the first to be completed.

However, only five Pegasus-class ships are completed by war's end, and the Federal Forces resort to using transport ships to ferry mobile suits into battle. The bulk of the Federation fleet consists of Magellan-class battleships and Salamis-class cruisers, older designs incapable of carrying mobile suits and reflecting an outmoded "big ships, big guns" philosophy.

Zeon Dukedom

After Zeon scientists identify the magical Minovski particle and discover that it can be used to neutralize radar, the Dukedom military begins developing new weapons for use in the Minovski era. The most successful of these is the anthropomorphic fighting machine called the "mobile suit." Mobile suit development begins in earnest in UC 0073, and within two years Zeon has completed the first combat-worthy model, the MS-05 Zaku I. By the outbreak of the One Year War, the original Zaku has been replaced by the MS-06 Zaku II.

Anticipating a full-fledged Earth invasion, the Zeon Dukedom also develops specialized mobile suits for land and sea warfare. Zeon's amphibious mobile suits, being water-cooled, can accommodate reactors large enough to power beam weapons even without the Federation's E-cap technology. For ground combat, Zeon first deploys the standard Zaku II sans some space-specific equipment. The MS-07 Gouf is a higher-performance replacement, but its mobility is still quite limited; only a few are produced before the advent of the hover-capable MS-09 Dom, whose leg-mounted thermonuclear jet engines let it zoom along at speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour.

On the space front, Zeon's plans for a next-generation mobile suit to replace the aging Zaku are drastically delayed by the appearance of the Gundam. While Zeon engineers struggle to replicate the Federation's E-cap technology, the Dom is adapted for space use as a stopgap substitute. By the end of the war, the MS-R09 Rick Dom has become the backbone of Zeon's space forces, and the last-minute arrival of the beam weapon-equipped MS-14 Gelgoog has little effect on Zeon's fortunes.

At the war's end, Zeon introduces a new type of mobile weapon. These non-humanoid "mobile armors" are larger, faster and more heavily armed than conventional mobile suits. An extreme example is the MA-08 Big Zam, used in the Battle of Solomon, which not only packs enough firepower to wipe out several Federation warships, but also has an I-field barrier capable of deflecting beam weapons.

Meanwhile, a handful of prototypes are outfitted with the new psycommu (psychic communicator) system, which lets newtype pilots control a mobile armor by thought alone. Due to the psycommu system's bulk, it can only be installed in a full-sized mobile armor. As demonstrated by the MAN-03 Braubro and the incomplete MSN-02 Ziong, the psycommu system lets newtype pilots conduct an "all-range attack," targeting enemies from multiple directions with wire-controlled remote weapons. The MAN-08 Elmeth takes the technique one step further; its "bits" are wireless drones, controlled by the pilot's amplified brainwaves so as to circumvent the jamming effects of Minovski particles.

The Zeon fleet, while far smaller than the Federation's, is technologically superior - all Zeon ships can carry mobile suits. Musai- and Chibe-class cruisers form the backbone of the fleet, with eight mighty Gwazin-class battleships and two colossal Doros-class carriers to lead them into battle. Zeon also produces a few Zanzibar-class mobile cruisers, whose streamlined shape makes them capable of re-entry and atmospheric flight. Zeon's terrestrial forces make use of the Gau attack carrier, which carries both mobile suits and funny-looking Dopp fighters.

Mobile Suit Gundam, Z Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Char's Counterattack, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Gundam F91, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Gundam 0083: Last Blitz of Zeon, Gundam: The 08th MS Team, and Gundam W: Endless Waltz are copyright Sotsu Agency and Sunrise. V Gundam, G Gundam, Gundam W, and Gundam X are copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and TV Asahi.