Technology & Combat Characteristics

One of Zeon's last mobile suits, the MS-17 Galbaldy α was originally intended to be a successor to the YMS-15 Gyan. However, Zeon's higher ranks rejected the Gyan as their new front-line mobile suit in favor of the more versatile MS-14A Gelgoog. As a result, the Galbaldy's production lines were hastily refitted to suit this change, essentially making the Galbaldy a combination of the two designs.

In the "Pezun Plan", the development of Type A for land battles and Type B for space battles was underway. The Type A was aimed at flying in the atmosphere and high maneuver combat, but it was said that the development was discontinued, with only the B type being produced. Although it was said to be used for space warfare because of its differentiation from Type A, it was a highly versatile MS that could handle both outer space and gravity, like the Gelgoog and Gyan.

History

The One Year War came to an end before the Galbaldy could be mass-produced. There are scattered records of the Galbaldy participating in occasional skirmishes as well as a sighting of one at A Baoa Qu and a handful of units participating in the defense of the Pezun asteroid base, but for the most part it saw little to no combat.

On December 31, the last day of the war, a coup was launched in the Zeon capital of Zum City by the Capital Defense Batallion. Zeon Elite Guard member and former Pezun test pilot Filius Stream piloted a Galbaldy α against the Gouf Custom of Lance Garfield. Both machines were destroyed after a heated battle, but Stream survived while Garfield was killed.

In the years following the war, the Federation seized the plans for the Galbaldy α and refined it, producing the RMS-117 Galbaldy β. This mobile suit would go on to become one of the Federation's mainstay units at the beginning of the Gryps War, before quickly being phased out for more advanced models.

Some units were transferred to Axis and improved by Axis Zeon for space combat. In September, U.C. 0084, two such units escorted a MS-09SS Dowas Custom to Granada, defeating a Titans mobile suit team along the way.