Technology & Combat Characteristics
Although the FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam was deemed to be a design failure while it was still in the planning phases, the Earth Federation continued to design new upgrades for the RX-78-2 Gundam under Full-Armor System and Weapon System (FSWS) program. The most successful concept to come out of the project was the FA-78-2 Heavy Gundam.
Instead of adding supplemental external armor and weapons modules to a pre-existing mobile suit as the Gundam Full Armor Type did, the Heavy Gundam was an entirely new mobile suit built from the ground up. This reduced some of the weight issues the original design suffered, and allowed for the unit to have thicker and sturdier armor as well. The Core Block System is omitted in favor of additional armor plates. In addition, in order to compensate for the decreased mobility, the Heavy Gundam will be operated in conjunction with the Guncarry – a transportation fighter-bomber.
The Heavy Gundam is armed with a shoulder-mounted beam cannon connected directly to the generator, with a beam saber mounted behind the opposite shoulder for use in close combat situations. The concept of rocket launchers in the shoulders and knees was removed all together, and the Heavy Gundam was instead given a composite firearms system that mounted over the right forearm called a "frame launcher". The Heavy Gundam's frame launcher incorporated both a large gatling gun and a four-tube missile launcher, making it a useful long-range weapon.
History
The Heavy Gundam was intended to be equipped with new thrusters developed by Hervic to compensate for its low mobility. However, while the development of the new thrusters suffered from a delay, Amuro Ray, piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam, was able to defeat many heavy mobile suits and mobile armors, drawing into question the necessity of the FSWS Plan. Ultimately, the plan was halted in late November, U.C. 0079.
Eight months after the end of the One Year War, the development of the Heavy Gundam restarted. Six months later, three (some say four) full-scale development units were completed and given the official designation of FA-78-2. They were also known as "Heavy Gundam" due to their classification as heavy combat mobile suits. Though they demonstrated the expected performance, they were not officially adopted. One unit was lost during an atmospheric reentry test, while the other two were assigned to experimental units as testbeds.