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In Gundam Seed, the GAT-01 Strike Dagger is the Earth Alliance's main mass-production type mobile suit for the last few months of the Bloody Valentine War.
Introduced in early Cosmic Era June 71, the Strike Dagger sees its first service in the bloody Battle of Porta Panama, acquitting itself well there in combat against ZAFT's ZGMF-1017 GINN mobile suits. From that battle onward, the Strike Dagger replaced the horrifically outdated TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armor in all roles, proving superior to the GINN and equal to both Orb's MBF-M1 Astray and ZAFT's successor unit, the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ. From the Battle of Porta Panama to the end of the war, the Moebius sees use only as a nuclear bombardment unit.
Because of power use issues discovered with the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam during the period from January to its destruction in early June, the Alliance made the decision not to equip the production Strike Dagger with phase shift armor, reserving its power supply instead for the high-energy E703 57mm beam rifle.
The Strike Dagger is in actuality an emergency production model produced to make up for the lack of power in the Earth Alliance, and saw service for only a limited period of time (about 4-5 months). The actual "Dagger" design was intended to be the GAT-01A1 Dagger. This unit was later dubbed the "105 Dagger" to differentiate it from other Dagger types. Due to its resemblance to the Strike Gundam and the fact that the "Strike Dagger" name was already taken, it was named after Strike's model number instead. The 105 Dagger retains more of the major features of the Strike Gundam, including Striker Pack compatibility. In addition, it was equipped with laminated armor and ablative gel. While it offer no protection to projectile weapon, it is very effective when used against beam weapon. However, due to the 105 Dagger's high production costs and the high demand for replacements for its outclassed mobile armors, the Earth Alliance opted to use the stripped-down Strike Dagger instead. Nevertheless, a few 105 Dagger units were built during the war, and a notable one was piloted by ace pilot Morgan Chevalier, whose unit was also equipped with the AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker pack.
The advanced GAT-02L2 Dagger L is a minor update to the 105 Dagger, analogous to the relationship between the RGM-79 GM and RGM-79R/RGM-179 GM II in Zeta Gundam. It can also be equipped with newer mission packs.
Specifications
GAT-01 Strike Dagger
Manufacturer: Earth Alliance
User: Earth Alliance
Unit type: mass production general purpose mobile suit
Crew: 1
Head Height: 18.02 m
Weight: Max gross 55.31 t
Armament: "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS x1, M703 57mm beam rifle x1, ES01 beam saber x1
GAT-01A1 Dagger ("105 Dagger")
Manufacturer: Earth Alliance
User: Earth Alliance
Unit type: mass production all-purpose multi-mode mobile suit
Head Height: 18.00 meters
Weight: Max gross 57.05 t
Armament: "Igelstellung II" 40mm multi-barrel CIWS x2, 12.5mm anti-infantry machinegun x2, M703 57mm beam rifle x1, ES01 beam saber x2
Optional Equipment: Compatible with all Striker Packs
External links
http://www.mahq.net
http://www.gundamofficial.com
(This page includes information taken from Mecha Anime Headquarters (http://www.mahq.net), and Burke's Big List o' Gundam Mecha (http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/biglist-gundam.txt))
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