The GAT-X103 Buster Gundam is a Mobile Suit introduced in the Mobile series

Suit Gundam SEED . It is piloted by Dearka Elsman.

Features

One of five machines developed under the Earth Alliance's Project G, the Buster Gundam is an artillery Mobile Suit and adopts the X100 series chassis, similar to that used by the GAT-X102 Duel Gundam . Its firepower rivals that of a battleship and it is intended to provide rear support to other units and to attack enemy ships or installations from a distance. Due to its role, the main camera on Buster's head is very large and is protected by additional armor.

Its primary armaments are the cannon launcher and the high-energy rifle, both of which are power-hungry and have their own sub-generators. They can also combine to form a more powerful armor-piercing shotgun or hyperpulse long-range sniper rifle, with the improved firepower apparently due to the interconnection of the sub-generators. Although the MS does not have a close combat weapon, it is equipped with two shoulder-mounted missile pods that can be used to deter enemy units from approaching. Like other Project G units, the Buster features Phase Shift armor which makes it almost impervious to physical weapons.

• Phase Shift Armor

Like all Project G machines, the Buster is equipped with phase shift armor called Phase Shift . When this armor is activated, the Buster's color changes from light gray to a beige scheme with green and orange. Phase Shift armor makes the Buster immune to physical attacks such as bullets, sword slashes, missiles, etc. However, the Phase Shift continually drains battery power, reducing the MS's stamina in combat, and consumes additional power when hit.

• Operating System

Buster uses the General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver Synthesis System.

Armaments

• 220mm 6-tube Missile Pod: Mounted on both shoulders, they make up for the Buster's weak close combat capability, allowing it to fire a hail of missiles to destroy enemy units or prevent them from getting close. They can also be used for base bombing, anti-ship attacks, and missile interception.
• 350mm Gun Launcher: Attached to the right side of the waist, it is carried in the Buster's right hand when using it. It is a projectile weapon similar to a railgun or linear cannon, which uses electromagnetic forces rather than gunpowder to launch its projectiles. In addition to regular solid shells, the cannon launcher can also fire specialized ammunition such as armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells.
• Anti Armor Shotgun: When the High Energy Rifle and Cannon Launcher are combined, with the Cannon Launcher at the front, they form a very powerful Anti-Armor Shotgun that fires shells. It fires a single jet containing several shells which then separate, producing a scattershot that damages a wide area. It seems that four or five shells fired from the anti-armour gun are enough to destroy some battleships. Although the combined form is more powerful, the rate of fire is reduced.
• 94mm High Energy Rifle: Attached to the left side of the waist, it is carried in the Buster's left hand when using it. It is a beam weapon similar to the Beam Rifle, and it is the highest caliber energy rifle among those used by other Project G units. Its destructive power is superior to the beam cannon. a battleship despite its smaller size.
• Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle: When the High Energy Rifle and Barrel Launcher are combined, with the High Energy Rifle in front, they can form a long range sniper rifle. This ray cannon type weapon has greater energy output and projects a wider beam capable of penetrating multiple targets, including battleships. As the name suggests, it also offers sniper capabilities thanks to the greater radius range. Although the combined form is more powerful, the rate of fire is reduced.

Variants

During the war, the Earth Alliance developed a mass-produced variant of the Buster Gundam, the GAT/A-01E2 Buster Dagger. The Buster's artillery support paradigm was also used to develop another heavily armed, long-range machine, the GAT-X131 Calamity Gundam. After the war, as part of the MS "Actaeon Project" development plan, another Buster Gundam was made and flown by Phantom Pain pilot Shams Couza. This unit was later transformed into the GAT-X103AP Verde Buster.

GAT-X103 Buster Gundam (Underwater Equipment)

Appearing in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Re: manga, this is the Buster Gundam equipped with new parts on the chest, back, legs, and feet, as well as a large METEOR -like underwater accessory. The attachment is built with parts from the UMF-4A GOOhN and UMF-5 ZnO, and can transform into underwater cruise mode as it moves through water. In MS mode, the accessory parts are held in the hand like the METEOR. One of the weaknesses of underwater equipment is that it only has a shallow diving depth.

History

The Buster Gundam is one of the Mobile Suit prototypes created by the Earth Alliance as part of Project G during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Along with four other machines, the GAT-X102 Duel Gundam , the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam , the GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam and the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam , the Buster was secretly made in the Union Orb space colony, Heliopolis. The Buster was later stolen by the Le Creuset team from ZAFT on Jan. 25 of CE71, along with Duel, Blitz, and Aegis.

