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

RX-78AL Atlas Gundam

Prototype amphibious mobile suit developed by Fleming Industry.
Jenxi Seow Published 20 Jun 2025 Updated 20 Jun 2025
RX-78AL Atlas Gundam

The RX-78AL Atlas Gundam was a prototype amphibious mobile suit developed by Fleming Industry with funding from the wealthy Moore Brotherhood for the Earth Federation Forces.

The “R” in the model code meant it was a Federation model1 and the “X” designated it as an experimental mobile suit. The “78” in the model code denoted that it was part of the RX-78 Gundam line, whilst the “AL” suffix stood for “Atlas”.

History

The RX-78AL Atlas Gundam was developed by Fleming Industry as part of a project funded by the Moore Brotherhood to create an advanced mobile suit for special operations. The mobile suit was completed in UC 0080 and was first deployed in August of that year as part of Operation Thunderbolt.

In August UC 0080, the Atlas Gundam was deployed by Col. Monica Humphrey to the assault carrier Spartan for special operations as part of Operation Thunderbolt. The suit was assigned to Io Fleming, a One Year War veteran who had previously piloted the FA-78 Full Armor Gundam. The choice of Io as pilot was particularly significant, as he was the son of the Fleming family which founded Fleming Industry.

The Spartan’s mission was to investigate the breakaway South Seas Alliance, which had secretly acquired the wreckage of Zeon’s MS-06R Zaku II High Mobility Type “Psycho Zaku” to continue research on the Reuse P Device. In the Atlas Gundam’s inaugural battle, Io demonstrated its flight capabilities by intercepting and destroying a Komusai that attempted a kamikaze attack on the Spartan.

In its second battle, Io utilised the suit’s amphibious features to fight an MAM-07 Grublo in Antarctica. However, due to Io’s reckless fighting style, the Atlas Gundam was heavily damaged and required a full-scale overhaul to repair it. When the South Seas Alliance attacked the Spartan, Io used an RGM-79C[G] GM Ground Type-C due to the Atlas Gundam still being under repair.

Design

The Atlas Gundam featured a prototype 360-degree panoramic cockpit, housed within a spherical cockpit module. A panoramic monitor in the prototype stages was adopted for the Atlas Gundam which drastically improved external visibility. The spherical block that the cockpit is centred in also functions as an escape pod and was already experimenting on a standardised cockpit system for mobile suits in the mid-0080s of the Universal Century.

The Atlas Gundam was unique among EFF suits through its use of a spherical joint and spinal cord system based on the Principality of Zeon’s amphibious mobile suits. The backbone-like frame that is modelled after a spinal cord as well as the spherical joints are technology adopted from the Principality of Zeon’s amphibious mobile suits. This structure gives the Atlas Gundam extremely advanced thrust flexibility and underwater operability.

The Atlas Gundam also featured two sub-legs connected to its waist which could alternately be used to fly through the air or dive underwater. In the air, the sub-legs connected to the bottom of the Atlas Gundam’s feet for flight or hovering. For underwater combat, the sub-legs connected to the sides of the blade shield to form a sort of sled for the Atlas Gundam to ride on.

In Flight Mode, the Sub Legs swings down and attach to the Atlas Gundam’s feet, and its thrusters help the suit to ascend into the air. In Submarine Mode, the Sub Legs combine with the blade shield to create a platform for the Atlas Gundam to ride on, and the suit can cruise underwater at around 40 knots.

Armaments

The Atlas Gundam’s armaments included two assault rifles with grenade launchers, two beam sabers, an experimental railgun and a blade shield.

Assault rifles

The Atlas Gundam was equipped with two assault rifles, each mounting a grenade launcher. These were stored in containers mounted on the sub-legs when not in use. The assault rifles provided the Atlas Gundam with versatile firepower for both anti-personnel and anti-mobile suit operations.

Beam sabers

The Atlas Gundam carried two beam sabers for melee combat, stored in recharge racks in the shoulders when not in use. A hand-to-hand combat weapon that forms a beam into a blade shape. Beam blades are high energy form of Minovsky particles that are about to degenerate so they have the power to melt through a mobile suit’s armour.

When the Atlas Gundam’s thrusters were destroyed in the battle with a Grublo, Io used both of his beam sabers to try and react with the water and propel himself back up to the surface. Unfortunately, the sabers failed quickly due to the temperature of the water and he began to sink again.

Railgun

A weapon that accelerates and fires solid rounds through electromagnetic induction. One of its features is that it is much faster than ordinary solid round type weaponry that use gunpowder as it destroyed a heavily armoured Z’Gok with a single shot. Although it’s a large weapon in the 20m class, the Atlas Gundam can handle it with one hand. When the shell is loaded, the tip opens and locks into the rail. Each cartridge carries 4-5 rounds. When fired, the cover is blown off while it flies towards its target.

Blade shield

A large defensive weapon exclusive to the Atlas Gundam. Possessing a defensive area that covers the head and body of the mobile suit, it boasts enough defensive power to withstand beam bombardment from close range. Another noteworthy feature is the installation of Velos Medusa: eight large needle dischargers with 13-tubes each as an auxiliary weapon.

The needles that make up the Velos Medusa are filled with a foaming hardening bakelite. A pale pink mousse that swells up and gradually dyes in a colour like fresh blood. All at once, the foam form changes into a crystallised form where it finally fractures whatever it has touched. Most needles cannot penetrate the armour of amphibious mobile suits so they penetrate from areas such as the glass protecting the monoeye, ducts and other gaps.

Known pilots

Behind the scenes

Yasuo Ohtagaki was the original mechanical designer. The Atlas Gundam was designed specifically for the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt series, representing a unique evolution of Federation mobile suit technology that incorporated Zeon amphibious design principles.

The Atlas Gundam was notable for being one of the few Federation mobile suits to extensively use technology derived from Zeon amphibious mobile suits, particularly the spherical joint system that gave it exceptional flexibility and underwater operability.

Appearances

See also

Footnotes

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