RGC-605 Guncannon Stormer

The RGC-605 Guncannon Stormer is a mobile suit from Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha. Produced relatively late into the First Galactic War, the Stormer is the first, and so far only, Guncannon model designed specifically to combat other mobile suits, with emphasis placed on mobility and close quarters combat capability.

Appearance
Looks like a RX-77D Guncannon Mass Production Type from Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, but redesigned to fit the futuristic setting of GC while possessing beam gatling cannons over its shoulders like those of the Slash Wizard Pack from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Colors vary, but the standard type are the Federation's trademark gunmetal grey with navy blue highlights.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The fifth of the Guncannon line, the Stormer, designed and produced during the so-called "Zaku Scourge" (the phase of the First Galactic War in which Zeon's ZMS-006 Zaku was virtually unchallenged by any other mobile suit type in terms of performance and kill ratio), represented a radical departure from the Federation's philosophy of mobile suits essentially being fully mobile weapons platforms. Specifically, the Stormer, much like its Zaku nemesis, was the first Guncannon model specifically designed to combat other mobile suits, and so did away with its line's trademark artillery applications in favor of mobility and close-combat capability.

First and foremost, the Stormer held strengthened Apollo Thrusters in order to produce superior speed and maneuverability. While this wasn't enough for it to match the Zaku 's performance, it at least placed the Stormer on par with with primary opponent. Second, in place of the standard beam cannons or projectile launchers, the Stormer was equipped with a pair of gatling beam cannons. Functionally the equivalent of capital ship beam phalanx, these weapons gave the Stormer great offensive power against high speed targets like mobile suits (as well as other small craft), though it would cost the unit the anti-ship and anti-fortress capabilities that its line usually took for granted. And finally, its sensors and targeting systems were revamped in order to better track and target smaller, faster enemy units, furthering Stormers effectiveness in this area.

Beyond those alterations, the Stormer retains the other facets of its line, namely heavier than average armor and the standard loadout of vulcans, rifle and shield. On that note, it still lacks any kind of melee weapon, thereby also retaining one of its type's main disadvantages against Outer Power mobile suits.

Armaments

 * M350 Gatling Beam Cannon
 * The Guncannon Stormer 's primary weapons. Mounted over its shoulders in place of the standard line beam cannons and projectile launchers, these gatling weapons possess a very high rate of fire in exchange for weaker beams, and are mainly used for suppressive fire and for intercepting higher speed targets. Linked directly to the Stormer's targeting system, these cannons are roughly as accurate as the phalanx emplacements of a capital ship, thereby emphasizing their effectiveness against smaller craft such as missiles or, once more, enemy mobile suits. That said, they are far less effective against larger, more heavily armored targets such as capital ships, mobile armors or mobile fortresses than standard Guncannon weapons.


 * M239 Beam Vulcan
 * Standard weapons for Federation mobile suits. Vulcans are miniature rapid-fire beam guns stored on the sides of the Guncannon's head. Having the greatest rate of fire of all the Guncannons weapons, they are primarily used to ward off advancing enemies, shoot down missiles or hit other fast moving targets. They are also useful as anti-spacecraft and anti-personnel weapons. The vulcans however have a difficult time piercing heavier armor (though they are capable of destroying mobile suits when fired at close range) and thus are not often used against larger, more heavily armored foes. Still, the vulcans are useful in preserving energy for the Guncannons more powerful weapons.


 * MSD89 Beam Shield
 * The Guncannon Stormer is equipped with a beam shield generator on its left arm. As its name suggests, the beam shield generates a miniaturized energy field over an area of the Guncannons left arm, allowing it block and deflect enemy attacks quite effectively. With its emphasis on durability, a Guncannons beam shield is more powerful than most other mobile suits of its generation, though it still offers only limited protection against enemies of superior mobility.


 * M490BR Beam Rifle
 * A revolutionary weapon for its time, the beam rifle is the primary handheld weapon of the Guncannon. A further scaled down version of the beam cannon, the beam rifle exchanges overt firepower for rate of fire and ease of usage, granting the Guncannon an ideal weapon to utilize against smaller, faster targets, namely other mobile suits and other small craft. Such is the power of this weapon that it can destroy an enemy mobile suit in a single shot, even with a glancing blow. That being said, its primary weakness is that it can only fire single or limited numbered bursts at once, which enemy units may evade or deflect with their beam shields.

History
From the onset of the First Galactic War, the superiority of the Outer Powers in mobile suit design was firmly established, namely through the Zeon Empire's Zaku line. As a result, the Federation and, with very few exceptions, the other Inner Powers were completely unprepared to combat mobile suits that emphasized mobility and close combat capability, leading to the press coining the phrase "Zaku' Scourge" to describe the one-sided nature of mobile suit combat through the period. To counter this, the Inner Powers began to follow on with their enemies' design ethics, producing mobile suits that could indeed fight effectively against other mobile suits. The Federation took a somewhat different approach in this area, in which they sought a mobile suit type that would serve as their ultimate weapon against the Zeon Empire and their other enemies (eventually leading to Project V), but for the meantime they needed a model that could at least hold the Zaku at bay. Anaheim Electronics would answer this demand with the Guncannon Stormer.

Well regarded as the "hot rod" of the Guncannon line, the Stormer would prove mobile enough to at least keep up with Zakus in battle, while its gatling beam cannons made for effective anti-MS weapons. However, its emphasis on anti-MS warfare ironically made it less well rounded and effective in the areas that a standard Guncannon would excel at, namely anti-ship warfare. As a result, several noteworthy Star Force pilots such as Commander Sleggar "Eagle of Arcturus" Law and Lieutenant Junior Grade Sayla "Valkyrie of Riah" Mass would choose to retain their original Guncannons as not to lose capability in those areas. That being said, more than a few Federation aces would take to the Stormer and utilize it effectively against their nation's opposition. Among their number, Lieutenant Commander Shiro Amada of the 105th Mobile Suit Squadron "Shrikes", the last surviving inhabitant of the planet Hera, would retain his Stormer through a fair portion of the war, using it to wage vengeance upon the Zeon mobile suits for the destruction of his homeworld during the Bloody Valentine Massacre.