PLANT - Definition

This article deals with vehicles/vessels (in space or otherwise) from the Cosmic Era subuniverse of the Gundam fictional universe, as found in the books/anime/manga/etc of Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam Seed Astray, ...

PLANT

The Earth Alliance funded the construction of space colonies originally as manufacturing and research facilities. Known as PLANTs (Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology) these hourglass shaped colonies were primarly manned by Coordinators. Over time, they became a haven and eventually the permanent home of the vast majority of the Coordinator population, fleeing persecution. The PLANTs are divided into 12 groups known as "cities," each one named for a month of the Roman Calendar (i.e. Aprilius, Junius).

The government of the PLANT cities is the PLANT Supreme Council, and their military is Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty or ZAFT for short. The PLANTs are described as one nation by some characters, but they are in fact several different nations (each PLANT city can be considered an independent nation) united in their common heritage and the need for protection. The word "PLANT" is actually sometimes used to referred to all the PLANTs as a whole (again as if they were a single nation), and the term ZAFT is also used to (incorrectly) describe the PLANTs.

There are currently around 119 PLANTs located at L5, following the Bloody Valentine War. One PLANT, Junius 7, was destroyed early in the war by a nuclear attack. As of late Cosmic Era 73, there is at least one PLANT located at L4, Armory 1, a ZAFT military base.

F-7D Spearhead

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ZAFT vessels

Lesseps class land battleship

Lesseps-class land battleship includes three dual 16-inch gun turrets. It serves as the flagship of the ZAFT occupied-African Community forces under the command of ZAFT ace pilot, Andrew Waltfeld. It is equipped with heavy artillery cannons that makes it one of the strong land craft of ZAFT's.

Vosgulov class submarine

The Vosgulov class submarine is a ZAFT naval mobile suit carrier submarine gave the ZAFT forces based on Earth the complete control of the seas. Though it is armed with anti-air missiles and torpedos, the mobile suits the standard Vosgulov class submarine are the air combat DINN, which can be deployed when surfaced and the sea combat mobile suit the GOOhN. During the Archangel's journey to JOSH-A, the Earth Alliance HQ, one such submarine under the command of Marco Morassim countinued to attack the EA ship.

One Vosgulov class, the Cousteau, was assigned to the Zala team as its base of operation during its pursuit of the EA ship Archangel. During ZAFT's Operation Spit Break, many Vosgulov submarines were deployed from ZAFT's Carpentaria base to Alsaka.

Minerva class battleship

The Minerva class battleships are naval space vessels used by ZAFT forces. The lead ship, Minerva, is armed with two twin-barrel XM47 "Tristan" beam cannons, one three-gun M10 "Isolde" 420mm (16.54 inch) projectile cannon turret, numerous missile launchers and a single "Tannhäuser" positron beam cannon. The ship has carrying space for at least 11 mobile suits including the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam. Visually, Minerva resembles a combination of the Archangel and Eternal from the Bloody Valentine War. The first ship of the class, Minerva, carries the hull classification code LHM-BB01, designating it as both a transatmospheric mobile assault ship (like Archangel) and a battleship, the first battleship commissioned by ZAFT. Minerva is commanded by Talia Gladys, a veteran ZAFT ship commander who was decorated in the Bloody Valentine War for meritorious conduct. Talia Gladys and Athrun Zala are members of ZAFT's elite FAITH detachment.

see illustration Image:Minerva (Gundam).JPG

Nazca class destroyer

The Nazca-class high speed mobile destroyer is a fast, well-armed space warship in the ZAFT forces. It is heavily armed with two large beam guns, two medium dual rail guns, and 10 CIWS turrets, and has room in its hanger for up to six mobile suits. The Vesalius is an example of the Nazca-class. Ships of the Nazca class commonly battled Archangel in space, though they - unlike their quarry - could not enter Earth's atmosphere. The Nazca class destroyer was easily an equal of the Alliance's 250 metre class warships and carried the flag capabilities of an Agamemmnon class carrier.

