Technology & Combat Characteristics
Developed by SNRI and manufactured by Anaheim Electronics, the G-Cannon is a simplified mass production version of the SNRI's F70 Cannon Gundam. The G-Cannon inherits the ability to remove its back-mounted machine cannons and function as a close-combat mobile suit, but its overall performance is still inferior to the Cannon Gundam.
The lower performance is due to design changes caused by Anaheim Electronics using off-the-shelf components for manufacturing, differing from those of SNRI. Additionally, as it was developed during peacetime, the G-Cannon was designed for riot suppression and other small scale conflicts. This also meant considerations were made for combat within colonies, and as such it does not have high caliber weapons for MS combat.
Nevertheless, the G-Cannon outperforms the Federation's RGM-109 Heavygun, as any features not required for its artillery support role can be removed to reduce weight and increase performance. The G-Cannon can also utilize the weapons system derived from the F90 Gundam F90's mission packs, with its machine cannons being replaceable with various equipment including the VSBR, a 200mm long range cannon and beam cannons. The most complex variant is the F71 G-Cannon Powered Weapon Type.
History
In U.C. 0111, the Earth Federation Forces (EFF) adopted SNRI's Formula Project series for their next generation of mobile suits, replacing Anaheim Electronics. However, as SNRI was mainly a research institution still in the process of transitioning into production, Anaheim Electronics' services were retained by the Federation Forces for mass production. As a result, early SNRI designs were outsourced to Anaheim for production.
The F71 G-Cannon is the first mass production mobile suit of the Formula Project. SNRI intended to mass-produce the F70 Cannon Gundam, but design changes by Anaheim due to complexity of the F70 that had a lot of custom parts led to the creation and production of the G-Cannon instead. This worsened SNRI's relationship with Anaheim, as the developers of the F70 were not pleased with the G-Cannon design, and Anaheim was displeased with SNRI's unwillingness to share data and technology.
The G-Cannon was rolled out in April, U.C. 0115. Initially, the G Cannons were distributed to EFF Special Forces, such as the Fastest Formula Corps which was assigned two units, one equipped with Quadruple Machine Cannons and another without these cannons, to Kanata Sawame and Baz Galemson respectively. These initial units demonstrated good performance and Baz's unit was later customized to his specifications.
By the time Crossbone Vanguard (CV) invaded the Frontier Side in U.C. 0123, the G-Cannon close-combat variant, which had its cannons removed and was equipped with a shield, became EFF's primary general-use mobile suit and was slowly replacing the aging RGM-109 Heavygun. This variant was nicknamed "G-Cannon Naked" by soldiers in the field. During CV's takeover of Frontier IV, several G-Cannons and Heavyguns were deployed with other EFF mobile suits to stop the attack, often causing collateral damage as they fought in populated areas. Later, more G-Cannons were sent as part of the EFF's reinforcement fleet coming from the Moon. While EFF's mobile suits appeared to perform poorly against CV's mobile suits in the early stages of the war, it was later estimated that the kill ratio of the G-Cannon to the CV's XM-01 Den'an Zon was 1.5 to 1 throughout the entire Cosmo Babylonia war.