Code name: Hi-Gundam (Buddy Lee)
Unit type: prototype close combat mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federal Forces
Operator: Mount Olympus
Rollout: UC 0083
First Deployment: December, UC 0083
Accommodation: pilot only, in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso
Dimensions: head height 18.6 meters
Weight: empty 36.4 metric tons; max gross 59.2 metric tons
Construction: Gundarium Alpha alloy on semi-monocoque frame
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, output rated at 1790 kW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 4 x 35000 kg, 4 x 7000 kg, 2 x 7000 kg vernier thrusters/apogee motors: 14
Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 2.15 G; 180-degree turn time 0.5 seconds; maximum ground running speed 240 km/h
Equipment and design features: Psycomu interface; "HUD" controlled FLS, range 8000 meters; magnetic coated joints
Fixed armaments: 2 x 60mm vulcan gun, fire linked, mounted in head, 2 x beam saber, stored in recharge racks in backpack, hand carried in use.
Optional hand armaments: XBR-L85A beam rifle with mounted "jitte" beam saber blocking unit, power rated at 2.8 MW, powered by rechargeable energy cap; 360mm hyper bazooka, clip fed, 7 rounds per clip, fires conventional or multi-warhead.
In UC 0081, Admiral Richard J. Carter was given approval to begin the development of an elite corp of newtype soldiers in order to hunt down Zeon remnants. In order to provide adequate equipment for this new unit, Carter saw to the resurrection of the G-4 Project and the Gundam "Alex", as well as several additional Gundam designs that until that point had either been scrapped or abandoned. One of the units picked up by the carter administration was the Hi-Gundam, or "High powered Gundam", a lightweight design built expressly for the top newtypes of Project N. This mobile suit was the culmination of all the data gathered from Project N, putting the greater emphasis on speed than firepower. A new composite material, known as Gundarium Alpha, was used in it's armor materials, and it's internal components were reorganized to take up less space. In addition, a compact but powerful fusion reactor, in addition to impeccably efficient vernier technology have allowed engineers to "slim down" the design in ways never thought possible, freeing up valuable space in the mobile suit for additional actuators and hydraulics. The result is a highly compact mobile suit with incredible strength and speed, a property mainly owed to the much lighter weight of the suit's body.
In UC 0083, after the drop of the colony by the Delaz fleet as part of Operation Stardust, the soldiers of Project N accidentally revealed Admiral Carter's eventual goal for the newtype corp. This revelation led to a series of mutinies within the Earth Federal Space Forces, as well as an un-stable alliance between disgruntled Federation officers and Delaz fleet survivors. In order to better combat the impending threat of the Titans, the rebel forces carried out a guerilla raid against Project N's headquarters located in the former Zeon asteroid base of Abau-Aqu. During the raid, rebel forces discovered a number of new weapon systems under development, as well as several upgraded Gundam prototypes. During the escape from Abau-Aqu, Gundam pilot Ryo Izumi was forced to abandon his demolished mobile suit in favor of this new model as a temporary replacement. Izumi eventually became very fond of his "temporary replacement" and inscribed next to his cockpit "Buddy Lee. Can't bust 'em."