Strategic Naval Research Institute

SNRI (Strategic Naval Research Institute) is a fictional Earth Federation think tank referenced in the Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam F91 and the manga and kits Gundam F90. The think tank is notably responsible for the creation of the mobile suit F91 Gundam used by Seabook Arno to fight against the invading Crossbone Vanguard, and the three F97 Crossbone Gundams used by the (reformed) Crossbone Vanguard pirates against Jupiter Empire.

Institute History

After the events of Char's Counterattack, the Earth Federation instituted a new policy where they would be mindful of their military strength, yet try to keep costs down due the lull of activity. At the same time, they were also aware that the traditional mobile suit developer Anaheim Electronics was unreliable (as they often made money by trading weapons to both sides). To solve the problem, the in-house think tank Strategic Naval Research Institute (or SNRI for short) was created in UC 0093, employing civilian researchers while being funded and supervised by the Earth Federation Forces. Little else is known about the think tank, other than it replaces Anaheim Electronics as the Federation's preferred mobile suit supplier in the second universal century (Although not before even larger-scaled Mobile Suits, such as the RX-105 Xi Gundam used in the , briefly continued to influence MS war designs past the UC 0100 mark). Their proposals are based on a theory that wars would be won based on smaller, higher-performance mobile suits. This eventually is showcased in their Formula Project series of Gundams, which hallmarks the formal arrival of the 2nd Era mobile suits.

The Federation's change of contractor choice eventually led to the downfall of Anaheim Electronics. In sheer desperation, Anaheim Electronics attempted to come up with competing designs by stealing blueprints of SNRI's Formula series, resulting in the construction of the less-known Silhouette Gundam, but that still failed to prevent Anaheim Electronics from losing its biggest client — the Earth Federation.

However, by the mid UC 130s, it is revealed in Crossbone Gundam Steel 7 that SNRI begins to face serious financial problems after they secretly donated their F97 models to the Crossbone Vanguard pirate force in order to help them fight against the Jupiter Empire. Since the F97 units were then publicly associated with the pirates after the first Jupiter war finished, this prevented SNRI from selling the units to the Federation for mass production, as originally planned, and regaining the massive amounts of finances spent during the unit's R&D and manufacturing. In an attempt to recoup the losses, SNRI spent the following years developing the F99 "Record Breaker" as a way to make an attractive new high-tech unit for mass production. Unfortunately, all 3 units, their research, and their manufacturing plant on the moon were all completely destroyed by Jupiter remnants, leaving SNRI in a state they likely never fully recovered from.

Later in U.C. 0153, it is believed that the declined Anaheim Electronics sponsored anti-BESPA faction League Militaire, who used the basics of SNRI's mobile suits to produce their own mass-produced suits LM111E02 Gun-EZ, the later improved model LM111E03 Gunblastor and the first mobile suit of the Victory series LM312V04 V Gundam. It is believed that it obtained the patterned technology from its sponsor via Earth Federation Forces, who was then using older versions of SNRI mobile suits, such as RGM-119 Jamesgun and RGM-122 Javelin.

Notable Creations

* Formula Project
** F70 Cannon Gundam
** F90 (F90I) Gundam Formula 90
*** F90A (F90IA) Gundam F90 Assault Type
*** F90D (F90ID) Gundam F90 Destroyed Type
*** F90H (F90IH) Gundam F90 Hover Type
*** F90M (F90IM) Gundam F90 Marine Type
*** F90P (F90IP) Gundam F90 Plunge Type
*** F90S (F90IV) Gundam F90 Support Type
*** F90V (F90IV) Gundam F90 VSBR Type
** F90II Gundam Formula 90 II
*** F90I (F90II I) Gundam F90II Intercept Type
*** F90L (F90IIL) Gundam F90II Long Range Type
** F90IIIY Cluster Gundam
** F91 Gundam Formula 91
** F97 (XM-X) Crossbone Gundam
*** XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X1
*** XM-X2 Crossbone Gundam X2
*** XM-X3 Crossbone Gundam X3
** XM-10 Flint

References

* Gundam: The Official Guide (VIZ Media LLC) ISBN 1-56931-739-9
* Mobile Suit Gundam F91 Theatrical Movie (Bandai Entertainment, 2004) UPC 669198215001
* [http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/uc/background/glossary_organizations.html#snri Gundam Official Website] , accessed between February 3-8, 2006
* [http://www.mahq.net/index.htm Mecha Anime HQ Website] , accessed February 8, 2006