Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 285 MK2 Gundam and TMS
"Nice, as expected of Major Amuro!"

Amid cheers from the crowd, the number on the electronic scoreboard jumped, changing from 27 to 28.

This means that Major Amroley has already achieved 28 victories in the combat training exercises at the Combat Skills Center!
"As expected of the White Devil, even the captain is no match for him!"

"Don't say that in front of the captain!"

"Why? Doesn't he not care much about winning or losing?"

"If you don't care, look at the leaderboard!"

Following Roberto's direction, Apoli looked at the huge scoreboard hanging on the wall and saw that below Amrore in first place was Cuvatorobagina, whose record was 23 wins and 5 losses.

"The captain's biting really hard!"

"Not only that, the captain's five defeats were all the result of fighting Amuro!"

As the two were talking, they saw a special GM and a Garibaldi getting off the landing ramp outside the window. Then, Amuro and Char climbed out of the cockpit of their aircraft.

Char, surprisingly, went up to Amuro and started talking to him, accompanied by body language. Clearly, he was asking Amuro what went wrong with him.

Amuro didn't hold back either, and the two chatted enthusiastically as they walked.

Behind them, a high-powered GM and a Warrior once again stepped onto the flight platform.

It can be said that although the base has not been fully established, the operation of the combat skills center has already gotten on track. With the help of Garibaldi brought by Char and the upgraded version of Strongman that arrived later, the combat skills center has compiled a large amount of data. In addition, with the various high-pressure tests of mobile suits within the Federation, the writing of the training syllabus has made a good start.

Not to mention the most important live-fire combat. Although there are many restrictions on the combat area and weapons for safety reasons, these things are nothing to the aces. The more extreme the moment and the more the environment, the more their abilities are demonstrated.

Furthermore, because the personnel were divided into Federation and Zeon, everyone was determined to compete when they faced off.

Makarius even prepared a scoreboard specifically for this purpose, which can be considered as putting these people under pressure.

"However, it was agreed that everyone would participate in the fight, so where is Macarius?"

After finishing his discussion with Amuro, Char, feeling he had gained a lot, glanced at the scoreboard above his head and realized that Macarius's ranking had dropped to the bottom. For the first few days, Macarius had been at the top of the list, and had even defeated Amuro, who was piloting a standard NT1 Gundam, while piloting an experimental special GM.

Later, they defeated the combination of the sniper GM SP2 and the Warrior, both piloted by Shiro Amada and Norris.

Of course, the combination of Federation pilots also failed to defeat Macarius, but afterwards, the opponent seemed to stop participating in any battles, and his achievements were overshadowed by later ones.

"They must be going to receive the new mechs!"

Amuro took a can of soda from the vending machine next to him, gulped it down, and then let out a satisfying burp.

"I reckon we'll see it very soon!"

"A new Gundam?"

"Wow, the new Gundam really does look cool!"

Amuro was right, because Macarius was at the research base of the Naval Strategic Research Institute next door, and in front of him, a Gundam model painted with the standard color scheme stood quietly under the lights of the hangar.

The brand-new golden V-shaped antenna gleamed under the light, and the green binocular monitors and the bright red steel chin were like Cupid's arrows, striking into Makarius's heart.

"Sparashi, this is exactly what I want!"

Seeing Makarius's happy expression, the technical staff couldn't help but straighten their backs. As designers, it was a great honor for their work to be recognized, especially since the person who recognized their efforts was the most recognized authority on mobile suits in the entire Federation.

So, would you like to sit on it and give it a try?

"That's for sure!"

Makarius then snapped his fingers, and Yudin handed him his pilot helmet.

"This is the moment to make the most important decision of your life!"

After receiving the helmet, Markarius solemnly put it on his head. Then he pressed the button on the right side of the helmet, and the MK2 Gundam, which was waiting in the hangar, suddenly emitted a high-pitched starting roar.

Along with the Mk2 Gundam, Macarius also received a brand-new pilot helmet. This was an unexpected product of the Federation's Newtype research and can be considered a pioneering work in intelligent equipment. As for information functions, it was not lacking, since the full-circuit cockpit was enough to perceive almost all battlefield information. However, it was still somewhat difficult for the pilot to discern this information more keenly.

This helmet was a small prototype, but to Makarius, it was more like a remote control key. After activating the machine, the MK2 immediately opened the cockpit and automatically knelt on the ground. A large steel hand also stretched out, and after Makarius jumped onto the palm, the machine quickly stood up and raised the palm to the position of the cockpit.

"Great, I'm much more satisfied with this boarding posture. It was so boring having to go straight up and down the elevator before!"

Of course, Markarius would prefer that the mobile suit could suddenly reach out a large hand, grab the pilot, and shove him into the cockpit. However, considering that the Federation's mobile suits don't have any intelligent cores, it would be bad if the pilot were strangled by simply using mechanical settings. Therefore, this action was canceled.

Stepping into the cockpit, Makarius took the opportunity to assess the comfort of the seat and couldn't help but nod in approval. It wasn't that pilots were all pampered; rather, sometimes they had to spend a long time in the cockpit, so making the seat comfortable and relaxed was important for maintaining combat effectiveness. However, the designers still hadn't added massage or heating functions, and there was no voice prompt—just a welcome message when the pilot boarded. Pilot, Makarius desperately wanted that!

After experiencing it, he immediately closed the cockpit door. Then, the full-screen display lit up. Makarius examined the tactical UI, which was not much different from the old machine, but the machine data was more refined and compact, the UI was cleaner and tidier, and the electronic image scaling was also enhanced. The magnification was greater and the image was clearer. Makarius could even see a pimple on the neck of the sentry at the door.

