AMX-011 Zaku III – MechaBay | Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

The AMX-011 Zaku III was a mass production general purpose mobile suit developed by Neo Zeon as a successor to the legendary MS-06 Zaku II line.

The “AMX” in the model code indicated it was an Axis mobile experimental design, with “011” denoting it was the eleventh design in the series. The “Zaku III” designation positioned it as the third major iteration of the iconic Zaku series.

History

As the First Neo Zeon War raged on, the Neo Zeon military continued its development of new and more powerful mobile suits. Two competing designs were produced as potential new mass production frontline units: the AMX-011 Zaku III and the AMX-014 Doven Wolf.

The intention of the Zaku III’s design was to be a new descendant of the old Principality of Zeon’s venerable and highly versatile MS-05 Zaku I and MS-06 Zaku II lines. The Zaku III featured a modular construction design, enabling armour, the backpack, and other components to be changed out and customized pursuant to the current mission role.

Despite its high performance and versatility, however, the Zaku III design lost out to the more contemporary Doven Wolf. As a result, the Zaku III saw only limited production, with a handful of prototypes often operated by high ranking officers or ace pilots.

During the Dublin Colony Drop, one Zaku III was piloted by Rakan Dahkaran, who used it to battle against the AEUG and shot down Karaba leader Hayato Kobayashi’s Dodai Kai, killing him.

The Zaku III units served during the brief civil war that occurred during the end of the First Neo Zeon War, being piloted by Haman Karn loyalists. In UC 0096, a number of these mobile suits survived and were used by the Sleeves during the Laplace Incident.

Design

A descendant of the Zaku series of mobile suits, the Zaku III was designed to be highly versatile, being able to perform just about any mission role and many option parts were developed for it. The Zaku III is a big step up from the venerable MS-06 Zaku II, possessing better armour, over twice the power output, three times the sensor range, and four times the thruster acceleration, not to mention the various new beam weapons it wielded.

The Zaku III featured Gundarium composite armour that provided excellent protection while maintaining reasonable weight. Its backpack is equipped with integrated propellant tanks and flexible vernier thrusters, improving its cruising range and mobility.

The mobile suit was powered by a Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor that generated an output of 2,150 kW. It had an array of rocket thrusters that generated 172,600 kg of total thrust.

The modular construction design allowed for mission-specific customisation, with various armour configurations, backpack options, and weapon loadouts available depending on operational requirements.

Armaments

The Zaku III’s standard weapons were a mouth beam gun for ranged attacks and waist-mounted beam gun/sabers that could function in both ranged and melee modes.

Mouth beam gun

Mounted in the head of the Zaku III was a beam gun with a power rating of 1.6 MW. This weapon provided basic ranged capability and served as the mobile suit’s primary head-mounted armament.

Waist beam gun/saber

The Zaku III featured two waist beam gun/sabers with a power rating of 2.8 MW each. These versatile weapons were stored in recharge racks in the front skirt armour plates and could be hand-operated in beam gun mode or hand-carried in beam saber mode, providing both ranged and melee combat capabilities.

Option rack shield

The option rack shield was mounted on the right shoulder and contained a storage rack carrying spare beam sabers and grenades. This shield not only provided defensive capability but also served as additional weapon storage.

Beam rifle

A high performance beam rifle was developed as optional armament for the standard Zaku III, featuring long effective range and high output. Some units used the AMX-104 R-Jarja’s beam rifle when the dedicated Zaku III rifle’s development took too long.

Bazooka

The Zaku III could use a bazooka which fired large-calibre, explosive rounds quite effective against the armour of mobile suits and battleships.

Known pilots

Rakan Dahkaran
Mashymre Cello (Custom variant)

Variants

AMX-011S Zaku III Custom

A customised version with enhanced performance equipment, most notably used by Mashymre Cello. The Custom featured heavier armour, vulcan guns in the head, optional shoulder armour with hide bomb dispenser, and a large backpack with powerful thrusters.

AMX-011C Zaku III Late Type

An improved version designed during the last few days of the First Neo Zeon War. This variant would later serve as the basis for Char Aznable’s AMS-119 Geara Doga during the Second Neo Zeon War.

Behind the scenes

The original mechanical designer was Mika Akitaka. The Zaku III was designed to modernise the classic Zaku silhouette while incorporating advanced technology from the UC 0080s era.

Appearances

External links

AMX-011 Zaku III on the Gundam Wiki
AMX-011 Zaku III on MAHQ