Model number: F90V
Code name: Gundam F90 VSBR Type
Unit type: new style weapons test mobile suit
Manufacturer: Strategic Naval Research Institute
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Rollout: February UC 0112
Accommodation: pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso
Dimensions: head height 14.8 meters
Weight: empty 8.7 metric tons; max gross 21.5 metric tons
Armor materials: gundarium alloy/ceramic composite
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 4420 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 3 x 13980 kg, 3 x 7450 kg, 6 x 5260 kg; vernier thrusters/apogee motors: 66
Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 4.46 G
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; 10 x hardpoint, used for mounting external weapons, armor, and equipment, 1 located on each leg, 1 located on each hip armor plate, 1 located on each front skirt armor plate, 1 located on each forearm, 1 located on each shoulder; 4 x heat radiation fin packs, mounted on shoulder hardpoints and leg hardpoints
Fixed armaments: 2 x 60mm vulcan gun, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x VSBR (Variable Speed Beam Rifle), selectable mega particle acceleration speed for damage or penetration application, mounted on backpack, hand-operated in use; mega Gatling gun, mounted on right forearm hardpoint; beam shield, mounted on left forearm hardpoint; spare beam shield, stored on right hip armor hardpoint; 2 x beam saber, stored in recharge rack on left hip armor hardpoint, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: beam rifle, powered by replaceable e-pac

Technical and Historical Notes

One of many Gundam F90 optional armament variations developed by the Earth Federation Forces' SNRI during the early UC 0120s, the F90V Gundam F90 VSBR Type (or "V-Type", for short) was designed to serve as a testbed for next-generation advanced weapons technologies. One of these new technologies was the "beam shield", a defensive device somewhat loosely derived from the beam barrier created by the RX-93 n Gundam's fin funnels. This device, typically mounted on a mobile suit's forearm, generated a beam barrier approximately the same size as a standard, hand-carried shield. In order to keep from accidentally doing damage to one's own mobile suit, a computer control system automatically activated and deactivated segments of the beam shield as needed. The beam shield concept allowed a mobile suit to wield a sort of self-sufficient defensive screen, thus making solid material shields with limited damage-absorption potential virtually obsolete.

The second new piece of technology used by the F90 V-Type was the VSBR, short for "Variable Speed Beam Rifle." Although technically a beam gun mounted on the mobile suit and powered directly by its reactor - rather than a beam rifle powered by energy cap technology - the VSBR allowed the pilot to select the speed at which the mega particles used to create the beam fire are accelerated. Slower-speed particles produce a beam that was wider and did more raw damage, whereas higher-speed particles produced a more tightly focused and higher-penetrating beam. This versaility in such a beam weapon allowed the V-Type's pilot to handle both beam damage on a wider area or focused, high-speed shots to penetrate thick armor or other strong defenses (including beam shields).

However, the heat levels generated by the VSBRs and beam shield were very high, and the V-Type F90 was also outfitted with heat-dissipating radiator fins on its shoulders and legs. These fins also helped to serve as stabilizers for the V-Type, assisting with AMBAC (Active Mass Balance AutoControl) functions for added stability and maneuverability.

Miscellaneous Information

Pilot: Bergh Scred
Appearances: Mobile Suit Gundam F90 (model kit and original design series); Mobile Suit Gundam F91: Formula Wars 0122
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

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