RGM-89S Stark Jegan – MechaBay

The RGM-89S Stark Jegan was an anti-ship assault mobile suit mass produced by Anaheim Electronics for the Earth Federation’s Londo Bell task force.

The “R” in the model code meant it was a Federation model¹ and the “GM” indicated that it was a Gundam mass production mobile suit. The “89” in the model code denoted that it was developed from the RGM-89 Jegan, and the “S” suffix indicated that it was a Stark-type variant designed for heavy assault operations.

History

By the UC 0090s, the mass production RGM-89 Jegan was in wide use throughout the Earth Federation Forces. To meet the needs of different missions, the EFF decided to create variants instead of entirely new mobile suit models. One such variant was the RGM-89S Stark Jegan.

The Stark Jegan was a special forces-use version of the RGM-89D Jegan Type D designed for anti-ship warfare. It had improved performance due to the additional armour and thrusters and incorporated feedback from its prototype, the RGM-89S Prototype Stark Jegan. The Stark Jegan inherited the functional concept of the RGM-86R GM III, particularly its missile pod configuration.

The Stark Jegan’s design was similar to the prototype model, which alternatively mounted four anti-ship missiles on its shoulder launchers. The final version of the Stark Jegan was equipped with missile launchers on its shoulders, similar to the design of the GM III.

Stark Jegans were used by Londo Bell throughout the Laplace Incident of UC 0096. A modified Stark Jegan, the Jegan High Mobility Type, piloted by Galom Gorga, was later deployed from the Nahel Argama to defend against Full Frontal’s MSN-06S Sinanju. It was then destroyed in battle by the Sinanju.

Two more Stark Jegans were seen during Londo Bell’s attack on the asteroid Palau alongside an RGM-89S Prototype Stark Jegan. Near the end of the Laplace Conflict, a Stark Jegan equipped with two vulcan pod systems defended the Nahel Argama against the Sleeves’ attacks.

Design

The Stark Jegan was based on the Earth Federation Forces’ main mobile suit, the Jegan Type D, with added equipment to enhance its capabilities. Following the Second Neo Zeon War, the Federation military faced a shrinking of their military expenditures, and without a large budget to develop new mobile suits, a plan was devised to change the specifications of the extremely flexible Jegan using optional added parts to improve the combat strength of the EFSF’s mobile suit corps.

The Stark Jegan featured improved performance thanks to its added armour and thrusters. Utilising the mount latches built into the Jegan Type D, triple missile pods were mounted on each shoulder for long-range fire support, with additional armour panels added on the chest, waist, and legs.

Some of the added armour and the missile pods could be purged when required, with the subsequent balance adjustment being performed automatically. The mobile suit’s enhanced propulsion system generated 76,600 kg of total thrust, providing adequate mobility despite the increased weight.

The mobile suit retained the same ultracompact Minovsky fusion reactor as the base Jegan Type D, generating 1,870 kW of output. The sensor suite provided a detection range of 16,800 metres, maintaining battlefield awareness capabilities.

Armaments

The Stark Jegan’s standard weapons included both offensive missile systems and conventional mobile suit armaments for versatility.

3-tube missile launcher

The Stark Jegan could mount a triple missile pod on each shoulder for long-range support, and it could be ejected after use to increase the suit’s speed. The missiles fired had high accuracy due to the sensors in the missile pods. Due to changes in how the suit was used, the Stark Jegan’s 3-tube missile pods were not meant to carry optional large missiles like the RGM-89S Prototype Stark Jegan.

Vulcan pod system

Mounted on the head, it was a close-range defensive armament. Its mounted vulcan gun fired 60 mm rounds at a rapid rate and, although it had low firepower, it was extremely effective at restraining enemy machines and could destroy cameras, sensors, and joints at very close range.

Beam saber

The Stark Jegan stored a beam saber in a rack on the right side of the waist for close combat. The beam saber used an I-field to contain Minovsky particles within the shape of a blade, allowing it to cut through almost any material.

Hand grenades

Three hand grenades were stored in the grenade rack mounted on the left side of the waist. They could be thrown and timed to explode after several seconds as set by the pilot, or set to detonate when its sensors detected the metallic signal of extremely nearby enemy machines.

Beam rifle

The standard ranged armament of many mobile suits was the beam rifle. The Stark Jegan could use the beam rifle of the Jegan Type D. It had a short barrel for ease of handling and was most effective in mid-close range combat due to its short firing range. Although its output was reduced, it had an excellent rate of fire and could eliminate enemies accurately during melee combat when utilised in conjunction with the composite sensor at the top of the rifle.

Hyper bazooka

The Stark Jegan could be equipped with a hyper bazooka for heavy anti-mobile suit combat. This weapon provided significant firepower against armoured targets and complemented the missile systems for different combat scenarios.

Skirt-mounted equipment

The Stark Jegan could mount up to four beam sabers or grenade launchers in its skirt armour, providing additional close combat options or explosive ordnance depending on mission requirements.

Known pilots

Dakota Winston
Galom Gorga (High Mobility Type)

Variants

Jegan High Mobility Type

Featured in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn episode 2, it was a minor change version of the Stark Jegan. The front skirt armour and added armour on the arms, shoulders, and mouth were removed for improved mobility. Its side skirt armour carried three hand grenades on the left and a beam saber on the right instead of spare magazines for the beam rifle.

Behind the scenes

Katoki Hajime was the original mechanical designer for the Stark Jegan in the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series, based on the original Char’s Counterattack Mobile Suit Variations design.

The Stark Jegan represented the Earth Federation’s cost-effective approach to military procurement during the post-Second Neo Zeon War period, demonstrating how existing platforms could be enhanced rather than developing entirely new mobile suit designs.

Appearances

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Char’s Counterattack Mobile Suit Variations

External links

RGM-89S Stark Jegan on the Gundam Wiki
RGM-89S Stark Jegan on MAHQ

Federation in Japanese is renpou, hence the use of “R”. ↩