Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Duel Gundam is the first unit to be developed in the Earth Alliance's G Project series of prototype MS. Equipped with the new Phase Shift armor that makes it nearly impervious to most physical weapons, the Duel is designed as a general-purpose machine that has well-balanced performance, and also serves as a development base for the other MS in the project.
The Duel's armament consists of two head-mounted "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS guns, which later become standard weaponry on most Earth Alliance's suits to intercept incoming missiles and closing in enemy units, two beam sabers stored on the backpack and hand-carried for use in close combat, a 57mm High-energy Beam Rifle with an attached 175mm grenade launcher for ranged combat, and an anti-beam coated shield for defense. Duel also has a Rail Bazooka as an optional weapon, but it was taken and used by MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame to escape from Heliopolis.
After being stolen by ZAFT and damaged in battle with the GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam, the suit is upgraded with the Assault Shroud. The Assault Shroud is a set of ejectable armor mounted on the Duel’s body to enhance overall combat performance. It adds a "Shiva" 115mm railgun to the right shoulder and a 220mm 5-barrel missile pod to the left shoulder for additional firepower, as well as various leg and backpack-mounted thrusters for better mobility. Although the equipment worked well in space, it performs poorly under gravity due to its bulk.
History
The GAT-X102 Duel Gundam was the first mobile suit developed under the Earth Alliance's G Project during the First Alliance-PLANT War. It served as a testbed for the GAT-X103 Buster Gundam, GAT-X105 Strike Gundam, GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam. On January 25, CE 71, the Duel was stolen from Morgenröte Inc.'s Heliopolis facility by ZAFT mobile suit pilot, Yzak Jule of the Le Creuset Team, and taken back to the team's mothership, the Vesalius.
Together with the stolen Buster, Blitz, and Aegis, the Duel was deployed in the pursuit of the Strike and the new Alliance battleship, the Archangel, and along the way, it was also involved in severely damaging the Eurasian Federation space fortress Artemis. During one of the subsequent battles with the GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam, the Duel was hit below its left chest by the enemy's Armor Schneider combat knife, leading to an explosion in the cockpit that left a scar on Yzak's face.
Later, the Duel was upgraded with the Assault Shroud and took part in the operation to stop the Archangel from descending to Earth. During the Battle of Orbit, the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud fought against the Alliance's 8th Fleet, which was protecting the Archangel, and had a rematch with the Aile Strike. As Yzak was too caught up in the fight, the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud was caught in the Earth's gravity well and could not return to its allies. Despite this, Yzak continued shooting at the Aile Strike, and even shot down a shuttle launched from an Alliance ship that got in his way, unaware that it was carrying civilian refugees.
Yzak and the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud survived the atmospheric entry alongside the Buster and its pilot, Dearka Elsman, and they were then assigned to Andrew Waltfeld's North Africa team. The two Gundams were deployed atop the Lesseps in the Battle of Talbadiya against the Archangel as they could not keep up with the TMF/A-802 BuCUEs. Yzak later tried to get more involved in the fight, but failed as the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud was not properly adjusted to the soft and sandy terrain.
Following the defeat of Andrew Waltfeld's forces, the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud and Buster met up with the Blitz and Aegis that arrived on Earth, and they operated from a Vosgulov-class submarine. The group launched two failed attacks on the Archangel, with the first ending due to the battle encroaching on Orb Union's waters, and the second resulting in the destruction of the Blitz and death of its pilot, Nicol Amalfi.
Despite losing the Blitz, the group engaged the Archangel once more. The Duel Gundam Assault Shroud engaged in a fierce battle with the Aile Strike, but fell from its Guul when its right leg exploded from a shot to knee by the enemy Gundam. Even so, Yzak continued to fire at the Aile Strike, and managed to destroy the Aile Strike's beam rifle. The Aegis then took over the fight and defeated the Aile Strike through self destruction, while the Buster was captured by the Archangel, leaving the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud as the only one in the group to return.
The Duel Gundam Assault Shroud then took part in the disastrous Operation Spitbreak, the attack on the Alliance's JOSH-A base, as well as the successful attack on the Panama Base, where the Gundam easily defeated the Alliance's first mass-produced mobile suit, the GAT-01 Strike Dagger. During the Battle of Panama, Yzak and his Duel Gundam Assault Shroud also fought against the GAT-01D Long Dagger (which was developed using Duel Gundam Assault Shroud's data and used a similar set of armor known as "Fortestra") piloted by Alliance's ace pilot, Jean Carry. However, this duel was cut short when ZAFT forces activated the Gungnirs and disabled all Alliance mobile suits, but Yzak spared Jean, allowing him to escape.
The Duel Gundam Assault Shroud eventually returned to space and took part in various battles, such as the battle at the Mendel colony where Yzak learnt that Dearka had defected to the Three Ships Alliance along with the Buster. At the Second Battle of Jachin Due, the last battle of the war, the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud defended the PLANT Colonies against the Alliance's nuclear missile attacks, with assistance from the Three Ships Alliance. Later, Yzak protected the Three Ship Alliance's MBF-02+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Rouge from the Earth Alliance's GAT-X252 Forbidden Gundam and even destroyed the Forbidden by sacrificing the Assault Shroud as a decoy.
Subsequently, Yzak and the Duel helped the Buster, which was heavily damaged by Rau Le Creuset's ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam, and then used the Buster's hyper impulse long-range sniper rifle to destroy the Alliance's GAT-X370 Raider Gundam. The Duel and Buster were later picked up by the Archangel. Afterwards, Duel headed out using the Strike's spare shield and rifle to protect the Archangel as the ship joined up with the Eternal and Kusanagi. The whereabouts of Duel and Buster became unknown after the war.
Despite the theft of the Duel Gundam, the Alliance continued developing mobile suits based on its design, resulting in the aforementioned Long Dagger and its mass-production version, the GAT-01D1 Duel Dagger. After the end of the War, the Alliance and Actaeon Industries manufactured another Duel Gundam as part of the "Actaeon Project" MS development plan. The unit was piloted by Phantom Pain pilot, Mudie Holcroft, and was later modified into the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel Gundam.
In C.E. 75, it was revealed that the original Buster and Duel were secretly upgraded throughout the years. The upgraded Duel, now called ZGMF-1027M Duel Blitz Gundam, was deployed during the conflict with the Kingdom of Foundation.
