BCX-235 Astra Gundam



The BCX-235 Astra Gundam is a mobile suit stolen and piloted by Zach Taylor in the series Mobile Suit Gundam Caesar. It is considerred the successor unit to the BCX-101 Shiro Gundam.

Technical History and Development
When the BCX project resumed in earnest, the project decided to divide its resources, leaving only a small amount of manpower to focus on the development of the BCX-1000 Raidenkaiser Gundam while the remainder went to work on the development of this suit. The main principle in the development of this suit was to create a mobile suit that would win the war in space, trapping FL and UEN forces on Earth while the UCA could keep its main headquarters and Mobile Suit Production facilities safe. As such, this suit is equiped with a revolutionary GDI system (Guided Drone Interface) which enables non-psychic pilots to operate the Gun Drones mounted on the suits shoulders, which replace the shoulder launchers found on the CMS-15 Garlan.

The basic frame is derived from the CMS-15 Garlan, however the Shoulder Launchers were removed to make room for the Gun Drones. The armour is also made out of refined Gundarium Alloy with an additional cooling system to minimise the damage of beam pistols. The beam rifle has been replaced with a Beam Launcher which possesses a higher output compared to rifles at the cost of being less compact. For close range combat, the suit possesses a pair of beam sabres hidden in the hips of the suit.

The suit, like all other BCX series, is equipped with a Bio-Computer which was presently in a reset state at the time of the suits theft, defaulting to Zach when he hijacked the suit. The Gun Drones can detach from the suit to commence a multi-directional attack on a target as guided by the pilots thoughts. However, the propulsion system on these drones is insufficient for use within the atmosphere so the two Gun Drones on the edges of the shoulders can rotate to perform the same function as the Shoulder Launchers of the CMS-15 Garlan.