Vesalius is named for the 16th century physician Andreas Vesalius, who wrote the first complete textbook on human anatomy. The class itself is named for the Nazca culture of ancient Peru. Except for the lead vessel, Nazca class ships are named for famous intellectuals and scientists.

see illustration Image:nazca_class_destroyer_(gundam).jpg

Laurasia class frigate

The Laurasia-class mobile frigate (hull designation code FFM) is ZAFT's primary heavy fire support spaceship. It has carrying capacity for up to six mobile suits, and a heavy battery of two dual beam cannon turrets, two dual and two single rail cannon turrets, two dual 5" guns, six CIWS mounts (though two had poor placement and were more or less useless) and two lighter single beam guns, as well as four torpedo tubes. The egg-shaped pod on the underside of the ship contained its mobile suit hanger and catapult, and could be detached for use as an atmospheric re-entry capsule. The Laurasia class is named for one of the two supercontinents which was formed after the breakup of Pangaea.

The Gamow is an example of the Laurasia class, named for George Gamow, an astrophysicist and early advocate of the Big Bang theory.

see illustration Image:laurasia_class_frigate_(gundam).jpg

Eternal class support ship

The Eternal is a space warship in the ZAFT forces designed specifically to support the advanced ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam and ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam mobile suits. In addition to hanger space for them, the Eternal also carried their heavily-armed METEOR units on a pair of external docking clamps. It is stolen soon after completion by Lacus Clyne and Andrew Waltfeld, becoming the flagship of the Clyne Faction.

see illustration Image:Eternal_class_support ship_(gundam).jpg

Earth Alliance vessels

130 metre class escort ship

During the Bloody Valentine War (in Gundam Seed), the 130 meter class escort ship is a light space warship employed by the Earth Alliance primarily for combat against fighters and mobile suits. The escort ships themselves have no mobile suit/mobile armour carrying capacity, instead concentrating on weapons that can fight against mobile weapons. Late in the war, the 130 meter-class ships are used to deliver nuclear arms and GAT-01 Strike Dagger mobile suits, the latter going into combat lashed to the ships' hulls.

Two years after the first war the 130m class ships are still in service, but like the other Alliance ships they undergo some modifications: Two linear catapults have been added between the missile pods that allow them to carry and launch MS into battle. Unlike the 250m class, where the MS simply float into the catapult for launch, these ships have an arm that places the suit on the catapult and thus launches it. Capacity appears to be about 4-6 Dagger L's. Unfortunately due to the restricted space the suits carried onboard cannot be equipped with any mission packs.

reference image Image:130 metre class escort ship (gundam).jpg

250 metre class warship

The standard spacegoing warship of the Earth Alliance's OMNI Enforcer is the 250-meter class warship, a vessel of which OMNI has no shortage.

It is heavily armed with no fewer than three twin and one single main beam gun turret, as well as eight twin secondary beam gun turrets. The ship's crew is housed in an armored centrifuge in the midships section, which is evacuated and shut down during combat operations. The 250-meter class warship also carries a number of mobile armours, but predates linear catapults and so does not have a catapult to launch its mobile armours with. Because of this, the standard operating procedure for 250-meter class ships is to launch mobile armours at the first sign of trouble and then to advance with them into battle. Between Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, the class is upgraded with the addition of two linear catapults, making them effective (though small) mobile suit carriers. Because it was impractical to expand these ships' cramped hangar bays, facilities were included to handle and launch mobile suits from a prone position. Even so it remained a tight fit.

reference image Image:250-metre class warship (gundam).jpg

Agamemmnon class carrier

The Agamemmnon-class carrier is a large, wedge-shaped warship that can carry up to twelve mobile armors or mobile suits and deploy them rapidly using the linear catapults on either edge of the ship. The Agamemmnon class also defends itself with two beam gun turrets and has extensive bridge facilities for service as a flagship.

Until the development of the Archangel class assault ship, the Agamemmnon class is the largest and most powerful warship in OMNI Enforcer.

In CE 73, the Agamemmnon fleet has been heavily modified, with the formerly sleek wedge widened across the beam and split into a fork arrangement to accommodate the new thickened and lengthened superstructure amidships for stand-up launch facilities for the GAT-02L2 Dagger L and Windam mobile suits. With the new arrangement, the former deck-edge linear catapults have been eliminated and all mobile weapons launch from the centerline catapult instead.

