YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam

This article is about a fictional weapon from the Cosmic Era of the anime Gundam metaseries. The YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam, is a mobile suit from the manga " Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray", serving as ZAFT's new experimental unit. It was designed by
Kunio Okawara and marks the first time in his career that original designs have appeared exclusively inside manga.

Model Kit

In November 2004, Bandai released a 1/144 scale High Grade (HG) model kit as part of the Gundam SEED MSV series. The Dreadnought Gundam was the seventh in the series.

Cosmic Era

In mid CE 71, ZAFT created a series of advanced mobile suits based on technology reverse-engineered from the captured Earth Alliance G Project suits. Like their EA predecessors, the ZAFT Gundams are armed with advanced beam weaponry and protected by Phase Shift armor. However, an additional technology is incorporated as well: the Neutron Jammer Canceller, which counters the effects of the ubiquitous N-Jammers and allows these suits to be powered by nuclear reactors. This gives them almost limitless combat endurance, even with Phase Shift armor activated.The first of these suits is the YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam. The Dreadnought Gundam is separate from the main ZGMF-X series, and serves as a testbed for both the N-Jammer Canceller and the DRAGOON (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network) system of the ZGMF-X13A Providence. Unlike the other nuclear-powered mobile suits, which are entirely new designs, the Dreadnought is actually built from a heavily modified ZGMF-600 GuAIZ frame. It is equipped with the ubiquitous beam rifle and CIWS guns, and a combined shield/beam saber, but the primary armament is a pair of "Pristis" beam reamers (beam cannon/scissor anchors) mounted on the hips. While these weapons are tethered to the suit by wires, they are completely DRAGOON controlled; the wires are simply to recover the weapons in the event of a malfunction in the still-experimental system.

The Dreadnought Gundam is test piloted by Courtney Heironimus, then acquired by the Junk Guild, and piloted by Prayer Reverie, a clone whose exact origins are unknown. It was stolen from ZAFT in order to use its Neutron Jammer Canceller technology to stop the energy crisis on Earth. However, before it could reach Earth the ship carrying the Dreadnought was intercepted by the mercenary group Serpent Tail and the Dreadnought parts were stolen. They were later returned to the Junk Guild after the Earth Alliance had acquired the data on the Neutron Jammer Canceller from Rau Le Creuset.

Shortly before the war's end, it is upgraded by Lowe Guele with a new backpack mounting four large DRAGOON weapon pods, similar to those of the Providence. The configuration of the backpack causes Lowe to nickname the Dreadnought "X Astray". The final use of the Dreadnought is against Prayer's rival Canard Pars and his CAT1-X1/3 Hyperion Unit 1. During this fight, Prayer uses the large DRAGOON pods to create a tetrahedral energy shield. Canard overloads the nuclear reactor by firing a full-powered blast from his "Forfanterie" beam cannons in an attempt to break out of a beam barrier produced by the Dreadnought's DRAGOON pods. In the end, the Hyperion is destroyed, but Prayer protects Canard from the explosion and seemingly dies shortly thereafter due to flaws in the cloning process. However, it was discovered later on that Prayer had actually faked his own death, in order to convince Canard to change his life. The Dreadnought is then rebuilt by Lowe as the YMF-X000A/H Dreadnought H (the H standing for "Hyperion", as elements of the Hyperion Gundam are incorporated into the design), and piloted by Canard. The DRAGOON system is removed, and its backpack is replaced with a pair of weapon pods, each mounting a combined beam cannon/long beam sword, an "Igelstellung II" vulcan, and a grenade launcher. In combat, the Dreadnought H can assume Buster Mode, in which the pods are mounted over the shoulders for use as beam cannons, and Sword Mode, in which they are mounted under the arms as beam swords. In Sword Mode, the vulcans and grenade launchers can also fire over the shoulders. In addition, the "Pristis" beam reamers are converted into "Armure Lumiere" mono-phase lightwave shield generators, and mounted on the forearms when in use. The long beam rifle is replaced by a "Zastava Stigmate" beam sub-machine gun from Hyperion. However, unlike Hyperion's sub-machine gun, which is powered by the battery pack on the gun, the upgraded version is connected by a cable to the suit's reactor. In C.E. 73, Canard pilots the Dreadnought H in defense of the Junk Guild's base at GENESIS Alpha when the Earth Alliance attacks to claim it.

pecifications

YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam

Manufacturer: Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty/Junk Guild
User: Junk Guild
Unit type: prototype attack use mobile suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact nuclear fission reactor
Head height: 18.21 meters
Weight: 67.50 metric tons (without DRAGOON pod backpack)
Special equipment: Phase Shift armor, Neutron Jammer Canceller, DRAGOON (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network) system
Armament: MA-M22Y high-energy beam rifle x1, MA-MV04 composite armed shield system with beam saber x1, MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76 mm CIWS x4, XM1 "Pristis" beam reamer (beam cannon/scissor anchor) x2, large DRAGOON pod (GDU-X7 beam gun x9) x4
Pilot: Courtney Hieronimus, Prayer Reverie

YMF-X000A/H Dreadnought H

Manufacturer: Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty/Junk Guild
Users: Canard Pars
Unit type: prototype attack use mobile suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact nuclear fission reactor
Head height: 18.21 meters
Weight: unknown
Special equipment: Phase Shift armor, Neutron Jammer Canceller, "Armure Lumiere" mono-phase lightwave shield system
Armament: MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76 mm CIWS x4, beam cannon/long beam sword x2, "Igelstellung II" 40 mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, grenade launcher x2, "Armure Lumiere" mono-phase lightwave shield generators, "Zastava Stigmate" RFW-99 beam submachinegun with "Romteknica" RBW Type 7001 beam bayonette x1
Pilot: Canard Pars

References

*

Comic book reference
writer= Chiba, Tomohiro (Studio Orphee)
artist= Tokita, Kouichi
title=Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray
volume=1
date=November 2006
publisher=Tokyopop
id=ISBN 1598166492

*

Comic book reference
writer= Chiba, Tomohiro (Studio Orphee)
artist= Tokita, Kouichi
title=Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray
volume=2
date=March 2007
publisher=Tokyopop
id=ISBN 1598166506

ee also

*ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam
*CAT1-X Hyperion Gundam series