Heat Weapons

[D_I]

leaving the title open ended so its not tied down to a specific time period or anything if you want to talk about early heat weapons or anything like that
(And I'm too tired to think up a good title right now)

I was wondering why mobile suits in late U.C (I'm using F91 as an example) use heat weapons. I'm pretty sure the shot lancer uses heat weapon tech (they're also shell firing weapons aren't they? what's up with that?) since most of if not all MS are able to use beam weaponry. is it to save on power? I'd understand if the heat weapon is a backup thing like the X-1s heat daggers since it uses leftover heat from the thrusters to heat up the blades. I assume that they can't pierce beam shields since the heat hawk was able to block beam sabers. There is no real reason to use them other than the ability to save power.

[Seto Kaiba]

I was wondering why mobile suits in late U.C (I'm using F91 as an example) use heat weapons. I'm pretty sure the shot lancer uses heat weapon tech (they're also shell firing weapons aren't they? what's up with that?) since most of if not all MS are able to use beam weaponry. is it to save on power?

Simply put, they don't... it's pretty much all beam weapons after the OYW.

The only noteworthy users of heat weapons tech after that point are Mars Zeon's "Oldsmobile" forces and Cosmo Babylonia's XMA-01 Rafflesia mobile armor. It's pretty clear in the Rafflesia's case that it's to save power, since it's operating 125 tentacle rods for defense.

Heat weapons, like Mobile Suits themselves, were adapted from colony construction tools. The main virtue of heat weapons in their heyday was that they were relatively inexpensive and simple to manufacture, making them an ideal melee weapon for mass production on a military scale. They didn't last long once the more effective and versatile beam weapons entered the picture but at the time they were introduced they were a novel solution that worked a treat even against Luna Titanium and didn't break the bank.

Shot lancers don't employ heat weapon technology. They're inert but extremely tough kinetic energy penetrators that are launched using "railgun-like" electromagnetic launchers for the specific goal of neutralizing enemy mobile suits in situations where the risk of a reactor breach is unacceptable (as in "inside a colony"). The inclusion of a medium-bore cannon is a measure to allow the shot lancer to be used as both a melee weapon and a gun so the mobile suit doesn't have to juggle weapons or potentially abandon its shot lancer on the fly.

[MythSearcher]

Shot lancers don't employ heat weapon technology. They're inert but extremely tough kinetic energy penetrators that are launched using "railgun-like" electromagnetic launchers for the specific goal of neutralizing enemy mobile suits in situations where the risk of a reactor breach is unacceptable (as in "inside a colony"). The inclusion of a medium-bore cannon is a measure to allow the shot lancer to be used as both a melee weapon and a gun so the mobile suit doesn't have to juggle weapons or potentially abandon its shot lancer on the fly.

They also serve the purpose of breaching the enemy's beam shield with sheer mass.

[D_I]

Shot lancers don't employ heat weapon technology. They're inert but extremely tough kinetic energy penetrators that are launched using "railgun-like" electromagnetic launchers for the specific goal of neutralizing enemy mobile suits in situations where the risk of a reactor breach is unacceptable (as in "inside a colony"). The inclusion of a medium-bore cannon is a measure to allow the shot lancer to be used as both a melee weapon and a gun so the mobile suit doesn't have to juggle weapons or potentially abandon its shot lancer on the fly.

They also serve the purpose of breaching the enemy's beam shield with sheer mass.

I didn't know they could do that

[Mafty]

There is also the case of the Crossbone Gundam X1, which had Heat Daggers. Though in this case the Daggers are actually powered by the leg thrusters; so it seems like a more practical energy saving resource, which makes sense considering that the Crossbone Vanguard operates with limited resources in deep space.

[MythSearcher]

I didn't know they could do that

Since the beam shield basically protects by burning or at least melting the incoming object down, short lancers can penetrate it by simply punching through with enough mass and some ablative coating like anti-beam coating or at least beam resistive coating.

[Kuruni]

Phantom from Crossbone Gundam Ghost can use its flame sword as a heat sword, but that's just a secondary function to reduce energy usage (the thing just has cooling problem).

I'm pretty dure that if we look hard enough, we'll find that some of those mixed-build mobile suit from Crossbone Gundam Dust are armed with heat weapon. But they're cobbled together and jury-rigged by civilian using whatever available parts. One I can think of right now is the Anchor's heat cutter/v-fin, but it's more like improvise weapon since that part function as heat sink. It also has a pair of heat ceramic bullets, originally a mining tool.

Even the Oldmobile moved away from heat weapon with the new RF Series (post F90 manga) co-developed with Buch Concern. The only heat weapon still in use then is amphibious RF Z'Gok's heat claw.

[MythSearcher]

Considering heat weapons can block beam sabres or similar melee beam weapons, they can be of some use even if not directly use for attack.