MBF-02 Strike Rouge is the machine Cagalli Yula Athha flies in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002–2003, Cosmic Era 71). It was built from the spare parts Orb's engineers turned out while repairing the damaged GAT-X105 Strike Gundam, carried aboard the Kusanagi and assembled in the last days of the First Alliance-PLANT War. In structure and weapons it is close to a second Strike.
What it does in the story
Cagalli takes the Strike Rouge into the Second Battle of Jachin Due on 26 September C.E. 71, and among her actions is the rescue of Athrun Zala, who has just detonated his Justice Gundam inside ZAFT's GENESIS. In SEED Destiny (C.E. 73) it is her personal suit after she leaves Orb with the Archangel, and after Operation Angel Down she recovers the wrecked Freedom Gundam's torso with Kira inside. Reconfigured to Kira's specifications, it is boosted into space to defend the Eternal and badly damaged by ZAFT's ZAKU Warriors and GOUF Igniteds.
What makes it different
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The pink is a side effect of the power extender.
The extender raises energy storage so the Phase Shift Armour runs longer, and it red-shifts the phase-shifted colours, which is why the armour lights up red and pink rather than the Strike's blue, red and white.
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A Natural can fly it.
Kira Yamato wrote the Natural-use operating system that lets someone without Coordinator reflexes handle the suit, and an AI support system helps an inexperienced pilot keep it under control.
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The shield is deliberately not Phase Shift armour.
Because it carries no Phase Shift Armour it drains no energy when hit, and it is anti-beam coated, so it blocks beam fire that Phase Shift Armour does nothing against. It trades durability for endurance.
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It takes the same Striker Packs as the Strike.
The Aile Striker is the pack it usually carries, and it has also flown with the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack and the Ootori Striker, which adds a large anti-ship sword with a laser blade along its cutting edge.
How big is it?
- Head height: 17.72 m according to Bandai's official spec, with an empty weight of 64.8 t
- 1/144: roughly 12 cm across the High Grade releases
- 1/100: roughly 17.5 cm, which covers the Master Grade
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Frequently asked questions
1. Is the Strike Rouge a mass-produced Strike?
No. It was assembled from surplus parts made during the Strike's repair at Orb, one extra airframe rather than a production run, and it carries Orb's MBF code instead of the Earth Forces' GAT-X number.
2. Why is it pink instead of the Strike's colours?
Its power extender shifts the active Phase Shift colours towards red and pink, a by-product of the device rather than a paint scheme. The same system later develops into Variable Phase Shift Armour.
3. What is the Ootori pack?
The EW454F Ootori Striker, one of the packs the suit has carried. It adds a large physical anti-ship sword with a laser blade along the cutting edge.
4. Does the Strike Rouge appear after SEED?
Yes. It returns in SEED Destiny as Cagalli's personal machine, and a repaired example appears in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom with the Cavalier Aifrid Unit-02, which lets it hold long-range communication with the ∞ Justice Type II and control that suit remotely.
Background sources: MBF-02 Strike Rouge — Gundam Wiki · ガンダムシリーズの登場機動兵器一覧（機動戦士ガンダムSEED）— 日本語版 Wikipedia
