EFSF Weapons Vol. 1 - The Projectile Weapons

The first part of the GM weapons series is here!   This volume will cover the projectile hand weapons used by the EFSF - Rifles, Machine Guns, and Sniper Rifles!

A GR-MLR79-90mm equipped GM Sniper II in firing position.  Equipped with a 120 round magazine, the Sniper type MS has the ability to detect enemy units at long range, and typically provides supporting fire from long ranges while operating independently from the main force.

Armaments of RGM-79

A brief overview of GM series weapons

From the initial birth of the Mobile Suit concept, unlike Mobile Armor, the AMBAC system which utilized four limbs for mobility, also allowed weapons to be brought to bear on a target in an extremely short period of time.  Though combat maneuvering is the basic purpose of this system, secondary to this concept is the use of the external manipulators of a Mobile Suit to carry weapons appropriate to the situation, and the ease of being able to freely change weapons creates excellent flexibility as a general-purpose mobile weapon.




NFHI GMG-Type2

GM Machine Gun

The GMG-Type 2 was independently developed by Norfolk Industries as a MS-deployable electrically operated 90mm Machine Gun.  The large straight magazine projecting from the side on this weapon doubles as a foregrip, and an add-on grenade launcher can be equipped under the barrel, both of which are rare features for Federation weapons.

A model specially adapted for use in arctic conditions is also known to exist.

The forward mounted magazine does not allow for a long barrel length, effectively limiting the projectile velocity, which leads to diminished accuracy at extended range (reported to be under 20%, compared to 60% for the YF-MG-100 when used by GM Ground type.)  Additionally, the offset sensor module mounted on the forward part of the weapon is severely affected by the muzzle flash when firing, which limits the abilities of the weapon.

The weapon was deployed in very limited numbers, and were noted to have been deployed only with the RGM-79D during its initial introduction.

YHI YF-MG-100

Production Test Type 100mm Machine Gun

The YF-MG-100 GM Machine gun is a 100mm Mobile Suit deployable production test type machine gun developed by YHI (Yashima Heavy Industry), chambered in 100mm.   The weapon is equipped with a box magazine and folding stock, with an emphasis on rate of fire and ease of use, and was introduced late in the One Year War.

The largest advantage of this weapon was the the ability to be disassembled for transport via YHI’s takedown weapons initiative, which allowed the Machine Gun to be broken down and transported in containers mounted to the back of Mobile Suits.

Deployed as the primary armament of the pre-production RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type, it was seen on the front lines of Southeast Asia and Oceania, though after Norfolk Industries began licensed production, it was soon seen in every major combat zone.

The weapon utilized a smoothbore type barrel and thus lacked rifling, and the barrel of the weapon was required to be changed every 3000 rounds.   However, combat units could utilize three different types of rounds in this weapon: HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank), APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding-Sabot), and HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) , allowing units to select ammunition according to operational demands.

Though production was temporarily halted when Pre-Production RGM-79[G] completed its production run, due to the excellent reliability in Arctic, Desert, Humid, and Jungle conditions, as well as the reliable stopping power of the 100mm round, demand for these weapons at the front lines remained high, and it quickly became the primary weapon supplied to Earth-based GM series units.

HWF GMG-M79-90mm 

GM Machine Gun

The GMG-MG79-90mm GM Machine gun was a system weapon developed under the direction of Hollyfield Factory Weapons as a Space/Ground dual use Mobile Suit deployable projectile weapon.    Though an overall very compact weapon, it maintains sufficient firepower for anti-MS operations while simultaneously not sacrificing accuracy.

One of the reasons for this is the bullpup layout, placing the operating parts and magazine at the rear of the weapon, allowing for a long overall barrel length.

On the upper frame, on the forward face of the carry handle, a box-like sensor system incorporating a digital camera and laser sensor system is installed, which increases the capabilities of the GM’s targeting systems, allowing increased target acquisition.

The proprietary magazine is a curved ‘banana’ type magazine, but a straight box magazine also exists.   There were some initial issues with ammunition feeding from with the banana magazine, which led to the manufacture of the highly reliable box magazine, despite a slight reduction in magazine capacity by two rounds, leading to an 18-round box magazine.

However, subsequent troubleshooting led to the alleviation of feeding issues with the banana magazine, so it was again put into production.

Deployed in the earliest days of EFSF MS Development, the GM Machine gun was standard equipment for the GM line beginning with the Luna 2 produced RGM-79[E] GM Early Type, but was later deployed for the GM Kai, D type, and GM Command.   By the end of the war the GM Machine gun had earned a reputation as a highly reliable primary armament, and many variations on this weapon system were created.

HWF GR-M82-90mm

GM Rifle

Built to improve both effective range and accuracy over the GMG-MG79-90mm GM Machine gun, the GM rifle uses the ‘system weapon’ construction to create a Mobile Suit-portable 90mm rifle.

With the extended barrel, the GM Rifle sees a 15% increase in muzzle velocity, which led to increased armor penetration.  Additionally, a newly developed caseless cartridge allows for a lightened ammunition load.

As the round is now caseless, an cartridge extractor is no longer installed on the weapon, though cocking and ejection functions are still present to alleviate any possible issues with jamming.

This weapon has been seen utilized as a primary armament on the post-One Year War Mobile Suits such as the RGM-79N GM Custom and RGM-79Q GM Quell.

HWF GR-MLR79-90mm 

Long rifle

This weapon utilizes the system weapon construction of the the Hollyfield Factory Weapons GMG-MG79 GM machine gun to create a dockable-type long barrel rifle.

Developed late in the One Year War, records indicate that it was deployed for combat testing with the GM Kai units of the instructor corps during Operation Star One, but it is not known if it led to full scale production and deployment after this.

The barrel is entirely free floated, and under the barrel, there is an unusual feature for a MS-carried weapon: a bipod.  Though the long barrel would typically place this weapon in the sniper rifle category, when combined with the 120 round box magazine, the weapon can also be utilized as a squad support weapon.   Though typically accurate sniping ability and heavy support firepower are typically not qualities seen combined in most weapons, this ‘greedy weapon’ manages to combine both.

Though records of actual deployment are scant, there are reports that the late war RGM-79SP GM Sniper II was able to engage enemy Mobile Suits at ranges over 7000 meters, with 95% accuracy.  The plans for this weapon were never specifically intended to create a single role rifle, but if anything, the excellent usage of the system weapon’s qualities to create an excellent dual-role long rifle is the noteworthy point of this weapon.

FRANZ EF-KAR89K

Sniper Rifle

The EF-KAR98K Sniper rifle was a Mobile Suit portable 75mm caliber rifle developed late in the One Year War.

Extremely rare for a Mobile Suit weapon, this rifle used the bolt action operating system, and a highly precisely machined barrel to achieve extremely high ballistic performance.   

Unfortunately, in anti-MS combat, this type of operating system, incapable of effective rapid fire, was seen to have very few merits outside of being able to preemptively engage targets from extreme ranges.

The weapon is not equipped with an independent targeting system, but is typically equipped with an electron scope manufactured by a Federation-Affiliated company.

There were very few known production and deployment examples of this rifle, and locations the rifle was supplied to are likewise unknown, but there are confirmed images of Earth-deployed RGM-79SP GM Sniper IIs utilizing this weapon.

Among the large number of experimental weapons deployed for combat testing near the end of the One Year War, this rifle in particular is thought to have been trialed as a highly specialized sniper rifle.

source: Master Archive Mobile Suit: RGM-79GM GA Graphic, 2010