The FF-X7Bst Core Booster was a fighter produced by the Earth Federation.
History
The Earth Federation begun the secret Project V to develop mobile weapons four years prior to the One Year War, after it received intelligence reports of the mobile suits that the Principality of Zeon was building.
The FF-X7 Core Fighter was developed as an interchangeable module of the Core Block System used by the Project V mobile suits, the RX-78-2 Gundam, the RX-77-2 Guncannon, and the [RX-75-4 Guntank](/rx-75-4-guntank/ “RX-75-4 Guntank).
The concept of an interchangeable module allowed the pilot to easily switch between the mobile weapons, and also act as an armed escape module.
FF-X7Bst Core Booster rear view
The FF-X7Bst Core Booster was a variant of the Core Fighter. It was equipped with a booster module that increased its firepower, operating duration, and armour shielding. This upgrade gave it a leap in performance that made it the best fighter of its time.
Despite the success of the Core Booster, the high costs of production prevented it from being adopted for widespread use by the Federation. It saw action primarily as a support unit to the assault carrier White Base.
The interchangeable module concept in a fighter remained popular. A variant, the FF-X7Bst-II Core Booster II Interceptor Type, was produced. Later on, the Core Booster was developed into the FFB-7Bst Jet Core Booster II.
Design
The FF-X7Bst Core Booster was an interchangeable module used by Earth Federation mobile suits designed with the Core Block System. The fighter acted as an armed escape module that allowed the pilot to detach from the mobile suit should the suit be disabled or destroyed.
FF-X7Bst Core Booster cockpit
Having such an escape module was critical to the development of the prototype RX-78-2 Gundam. The Gundam was equipped with a learning computer system that allowed it to collect data and adapt to the pilot’s abilities. The system was also able to record enemy data and compute better countermeasures. Thus, the Federation scientists wanted to ensure that the data gathered could be retrieved even if the Gundam was disabled or destroyed.
FF-X7Bst Core Booster
A major weakness of the Core Fighter was its weak firepower. To remedy that, Federation engineers added a booster module to the Core Fighter. The resulting unit was designated the FF-X7Bst Core Booster.
The booster unit increased the agility and mobility of the fighter. It also provided the Core Booster with more fuel, allowing it to operate for a longer duration. The booster module came with powerful weapons, making the Core Booster a force to reckon with in the battlefield.
Armaments
The Core Booster was armed with vulcan guns, missiles, and mega particle cannons for ranged attacks. It could also carry bombs for tactical bombing missions.
Vulcan guns
Two 25 mm vulcan guns were mounted in each side of Core Booster’s nose. The four fire-linked guns were the primary weapon of the fighter. Although they were barely able to damage mobile suits, the gunfire could distract the mobile suit pilots while they try to take down the fighter.
Missile launchers
The Core Booster had two missile launchers mounted on the dorsal hull. These carried four rounds each. The missiles could be used against enemy mobile suits, ships or ground targets.
Mega particle cannons
The booster module had two mega particle cannons. These powerful cannons were capable of penetrating mobile suit armour and other heavily armoured vehicles. This was a significant upgrade to the Core Booster’s armaments as it made the nimble fighter an opponent to be reckoned with instead of just a mere nuisance to mobile suits.
Bombs
The Core Booster could carry bombs in the booster unit, converting the fighter into a bomber that could engage in strategic and tactical bombings.
Known pilots
Variant
The FF-X7-Bst Core Booster was a variant of the FF-X7Bst Core Booster equipped with a booster module to increase its firepower, operation duration, and armour shielding.
Behind the scenes
Kunio Okawara was the original mechanical designer.
The Core Booster only appeared in the Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movies. It replaced the G-Fighter from the anime series. Yoshiyuki Tomino wanted to make the movies closer to his vision of for the series. So he removed elements that were considered closer to the super robot genre to achieve a real robot feel.