In terms of performance configuration, the Mk2's protection is somewhat mediocre due to its unique design philosophy. However, the new power reactor, designed by senior engineers from Takim Corporation, the Federation's military supply company that manufactures MS power reactors, boasts a 4% increase in output compared to the older model. The back-mounted vector thrust backpack, directly connected to the engine, also features a completely redesigned design. While providing sufficient thrust through four main thrust nozzles, it also incorporates adjustable support thrusters that can serve as beam saber supports. These support thrusters, capable of freely adjusting their thrust angle within a certain range, can become new points of attack away from the center of gravity during attitude adjustment maneuvers, further enhancing the efficiency of AMBAC functionality. It's worth noting that the adjustable support thrusters utilize Anaheim Electronics technology, previously used in the GP series.
In addition, the mk2 is highly adaptable and can be equipped with various additional devices beyond its original design to enhance its performance or adapt to different combat environments. However, the related flight armor and G-Defender are still under testing, so they have not yet appeared.

As for the machine's armament, it comes standard with a beam rifle equipped with a new type of energy magazine E-Pack, an externally mounted Vulcan cannon, and a dedicated shield with a telescopic design. The shield can carry a spare E-Pack and a small missile launcher. In addition, it can also use the standard armaments of Federation mobile suits.

After testing some data related to the MK2, Markarius signed his name on the relevant report. The report would then be sent to the Gabro base for final approval. Once approved, the MK2 could proceed to the final deployment stage.

However, Macarius felt that this process was just a formality, since many of the Gundams currently equipped by the Federation Forces were already facing obsolescence. Whether it was the Ground Combat Gundam, the Water Gundam, or the variants of the RX-78, these mobile suits were indeed somewhat inadequate in today's rapidly evolving technology.

Therefore, the procurement volume of MK2 will definitely not be small. As for the GP project, Markarius estimates that GP01, which shares the same ecological niche, may be doomed, but GP02, which is used for nuclear attacks, and the larger GP03D are unlikely to be doomed, especially the latter. With it around, it is impossible for it to be doomed!

"Doctor, I feel that the next phase can begin now!"

"You mean transformable mobile suits? That's possible, but going straight for transformable Gundams seems a bit risky, and considering the research funding, Jabro might not approve it!"

“Funding is not a problem. We can sell the new Gundam Nim alloy to Anaheim Electronics. However, you are right. Starting the transformable Gundam project directly is indeed very risky. I plan to have the Naval Strategic Research Institute start the development of the transformable demonstrator, while Dr. Kinias will lead the development of conventional transformable mobile suits at Tsunami Heavy Industries!”

"You mean, two routes?"

"Yes, transformable Gundams have higher requirements, but regular transformable mobile suits don't have this requirement!"

The machine that Macarius was referring to was naturally the MSA-005 Metas, a forward-looking technology demonstrator for the Z Gundam, and the NRX-044 Ashima, the Federation's first transformable mobile suit, nicknamed Pumpkin Pie.

Although the Federation had already begun developing transformable mobile suits during the One Year War, it only truly got on track when the Aotomitic Control Frame was developed on an experimental mobile suit called the Test Special GM, which was actually a riot control GM.

This design allows the Yashima to reach its required power level and transform with minimal energy consumption. This key technology is based on a skeleton that mimics the human skeletal structure but surpasses its range of motion, resembling a complex assembly of numerous joints. The external armor is simply suspended over the skeleton, eliminating many of the complex internal wiring typically found in mobile suits, thus maintaining a clean design and minimizing its weight.

With this technology, Yashima can freely switch between MA and MS modes. In MA mode, it can also fly within the atmosphere, which is a huge boon for the Federation Forces, who have been complaining about the lack of flight pedals.

Putting everything else aside, Makarius is certain that the Air Force would absolutely want this machine!
"That's definitely a good idea!"

Timree also agreed. Makarius was right. Gundam and ordinary mobile suits are completely different concepts. After all, the former is about being versatile, while the latter only needs to be proficient in one direction. Therefore, there is no problem in taking two different design paths. They can even provide each other with experience and reference.

As for Kinnias's design skills, Timree had no doubts at all, not to mention the MA form, which was a piece of cake for Kinnias!

"Once we complete the development of the deformable mech, we can consider adding the Psycommu device!"

"Carrying funnels in MA form?"

"No, to go even further, we could even design a split-type fighter jet!"

The aircraft that Makarius was referring to was the AMX-107 Dragon Flight, which was still in its infancy. This aircraft could be separated using a variable frame. Once the upper and lower body separated, the lower body would transform into a drone system similar to a loyal wingman, following the upper body.

However, realizing this vision is still a long way off. After all, what Makarius wants is a more advanced machine, not a simple replica. That's why he is pushing forward with intelligent research, strengthening the machine's control system, and changing the equipment that requires pilot remote control to intelligent follow-up combat. This is in line with the requirements of the times!
"Sometimes, I have to admit that compared to you, we designers seem to be too conservative!"

Timre was quite interested in what Macarius said. The modular, transformable mech and the loyal wingman were all technological advancements. They might not be warmongers, but once they designed a powerful mech, they couldn't help but want to see just how powerful it could be.

"I'm just proposing an idea; it's up to you to implement it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's why I said, stop letting Amuro fly that mobile suit, come and learn design from me!"

"You'll have to tell him that yourself. That guy's currently addicted to beating up his colleagues!"

"Haha, I knew it! Do you know why that guy was so excited?"

"What, what good stuff did you get for him!"

"I designed an enhanced electronic circuit component and gave it to him to test!"

Makarius was also somewhat amused and exasperated. After all this fuss, it turns out you haven't forgotten about the Timree circuit!
(End of this chapter)