MechaBay
MechaBay
Discord Mastodon Bluesky Twitter/X
Discord About us Support us

NRX-044 Asshimar

Prototype transformable mobile armor developed by the Earth Federation Forces.
Jenxi Seow Published 19 Jun 2025 Updated 19 Jun 2025
NRX-044 Asshimar

The NRX-044 Asshimar was a prototype transformable mobile armor developed by the Earth Federation Forces at the Oakland Research Institute. It was the first mobile suit capable of self-sustained atmospheric flight and served as a revolutionary design during the Gryps Conflict.

The “N” in the model code signified that it was developed at a Newtype Research Institute, whilst the “R” meant it was a Federation model and the “X” indicated that it was an experimental mobile suit. The “044” in the model code denoted that it was the forty-fourth experimental project in development.

History

Development of the Asshimar began at the Oakland Research Institute, one of the Newtype Research Institutes, in UC 0083, following the events of Operation Stardust. The Asshimar was the first mobile suit capable of sustaining atmospheric flight under its own power, addressing critical weaknesses in the Federation’s aerial combat capabilities.

At the time, mobile suits relied on sub-flight systems (SFS) like the Base Jabber and Dodai Kai for aerial mobility. However, these took up valuable space on carrier ships and had critical vulnerabilities—if the SFS was shot down, the deployed mobile suits lost maneuverability and combat effectiveness. Additionally, sub-flight systems suffered from poor climbing performance, making them unsuitable for interception missions.

The Asshimar was completed in UC 0085 during the prototype phase and was first deployed in UC 0087 during the early stages of the Gryps Conflict. The Asshimar was first seen piloted by Buran Blutarch during an attack on the Karaba-held Kennedy spaceport alongside regular EFF’s RMS-106 Hizacks riding on Base Jabbers subflight crafts.

The Asshimar proved very capable, easily out-maneuvering the AEUG’s advanced MS such as RX-178 Gundam Mk-II and MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki. Though the Asshimar would be damaged and forced to retreat, both Karaba and the AEUG suffered heavy losses. Buran Blutarch continued using his Asshimar in pursuit of Karaba’s Garuda-class carriers, launching from his own Garuda. The Asshimar was eventually destroyed on one of these missions, killing Blutarch.

One captured unit was used by AEUG ace pilot Gabriel Zola to attack the Kamchatka base in Russia. In UC 0088, during the First Neo Zeon War, several Asshimars were stationed at Earth Federation bases captured by Neo Zeon forces. This gave the Neo Zeon forces access to the machine.

The Asshimar was still used by the Earth Federation in UC 0090. Several units served as part of the Mobile Suit Air Force Company, one of which was piloted by company leader Broglie Ligera.

Design

The Asshimar was a new transformable mobile suit design introduced by the Earth Federation Forces and Titans during the Gryps Conflict, the first mobile suit capable of sustaining atmospheric flight under its own power. It could also transform into a UFO-looking mobile armor form that gave it even greater speed and agility in the air.

The Asshimar featured a distinctive lifting body structure in its mobile armor mode, creating a disc-shaped silhouette that enabled efficient atmospheric flight. Its transformation systems incorporated magnetic coating technology, reducing friction between its moving parts and allowing the Asshimar to transform between modes in a short time.

In mobile suit mode, the Asshimar stood 23.1 metres tall overall, with a head height of 19.3 metres. Its armor was also thick and highly durable, impervious to most standard mobile suit small arms fire, constructed from titanium alloy ceramic composite materials.

The mobile suit featured a standard cockpit in its torso with a panoramic monitor and linear seat system. Its sensors had a detection range of 10,200 metres, providing excellent situational awareness for its pilot.

In mobile armor mode, the Asshimar could achieve maximum speeds of Mach 3.0, making it one of the fastest atmospheric mobile weapons of its era. The transformation was powered by a Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor generating 2,010 kW of output, with a total thrust output of 68,200 kg from various rocket thrusters and engines.

However, the design had notable weaknesses. The Asshimar’s armor is highly durable and bullet-resistant, but it has a notable weakness—the chest armor unfolds during transformation, making it vulnerable to attacks during the process.

Armaments

Despite the fact that it was armed only with a beam rifle, the Asshimar proved to be a highly effective design, due to its durability, speed and agility with its aerial combat capabilities.

Large beam rifle

The Asshimar’s primary and only standard armament was a large beam rifle. The rifle drew its rounds from energy packs (E-packs), clips of charged Minovsky particles. Minovksy particles broke down matter at a molecular level, allowing the beam rifle bolts to penetrate even the thickest armor. This meant that a single shot could destroy a mobile suit.

The beam rifle was designed to be hand-carried in mobile suit mode and could be mounted on the main body during mobile armor mode transformation. Its substantial size and power output made it effective against enemy mobile suits despite being the Asshimar’s sole armament.

Another drawback is its limited armament—equipped with only a single beam rifle. This led to the development of the ORX-005 Gaplant, a higher-performance transformable mobile armor designed to address these shortcomings.

Known pilots

  • Buran Blutarch
  • Gabriel Zola
  • Addis Aziba
  • Mike
  • Ewen Bader
  • Broglie Ligera

Variants

The Titans also created several variant units, including the NRX-044 Prototype Asshimar TR-3 [Kehaar] and NRX-044(R) Prototype Asshimar TR-3 [Kehaar] For Space, which were evaluated by the Titans Test Team.

  • NRX-044 Prototype Asshimar TR-3 [Kehaar]
  • NRX-044(R) Prototype Asshimar TR-3 [Kehaar] Space Type
  • NRX-044Q Asshimar [Danda-Chakra]
  • NRX-044EW EWAC Asshimar

Legacy

Some sources suggest that the Asshimar was quickly phased out due to its aggressive flight characteristics, which resulted in frequent crashes. Despite this, its design philosophy lived on, influencing future atmospheric-transformable units such as the RAS-96 Anksha, which was introduced by UC 0096.

The Asshimar’s design served as the basis for the later RAS-96 Anksha, which was deployed by the EFF in UC 0096, demonstrating the lasting impact of this pioneering transformable mobile armor design.

Behind the scenes

Okawara Kunio was the principal designer of the Asshimar for Zeta Gundam, with Kazumi Fujita handling cleanup work. According to production documents, Okawara created the early design concepts whilst Fujita produced the final setting art for the series.

In the manga Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define, it was redesigned by Kyoshi Takigawa. New features include an increase in height, folding wings on the legs, additional thrusters in the legs and backpack, retractable twin machine guns in both forearms, and built-in missile racks on both shoulders. In addition, the large beam rifle was now stored on the side in MA mode (allowing two to be mounted), and mounted on the forearm in MS mode when not in use.

In the Japanese version of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Asshimar’s pilot Buran Blutarch is famous for crying out the phrase “My Asshimar!” (アッシマーが！, Asshimа ga!?) before he dies, which suggests the strong faith he held in this machine.

Appearances