Episode 3
Autonomous Republic of Zeon:
YMS-03 Waff
Model Number: YMS-03
Head height: 17.34m / Overall width: 8.8m

The development of the humanoid mobile weapon known as the mobile suit, intended as a main weapon in the war of independence, had progressed thanks to a huge budget and a lengthy development time. But as of U.C. 0074 the miniaturization of the fusion reactor, the greatest point of concern in the experimental Mobile Worker Model 01 Late Type, had not yet been accomplished. As a result the mobile suit project was now in danger of cancellation by Gihren Zabi, who had supreme authority over weapons development. It was the prototype YMS-03 Waff, proposed by Doctor Torenov Y. Minovsky, that broke this deadlock and determined that the development project would continue. By applying technology based on Minovsky particles, the YMS-03 Waff managed to miniaturize the fusion reactor and improve the drive efficiency using a fluid pulse system. This gave it free mobility in outer space, and showed the possibility of a mobile weapon superior to guided weapons and space combat vessels. It also inherited the forearm attachment exchange function introduced in the Mobile Worker Model 01 Late Type, and testing was performed with various attached weapons. The YMS-03 Waff effectively pioneered the mobile suit, and a handful of prototype units were produced, but a more combat-ready successor machine was swiftly developed and so it was never officially adopted as a weapon. Its name, "Waff," means weaponry or armament.