Weapon Technology



 Solid Weapons 

Extremely cheap and basic, solid weapons are as effective as their wielder, as they come in the forms of swords, axes and hammers. Largely used by Brirland in its conquest streak due to its low manufacturing costs. Brirms used them quite effectively, with their brute, hydraulic arms. The use of these weapons extended until OC0046 and died with the last designs of Brirland such as the Highlander. Eventually, every now and then a mobile suit appears using a solid knife or dagger, depending on the purpose of the suit.

 Round Weapons 

Much more cheaper than energy weapons, solid shell weapons are the favorite choice for nations such as Brirlanda and Camberra, which prefer quantity over quality. Altough Camberra is a pacifist nation it possesses a small army consisting of mobile pods, space fighters and second hand Brirms. All of them use solid shell weapons, such as machineguns, grenade launchers, rifles and shotguns which are the only weapons available to small mobile weapons.

 Laser Weapons( ' レサ ' ー ' 武器 ' ) 
 * Laser Rifle/Cannon ('レサ'ー'キャノン'): The laser rifle is the first energy weapon ever mounted in a mobile suit. Having been used largely since the XXI century, laser weaponry is nowadays considered a rather basic technology. The first recorded use of a mobile suit mounted laser weapon was in OC0045 during an assault from Xebac’s Kwalen and Nighthawk. Apparently, Feinsilver used those two units to test its first mobile suit mounted laser rifle and cannon respectively. Despite being a basic technology, Brirland’s Brirm didn’t carry any laser weaponry, possibly due to its Level 2 engines which couldn’t handle such a weapon. Being a photon based weapon, laser beams can be reflected easily by surfaces such as mirrors and polished metals. Neo Edo knew this very well as it early introduced mobile suits covered by mirror plates, which reduced considerably the amount of damage taken by the laser spam barrage performed by Xebac’s grunts Xebagaru. The use of laser weaponry is decreasing rapidly due to the advent of more powerful weapon technologies such as plasma based rifles, but it’s still used by precision units such as snipers and by turrets and mobile suits under atmospheric conditions where Free Plasma Weapons are almost useless. Other uses of the laser cannon include the Space to Ground Laser Array, in use since OC0012 by the UCW to precisely eliminate terrorist camps. This weapon was disabled by Brirland troops in OC0038 who considered it a menace to its conquering plans. It was taken back in OC0046 and is now under EF hands.

 Plasma Weapons 

· Plasma Rifle('プラズマライフル'): This plasma emitting device was originally developed to be used by the NEPMS-01 prototype as a long range energy weapon. It boasts enough firepower to easily pierce standard mobile suit armor, and to damage significantly kansei alloy plates. It requires a high performance engine to be used as it drains energy directly from the mobile suit. The prototype version requires an engine output of at least 2000 kW to fire, but later the requirements were lowered to make it feasible for mass production mobile suits. The new mass production plasma rifles require app. a 1800 kW output, which is still high but can be used for mobile suits such as the mass produced Tepposhu. The plasma rifle isn’t of course flawless, and one of its common problems is overheating caused for constant fire and the incapability of use in atmospheric conditions, such as the inside of a colony, or the surface of the Earth. The plasma emition rapidly disperses in the air due to friction with the air molecules, rendering it useless as a long range weapon. It can however be used as some kind of flamethrower for desperate close quarter defense.

· Plasma Cannon('プラズマキャノン'): Basically, an oversized plasma rifle. Plasma cannons are usually mounted in spaceships to act as the main weapon of the vessel. Their requirements are high, often over Level 6 of OR. Some attempts have been made to adapt this type of FPW for use by mobile suits. The first recorded use of a plasma cannon by a mobile suit was the Gundam’s “Mega Particle Teppou”, which was so energy demanding that it has to be docked to Xebac’s capital ship, the Yinglong, while in use. Using the Teppou without the ship’s assistance would result in the Gundam energies exhausted; having to be resupplied by a support bomber specially designed for that task. Although the mobile suit carried plasma cannon had tremendous power and impact on enemy forces, it is still unreliable as a mobile suit weapon, due to its various drawbacks to energy, weight and balance. As of today in OC0047, no mobile suit has made use of a plasma cannon again, leaving that task to specially designed mobile cannon platforms, namely mobile armors.

· Plasma Saber('プラズマセイバ'ー')': Generally speaking, the plasma saber is a type of Electromagnetically Enclosed Plasma Weapon(EMEPW), a weapon which uses an EM field to control the distribution of high energy plasma particles. An EMEPW is the most efficient melee weapon, and it can come in various forms, from swords, to axes and lances. An EMPW generally is formed by a hilt with two features, a EM Field generator and a built in plasma emitter. When the weapon is activated the plasma fills the EMF and takes the shape of it, generally blade shaped. In terms of requirements an EMEPW doesn’t require big amounts of energy and it can be used by any mobile suit with an Output Level of 4 or more. Other advantages of the EMEPW are their capabilities to be used efficiently under atmospheric conditions, unlike not enclosed plasma weapons(FPW). In rare cases, some EMEPW use an inner kansei alloy blade to take advantage of its solid and EM properties while the plasma acts as a first cutting edge. This weapon was labeled as a Plasma Enclosed Solid Weapon or “PESW” for classification purposes, but it still is considered an EMEPW. This configuration proved to be quite successful in the hands of the Musashi Gundam, which used them as both an offensive and defensive weapon. Later this weapon was adapted for use in other mobile suits, but always in high grade suits or commander units.

· Plasma Window('プラズマウインドウ'): An old but very expensive concept that uses plasma for various purposes. The plasma window is a hot field of plasma that surrounds the object emitting it, protecting it against various treats such as laser beams, projectiles and plasma, depending on the type of window used. Cold plasma windows are used for protection against radar detection waves, as well as laser beams; but a hotter plasma window is required to protect against plasma weapons or projectiles. The shape of this field depends on the electromagnetic field surrounding the plasma emitting object, much in the same way of a EMEPW. This kind of field is not flawless since it can be pierced with solid, massive objects. To be able to use a hot plasma window, the source has to be protected by an inner layer of cold plasma, to prevent overheating of the surface.  This technology is one of the various features introduced with the NEPMS-02A Gundam. Using the electromagnetic properties of the electrically charged outer layer of armor, the Gundam generates the EM field with mobile suit shape that will be filled with plasma emitted from various points of its body. Although the plasma window installed in the Gundam uses energy from its Plasma Cycle Engine, it has nothing to do with the plasma from that engine as they use separated plasma sources. This means a Plasma Cycle Engine is not required for a mobile suit to wear this system, but it can have another high output engine to supply this task. The cold plasma window is responsible for the Gundam stealth abilities, rendering it invisible to conventional radars. Despite of this, it can still be seen by heat seeking missiles or visual detection, as the field doesn’t hide the heat or the light emanating from the mobile suit. The Gundam is only capable of using the plasma window in plasmatic mode because its normal engine is not capable of handling the window’s energy requirements.