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Argama

Assault cruiser that served as the flagship of the AEUG during the Gryps Conflict.
Jenxi Seow Published 14 Jun 2025 Updated 14 Jun 2025
Argama

The Argama was an assault cruiser that served as the flagship of the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) during the Gryps Conflict and First Neo Zeon War. The lead ship of the Argama-class, it was secretly constructed at the Sweetwater colony with funding from Anaheim Electronics.

History

Construction and deployment

Following the infamous Colony 30 incident in UC 0085, the Anti-Earth Union Group was formed in response to the cruelty of the Titans. This rebel group needed a flagship and mobile suits, and the Argama became the symbol of the AEUG. Secretly constructed at the refugee colony Sweetwater with funding from Anaheim Electronics, the Argama’s design was loosely based on the legendary White Base from the One Year War.

The Argama was first deployed in March UC 0087 to steal the prototype RX-178 Gundam Mk-II from the Titans at Green Noa I. With this first mission, the Gryps Conflict was set into motion. The ship was initially assigned to Captain Henken Bekkener, but he eventually transferred to the Radish after Bright Noa assumed command of the Argama in May UC 0087.

Gryps Conflict service

As the AEUG’s flagship, the Argama participated in every major operation during the Gryps Conflict, from the failed attack on Jaburo to providing cover fire for Karaba’s attack on Mount Kilimanjaro in late UC 0087. When Axis Zeon entered the scene late in the war, the Argama was the first ship to make contact with Haman Karn.

As the Gryps Conflict came to its bloody end, the Argama was involved in Operation Maelstrom and successfully captured the Gryps 2 colony laser. After the Gryps Conflict ended in February UC 0088 with the destruction of the Titans, the battered Argama was the only AEUG ship still in service.

First Neo Zeon War

The damaged ship limped off to Side 1’s Shangri-La Colony for repairs and was forced to hide from Neo Zeon commander Mashymre Cello and his battleship Endra. After recruiting several new crewmembers and escaping from Shangri-La, the Argama docked at La Vie en Rose for repairs and was upgraded with a new hyper mega particle cannon in April UC 0088.

After failing to destroy Axis with this powerful new weapon, the Argama followed Haman down to Earth, but was too late to prevent her from occupying the Earth Federation capital at Dakar. Afterwards, the Argama proceeded to Dublin and helped evacuate citizens when Neo Zeon dropped a space colony on the city.

Final fate

The crew of the Argama was forced to leave their damaged vessel on Earth for use by Karaba in November UC 0088. When they arrived in space, a new flagship was waiting for them: the Nahel Argama. The original Argama remained on Earth in Karaba service for the remainder of the First Neo Zeon War.

Design

The Argama’s design was loosely based on the legendary White Base from the One Year War, but incorporated numerous improvements and innovations. Instead of having a central centrifuge that would rotate to simulate gravity, the Argama had two rotating residential modules that could extend from the sides and rotate to simulate gravity for the crew. These modules were retracted when combat operations began.

The bridge of the Argama featured a retractable design, providing the bridge crew with more protection during combat. The ship’s propulsion system included one main thruster, three secondary and two tertiary thrusters in each of the two engine blocks, and an additional pair of secondary thrusters under the main thrusters.

Special systems

The Argama was equipped with several innovative systems that enhanced its operational capabilities:

Minovsky Craft System: This system allowed the vessel to function in both atmosphere and space with extraordinary manoeuvrability, including the ability to hover whilst on Earth.

Ballute atmospheric re-entry system: An inflatable device deployed from the back of the ship that allowed heat and friction to be dispersed around and away from the ship, allowing for safe re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Rotating residential gravity blocks: Two gravity blocks mounted on the main body that could extend and rotate to create artificial gravity for the crew during non-combat operations.

Armaments

The Argama was armed with four single-barrelled beam cannons as its primary armament, with one mounted in front of the bridge and one aft of the bridge. The remaining two were placed in forward-facing mounts on the underside of the ship, on either side of the vessel’s ventral cargo bay. Each cannon could swivel 90 degrees in either direction and was capable of limited traverse upwards.

The ship was armed with a pair of high-powered mega particle cannons stored in special circular compartments, one on the port side and the other on the starboard side. During the First Neo Zeon War, the port mega particle cannon was replaced by a hyper mega particle cannon—the most powerful weapon installed on any EFSF/AEUG ship at that time. The purpose for the upgrade was so that the Argama could be used to attack Axis and destroy the asteroid with one use of the hyper mega particle cannon.

Multiple anti-aircraft laser cannons were mounted across the hull. These defensive guns were retractable, with at least four mounted on the sides of each launch deck. The vessel also mounted missile launchers behind the bridge for anti-mobile suit and anti-ship missiles.

Mobile weapons

The Argama could carry eight mobile suits and was equipped with two launch catapults. During its service, the ship operated numerous mobile weapons including:

Behind the scenes

Mamoru Nagano was the original mechanical designer for the Argama. The design was intended as a successor to the iconic White Base, improving upon the original Pegasus-class design with enhanced capabilities and firepower whilst maintaining the spirit of the original vessel.

Appearances

  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
  • Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation

See also