Mobile Suits (Wings of Freedom)

Mobile Suits are humanoid war machines developed by the Holy Britannian Empire. Unveiled during the invasion of Japan, Mobile Suits are almost exclusively used in place, and sometimes on par with the practically obsolete main battle tanks.The name "mobile suit" is believed to be a reference to the terms "mobile infantry" and "powered suit" from the Robert A. Heinlein book, Starship Troopers.

Overview
Mobile suits (Mobile Space Utility Instrument Tactical) are the technological machinery that is the backbone of the world's military in the Wings of Geass universe. Mobile suits are generally humanoid in shape with two upper torso limbs and two lower torso limbs. Generally, the cockpit of a mobile suit is located in the abdomen, although in some cases it is located in the head or chest. An average mobile suit stands around 18 meters tall, roughly 10 times the size of a man.

Two main technological advancements led to the creation of the mobile suit: the AMBAC (Active Mass Balance Auto Control) technology, and the Yggdrasil Drive. The original AMBAC prototype only had two large limbs (instead of the four that later suits would have), but moving those limbs allowed it near thruster-less maneuverability in space by changing its center of mass. This led to a revolution in space warfare tactics. Another revolution would be creation of the the Yggdrasil Drive. Its centerpiece is a Sakuradite device called the Core Luminous, wherein a cube of unknown composition is weightlessly suspended. The cube revolves at high speeds during a state of drive activation known as Yggdrasil Resonance, apparently involved in the conduction of electricity. The drive is recharged through a Sakuradite energy filler.

Mobile suit design in the alternate universe of Wings of Geass follows two lineages - the Ashford Foundation line and the Holy Britannian Empire line. Britannian type mobile suits are "fatter" and less human-like than the Ashford type mobile suits, though neither is necessarily faster or more maneuverable than the other; it's largely a matter of body styling and design. Britannian-derived mobile suits use mono-eye system as the main optical sensor and Ashford-derived mobile suits use a forehead main camera with the help of two secondary optical sensors (also known as Gundam Head, whereas the Dagger series have an eye shield like plate covering the two secondary sensors and a fourth camera in the back of the head). Britannian line normally has a more bulky design than the Ashford line due to difference in design philosophies - Britannian manufacturers designed mobile suits by creating an external shell, and then fitting components within, while the Ashford Foundation designed mobile suits by creating an internal skeletal structure and then fitting components and armor to the support structure.

History
The creation and development of mobile suits is roughly divided into individual generations, which mark the birth of a new kind of weapon platform and its evolution into a full-fledged combat system.

First Generation
With the creation of the AMBAC system, plans for a mechanized worker were commenced. However, the new mechanized unit performed erratically, and the research was outsourced to military-based robotics projects and social-oriented programs. The former was assigned to a Britannian Army Special Division, the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps (ASEEC), while the latter went in the hands of a private group, the Ashford Foundation. The foundation implemented technologies related to training and education, enabling the entire mobile suit program to make progress fluidly. The Bipedal weapon was named the "mobile suit", after the basic frame resembled that of a giant spacesuit.

Second Generation
With the results gained from the two separate programs, mobile suits were developed in combat-effective platforms. Use of Sakuradite became paramount in making the mobile suits perform to expectations, resulting in the mineral's value increasing greatly, turning it into resource as important as fossil fuel in international politics. The Second Generation also marked the creation of the Tallgeese prototype, manufactured and designed by the Ashford Foundation. Its test pilot, Marianne, quickly became famous and was granted knighthood, before eventually getting married to the Britannian Emperor. However, the company suffered great loss when Marianne was assassinated. The Ashford Foundation eventually retired from its business and its employees were disbanded (supposedly). The Tallgeese became the first true combat mobile suit, but due to its high specs, it was eventually moth-balled, as nobody could use the mobile suit.

Third Generation
The Third Generation saw the introduction of the IMS-02 GINN, the first mass-production weapons platform. Its abilities allowed the Britannian Empire to easily dominate Japan during the invasion in 2010 a.t.b. The GINN moved on to become the baseline unit for the Britannian Army, while other countries have used it as a base in the creation of their own Knightmare Frames. Meanwhile, to counter the Britannians, the EU and Chinese Federation create their own Third Generation mobile Suits using their technology variations, and resistance forces in the recently occupied Area 11 (Japan) have also begun to use Britannian GINNs as the basis of their own designs.

Fourth Generation
Following the success of the mobile suits against conventional weapons of war, attention was turned to creating mobile suits intended to destroy similar weapons, including other Mobile Suits. The IMS-08 GOUF is the result of this, having been designed to specifically combat other mobile suits. Second Princess Cornelia and her bodyguards would make use the GOUF, reflecting the Chinese Federation and the EU's development of their own Knightmare Frames. It was also the Fourth Generation that would oversee the creation of the MSX-00X Strike Gundam, a high-performance mobile suit designed as a single combat unit capable of immense destruction.

Fifth Generation
With the widespread use of mobile suits, the Fifth Generation primarily was involved in the mass production of the Fourth Generation mobile suits. The Britannian Empire created several variant mobile suits based off the GINN, such as the CGUE, GOOhN, BuCUE, and several other mobile suits. All of these mobile suits were designed to fullfill a specific role, such as combat underwater, in space, etc. In order to match the Gundams, A.S.E.E.C. overhauled the Tallgeese.

After the success of the Strike Gundam, Ashford Foundation soon turned there Attention to mass production. They eventually decided on the mass production model of the Strike Gundam, known as the ODK-01MS Strike Dagger. Also creating high-end mobile suits such as the Huckebein Gundam, Aegis Gundam, and Heavyarms Gundam, the Fifth Generation soon oversaw the implementation of beam weaponry.

Order of the Dark Knights

 * MSX-00X Strike Gundam
 * MSX-00XA Aile Strike Gundam
 * MSX-00XS Sword Strike Gundam
 * MSX-00XL Launcher Strike Gundam
 * MSX-00XE Lightning Strike Gundam
 * MSX-00XI Strike Gundam IWSP
 * MSX-01T Huckebein Gundam
 * MSX-02 Aegis Gundam
 * MSX-03 Heavyarms Gundam
 * ODK-X00MS Windam
 * ODK-L02MS Dagger L
 * ODK-C01MS2 Dagger Custom
 * ODK-01MS2 Dagger
 * ODK-01MS Strike Dagger
 * IMS-02 GINN
 * Type-2 ZAKU II
 * Type-1 ZAKU I

The Holy Britannian Empire

 * IMS-00X Tallgeese
 * IMS-00X2 Tallgeese II
 * IMS-01 GINN Trainer Type
 * IMS-02 GINN
 * IMS-02W GINN WASP Type
 * IMS-02 GINN Long Range Reconnassaince Type
 * IMS-02HM GINN High Manuever Type
 * IMS-03 CGUE
 * IMS-04 ZuOOT
 * IMMS-05 GOOhN
 * IMMS-06 ZnO
 * IMS-07 BuCUE
 * IMS-08 LaGOWE
 * IMS-09 GOUF
 * IMS-09I GOUF Ignited
 * IMS-09C GOUF Custom

The Japan Liberation Front

 * Type-2/C ZAKU II Custom
 * Type-2 ZAKU II
 * Type-1 ZAKU I

The Chinese Empire

 * CEMP-03 WaD