Piloted by Dearka Elsman, the Buster was deployed with the other Gundams flown against the Strike Gundam and the Alliance's newest battleship, the Archangel, in space several times. Despite failing to destroy Strike and Archangel, the Le Creuset team managed to severely damage the previously impregnable Artemis in the Battle of Artemis and then decimate the 8th Alliance fleet during the battle in orbit. During this final battle, Dearka overstretched himself during his attempt to stop the Archangel's descent to Earth, causing the Buster to get caught in Earth's gravity well.

The Buster survived atmospheric entry with the Duel, and they were later assigned to Andrew Waltfeld's team in North Africa for the battle against Archangel and Desert Dawn. Both Gundams were deployed on top of Lesseps during the battle against Archangel, as they could not keep up with the TMF/A-802 BuCUE. The Buster finally left its position when the beams fired by the Archangel destroyed its location on the Lesseps. Landing in the desert, the Buster struggled to walk because it was not suited to the sandy terrain.

After Andrew Waltfeld's forces were defeated, Buster and Duel joined Blitz and Aegis which arrived on Earth and operated from a Vosgulov-class submarine. The party made two failed attacks on Archangel, the first, the third Equatorial Skirmish, ending because the battle encroached on Union waters of Orb, and the second, the battle near Orb, resulting in the destruction of the Blitz and the death of its pilot, Nicol Amalfi. Furious, Dearka then worked with his remaining teammates to avenge Nicol, attacking the Archangel once more during the Battle of the Marshall Islands. During the fight, the Buster took on the FX-550 Skygrasper piloted by Mu La Flaga, and they were evenly matched. As the Duel was later disabled by the GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam and the Aegis took its place, the Buster approached and attempted to sink the Archangel, but was stopped by the Skygrasper of Mu. The Buster and Skygrasper then exchanged gunfire, with the MS clipping the support craft's right wing, but losing its left arm to the fighter's attack, before crash-landing. The damage from the fall immobilized the Buster, forcing Dearka to surrender when the Archangel aimed his weapons at his Mobile Suit.

The Buster was then repaired by the mechanics of the Archangel while Dearka remained imprisoned in the ship. After the Battle of JOSH-A, the Archangel returned to Orb for repairs, and Dearka was freed soon after. However, his release coincided with the Alliance's attack on Orb to seize the Mass Driver. During the chaos, Dearka managed to retake the Buster and used it to cover the Archangel. The Buster also worked with the

Repaired Strike (Aile Strike in the original, GAT-X105+AQM/E-YM1 Perfect Strike Gundam in the HD remaster), now piloted by Mu, to aid Orb's ground forces. After several skirmishes, the Alliance's numerical superiority proves too great for the defenders, and the Buster is brought back aboard the Archangel when the ship returns to space. In space, the Archangel teams up with the Kusanagi and the Eternal to form the Three Ship Alliance. During the Battle of Mendel, the Buster worked with the Strike Gundam GAT-X105+AQM/E-X03 Launcher to fend off Yzak's Duel and Rau Le Creuset's ZGMF-600 GuAIZ.

During the last battle of the war, the Tri-Ship Alliance and its Mobile Suits, including the Buster, helped ZAFT forces intercept nuclear missiles fired by the Earth Alliance at the PLANTs. Dearka then used the Buster to protect Yzak's Duel against the Earth Alliance's GAT-X370 Raider Gundam. They then worked together to prevent the Earth Alliance's GAT-X252 Forbidden Gundam from attacking the Three Ship Alliance's MBF-02+AQM/E-X01 Red Strike Wing, with Yzak's Duel delivering the killing blow. . As the battle drew to a close, the Buster was heavily damaged by Rau's ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam when it protected the Archangel from the latter's attacks. The Duel soon arrived to aid the damaged Buster, and they were attacked by the Raider.

After the Duel's ray gun was destroyed by the Raider, Yzak borrowed the Buster's Hyper Impulse long-range sniper rifle to take him down, and the pair returned safely to the Archangel. After the battle, both units were apparently decommissioned.

Did you know?

• The reason the Buster Gundam and its pilot, Dearka, joined the Archangel was to boost their popularity, in the hopes of improving sales of model kits and associated figures.
• Of the four stolen Gundams, the Buster is the only one that has never faced the Strike Gundam in single combat.