reference image Image:Agamemnon_class_carrier_(gundam).jpg

Archangel class assault ship

the Archangel class mobile assault ship was developed to support the mobile suits developed under the G Project. Based in part on the Orb Union's Izumo class battleship design, it was a very heavily armed battleship (more powerfully armed than either the 250 meter class warship or Agamemmnon class carrier) with two large-bore "Gottfried Mk. 71" beam cannons in forward turrets, two "Valiant Mk. 8" 110cm linear cannons in aft mounts, 16 75mm "Igelstellung" CIWS mounts (mounting the same gun used in the Gundams' head mounts), 24 multi-purpose missile launchers (missiles include Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles and Korinthos and Wombat heavy anti-aircraft missiles) and a 16-cell Helldart anti-aircraft missile launcher. Archangel's most powerful weapon was her two "Lohengrin" bow-mounted positron beam cannons. The heavy defensive armament of the Archangel class combined with the ship's laminated armor made it almost impregnable to all but the most determined assault.

The true power of Archangel was hidden in the ship's cavernous hangar bay: Room for up to eight mobile suits or mobile armors. Combined with the G-series prototypes, Archangel was intended to be very nearly invincible. In operations, she was intended to hold the Duel and Buster Gundams, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga's TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero mobile armor, and two TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armors back for defense while the Strike, Aegis, and Blitz Gundams took the battle to the enemy. With ZAFT stealing four of the five prototypes and destroying the two Moebius mobile armors, on 25 January CE 71, Archangel was left with only the Strike Gundam mobile suit and Lieutenant La Flaga's Moebius Zero to defend herself. After the battleship linked up with Admiral Halburton's 8th Fleet, she took on-board two FX-550 Skygrasper fighters, which were compatible with the Strike Gundam's Striker Packs.

Two Archangel-class ships were built during the war: Archangel, commanded by Lieutenant (later Lt. Commander) Murrue Ramius and Dominion, commanded by Lt. Commander Natarle Badgiruel (formerly Archangel's XO). Dominion was destroyed and Archangel severely damaged on the war's last day, 2 November, at the Battle of PLANT.

At the end of the war, Archangel's mobile weapon complement was the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato, the Strike Gundam piloted by Mu La Flaga and the Buster Gundam piloted by Dearka Elsman.

After the war, Archangel was repaired, upgraded with submarine capability, and hidden in a secret hanger at Orb. After an failed attack by ZAFT commandos, Archangel left this facility. Its mobile suit complement at this piont was the Freedom Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato, the MBF-02 Strike Rouge piloted by Cagalli Yula Athha, and a new Murasame transformable mobile suit piloted by Andrew Waltfeld.

reference image Image:Archangel class assault ship (gundam).jpg

ORB Union vessels

Aegis class cruiser

The Aegis class cruiser is an Orb Union trimaran naval warship that is 200 meters long and mounts 250mm rapid-fire gun, along with multiple anti-air and anti-ship missiles. In addition, the ships have 3 small landing platforms, which can each carry a "Heli" VTOL fighter or an MBF-M1 Astray mobile suit. Despite the nation's small size, Orb possesses a large number of these warships, and has organized them into multiple defense fleets. The ships act as flagships for groups of smaller monohull destroyers.

Izumo class battleship

The Izumo class battleships were powerful warships of the Orb Union. Elements of their design were also used in the construction of the Earth Alliance's Archangel class assault ships, including their extremely powerful armament of "Lohengrin" positron blaster cannons, "Gottfried Mk. 71" dual beam cannons, and "Valiant Mk. 8" linear cannons, and their extremely durable laminated armor. One feature that remained unique to the Izumo class, however, was its modular design. This allowed them to jettison forward and rear modules containing most of the weaponry, and replace them with a seperate forward module for atmospheric entry and launches back into space, where the weapon modules could be recovered. In addition, the Izumo class battleships had a mobile suit hanger for six mobile suits, such as Orb's MBF-M1 M1 Astray units. While they could not launch as quickly as suits carried by Archangel class assault ships or Agamemmnon class carriers, this compliment still made the Izumo class among the most powerful vessels of their time.

At least two Izumo class ships were built by Orb, the Izumo and Kusanagi. The former was used by the Sahaku family, while the latter was commanded by Cagalli Yula Athha and Ledonir Kisaka, and became part of the Clyne Faction. It is unknown whether the other noble families of Orb also possess Izumo class battleships, but it seems likely that they do.

picture Image:Izumo class battleship (Gundam).jpg

Other resources

• Cosmic Era
• Template:Cosmic Era ship classes