F91 Gundam F91 – MechaBay | Mobile Suit Gundam F91

The F91 Gundam F91 was a prototype general purpose mobile suit produced by the Strategic Naval Research Institute for the Earth Federation Forces. The “F” in the model code was derived from the Formula Project under which it was developed, whilst the “91” denoted that it was the ninety-first experimental design under this project.

History

The culmination of development conducted by the Earth Federation Forces’ Strategic Naval Research Institute under their Formula Project flag, the Gundam F91 was truly a revolutionary design for the next generation of mobile suits. The F91 prototype, originally manufactured by SNRI in UC 0116, was slowly upgraded and modified over the next several years. Its final assembly, which incorporated the bio-computer system, was cut short when the Crossbone Vanguard force began conquering the Frontier Side area in March UC 0123.

The F91’s parts were stowed aboard the EFF training ship Space Ark, and during an escape to the Frontier I Colony, the Space Ark crew rescued a group of civilian students who were also fleeing. Since the ship’s complement was made up of trainees – and a skeleton crew, at that – a pilot was needed for the F91 when it was completed. Seabook Arno, one of the rescued civilians, was selected for the job, based on his rather shaky credentials of being an engineering student and the son of bio-computer engineer Dr. Arno.

The Gundam F91 performed superbly during the conflict, and its abilities soon had another surprise in store for Seabook. The mobile suit later proved instrumental in defeating the Crossbone Vanguard during their invasion of the Frontier Side. Although initially developed as a prototype unit, the F91’s performance during the Crossbone Vanguard conflict later resulted in this Gundam being put into limited mass production. Some of these mass produced F91s were used by the EFF in a war against the Jupiter Empire in UC 0133.

Design

The F91 represented the final goal of SNRI to develop a smaller, lightweight, high performance mobile suit. Its compact size mounted enough weaponry to put it on par with other general purpose units at the time, and the F91 incorporated many advanced new technologies developed under the Formula Project.

The mobile suit featured a panoramic monitor cockpit with a linear seat configuration, representing the latest advances in mobile suit control systems. The Gundam F91’s most distinctive feature was its shoulder-mounted heat radiation fins, which served a crucial thermal management function during high-intensity operations.

Another new technology incorporated in the Gundam F91 was the bio-computer system developed by Dr. Monica Arno. This system acted as a sort of “reversed” psycommu system, relaying information directly to the pilot’s mind rather than vice versa. The bio-computer, however, could be used by normal pilots, and it gave the pilot many advantages by directly providing them with tactical and sensor data, piloting suggestions, and so on. Thus, the bio-computer allowed the pilot to react more quickly and decisively to any battle situation, and it also made a novice pilot’s job easier in terms of adapting to the new mobile suit.

Being a high performance unit, the F91’s weapons and systems generated a tremendous amount of heat. This heat was normally dissipated through a seat of radiator fins built into the mobile suit’s shoulders; however, excessive amounts of heat sometimes still remained throughout the mobile suit’s body. Another method of getting rid of this heat was by “shedding” the heated outermost layer of the Gundam’s armor; this had the rather dramatic effect of creating after images of the mobile suit while it was moving.

Armaments

The F91 Gundam F91’s standard weapons were its twin Variable Speed Beam Rifles for ranged attacks, and twin beam sabers for melee combat.

60mm vulcan gun

The F91 mounted a pair of 60mm vulcan guns in its head for point defence and anti-personnel work. These rapid-fire weapons were effective against lightly armoured targets and incoming missiles.

Mega machine cannon

Two mega machine cannons were mounted in the mobile suit’s torso, providing additional firepower for close-range combat situations where beam weapons might be inappropriate or insufficient.

Beam saber

The F91 carried two beam sabers stored in recharge racks in the left hip armour. These standard melee weapons generated plasma blades contained by I-fields and could cut through most armour materials.

Variable Speed Beam Rifle (VSBR)

One of these technologies was the Variable Speed Beam Rifle, or VSBR for short, which had already been successfully tested on the F90V Gundam F90 V-Type. Rather than being a hand-carried weapon powered by an energy cap or e-pac, the VSBR was mounted on the mobile suit itself and powered directly by its reactor. The pilot could adjust the speed at which the mega particles used in the beam fire were accelerated. Slower speed particles produced a wider beam that delivered more raw damage, and higher speed particles created a more tightly focused, penetrating beam. Thus, the F91’s pilot could choose to deliver beam damage on a wider area or focused, high speed shots to penetrate thick armor or even beam shields.

Beam shield

The F91 was equipped with a beam shield mounted on the left forearm, along with a spare beam shield stored on the right hip armour. This defensive system could block both beam and projectile weapons.

Beam rifle

For conventional ranged combat, the F91 could carry a standard beam rifle powered by replaceable energy packs. The weapon could be stored on a mount located on the rear skirt armour plate.

Beam launcher

When Berah defected to the Earth Federation Forces during the Crossbone Vanguard invasion of UC 0123, her Vigna Ghina was also given a powerful beam launcher similar to that used by the F91 Gundam F91, capable of delivering a wider and more damaging beam blast than a standard beam rifle. This heavy beam weapon provided enhanced firepower for critical combat situations.

Known pilots

Seabook Arno
Harrison Madin
Bergh Scred

Variants

F91 Gundam F91 Twin VSBR Set Up Type
F91 Gundam F91 Back Cannon Type
F91 Gundam F91 (Mass Production Type)

Behind the scenes

The F91 Gundam F91 was designed by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu as the principal designer, with cleanup work by Okawara Kunio. The mobile suit first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam F91 in 1991, representing a new direction for Gundam design with its smaller, more compact proportions compared to earlier Universal Century mobile suits.

External links

F91 Gundam F91 on MAHQ
F91 Gundam F91 on The Gundam Wiki