Technology & Combat Characteristics
During the Principality of Zeon's race to develop a superior fighting machine, four prototype mobile suits were developed from different engineering companies: one of these was Zimmad's EMS-04 Zudah. It had a good power plant with unprecedented thrust and acceleration. It also adopted a prototype engine known as the Jupiter engine which was based on Zimmad's prototype Mercury engine. However, this prototype engine had a fatal flaw – if it was overexerted, the suit would overload and break apart. Zeonic Company used this information to outdo the Zudah with their YMS-05 Zaku and successfully marketed the Zaku series.
Despite its flaw, the Zudah was later resurrected under the model number EMS-10, with some minor improvements and cosmetic differences. Its left shoulder was fitted with a movable shield that could be swung to the back, and this shield is also equipped spikes for melee combat. The EMS-10 was said to be fitted with the improved "Saturn" engine, previously used on the MS-09R Rick Dom (though whether this is true or merely propaganda is unknown). It could also use the Zaku series' weapons and a new 135mm anti-ship rifle. However, despite these improvements, the suit was still prone to breaking apart from overexertion.
History
In U.C. 0075, the EMS-04 Zudah competed with the YMS-05A Zaku I for the role of Zeon's mainline mobile suit. The Zudah's performance overwhelmingly surpassed the Zaku I. However, during the official flight test, the Zudah disintegrated midair. In addition, its production cost was 1.8 times that of the Zaku I, causing it to lose the competition. However, despite this incident, the Zudah's development was not officially halted in order to save the faces of the Zeon officials who backed the project.
In October, U.C. 0079, the EMS-04 was refitted into the EMS-10 Zudah. According to Zimmad, the EMS-10 was equipped with their new Saturn engine, and the structure of the unit itself was overhauled, fixing its previous flaws. However, the true extent of the changes from the EMS-04, if any, was unknown.