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MS-06 Zaku II

The MS-06 Zaku II is a 'mobile suit' or giant robot in the Mobile Suit Gundam fictional universe. it is based upon the earlier MS-05 Zaku, and it is one of the most common badguy units. Its distinctive appearance can be found in countless video games, models, toys, books, movies, and tv shows.

The MS-06A was the first production Zaku II, but the MS-06F is the most commonly observed variant; Char Aznable originally piloted a red C, and the Black Tri-Stars piloted green and purple C's with Zaku I heads. The C-types were replaced by F-types early in the war.

Zeon pilots Johnny Ridden, Shin Matsunaga, Neuen Bitter, and Garma Zabi piloted MS-06F variants with their own distinctive colour schemes: crimson and black (Ridden), green with white head and left shoulder (Matsunaga), and tan and green (Zabi). Neuen Bitter's F had a single antenna extending from the "forehead" of the unit. The F series also featured the MS-06FZ Zaku Kai, which had a more "rugged" appearance. The Earth Federation used some repainted Zaku II units, MS-06F2s, primarily as Dissimilar Mobile Suit Combat Training "aggressor" units, although they also served excellently as trainers for the Federation's RMS-106 HiZack mobile suit.

The MS-06J variant was primarily used for ground operations, and often had camouflage colour schemes. The MS-06S Commander Type had a single antenna extending from the "forehead" of the unit (similar to Neuen Bitter's 06F).

During the One Year War

The MS-06C Zaku II was deployed in UC January 0078. The C-type was considerably heavier than the later, definitive F-type because it was more strongly armored to resist nuclear radiation from the nuclear rockets it fired from its bazooka.

By UC February 0079, all C-type Zaku IIs had been upgraded into or replaced by the definitive F-type, which was lighter and had an improved electronics fit (since the electronics didn't have to be hardened and shielded against nuclear radiation and electromagnetic pulse).

The F-type Zaku II modified for ground use became the J-type (MS-06J), rolled out in late May and in service by early June. The J-type was lighter than the F-type by 3 tons and had minor differences in internal equipment fit, as well as being sealed for limited marine use.

The final revision of the Zaku II was the MS-06FZ Zaku Kai, produced late in the war. This incarnation of the Zaku was designed around the standards laid out by the Zeon United Maintenance Plan, and incorporated improvements in thruster design previously seen in more advanced models. Its ease of use was a boon for Zeon, which by this time was unable to field many veteran pilots due to massive losses.

The MS-06M Marine Type Zaku II was an operational failure - its unstreamlined shape and troublesome waterproof seals meant that it never worked the way it was supposed to.

The MS-06S Commander Type Zaku II had better thrusters and a more powerful nuclear fusion reactor, though not powerful enough to support beam weapons. The S-type was in use by aces like Char Aznable and the Black Tri-Stars.

The Zaku II in general was largely withdrawn from front-line service by UC December 0079, replaced on the front lines by more powerful mobile suits like the MS-09 Dom/MS-09R Rick Dom and MS-14 Gelgoog. However, due to the vast number of Zaku IIs in service with Zeon, there were still many, many of these suits on the lines on the last day of the war, 31 December UC 0079, at the MS-11 Action Zaku. The Action Zaku was superseded by the MS-14 Gelgoog and didn't see service until after the war, when it was produced by Anaheim Electronics (the reorganized Zeonic Company) for the Earth Federal Forces.

The Federation RMS-106 HiZack is a high-performance Zaku derivative used as a basic mobile suit alongside the RGM-79 GM and its derivatives, used during the Grypps Conflict (Zeta Gundam) and immediately afterward (Gundam Double Zeta and Char's Counterattack), but is out of service by UC 0123 (Gundam F-91).

During the first Earth-Neo Zeon War (Gundam Double Zeta), the Neo-Zeons fielded an advanced commander-type mobile suit, the AMS-119 Geara Doga. However, by this time technology had largely passed the Zaku by and it was decidedly second-best to its Federation counterpart, the RGM-89 Jegan.

At this point, the potential of the Zaku battleframe had been completely exhausted and no further designs were attempted on its basic frame, although its influence in mobile suit design can be seen as late as UC 0223.

Alternate Universes

In After War Gundam X, the main "grunt" bad guy mobile suit is the RMS-006 Jenice, which is a slightly cosmetically altered, Zaku-like suit.

In ∀ Gundam, the MS-06 Zaku II appears as the "MS-06 Borjarnon" and the Zaku I appears as the "MS-05 Borjarnon Gavane Gooney custom".

In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, there is a VERY Zaku-like mobile suit which is the primary mobile suit of the ZAFT forces, the ZGMF-1017 GINN, like the Zaku there are many many variants made of the GINN including the ZGMF-LRR704 long range reconnaissance type (analogous to the MS-06E), the TMF/S-3 GINN OCHER type (analogous to the MS-06D), the UWMF-1 GINN WASP type (analogous to the MS-06M) and others.

The upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny series resurrects the Zaku name with the new ZAFT mainstay mobile suit, the List of Mobile Suits