MS-09F/trop Dom Tropen

An advancement on the YMS-09D Dom Tropical Test Type, the Zeon military introduced the MS-09F/trop late in the One Year War, designed to operate exclusively in localized desert and tropical regions on Earth ("tropen" is German for "tropical").

In addition to sand protection filters to protect its equipment and powerful cooling systems to overcome the desert heat, the Dom Tropen featured special sand protection filtered intakes for its leg-mounted thermonuclear jet engines, allowing the mobile suit to retain its high ground hovering speeds without fear of sand ruining the engines. It also sported specialized block-shaped armor designed to help keep sand from getting inside.

Though the exact production numbers of the Dom Tropen are unknown, at least a few units did survive the war, with two participating in the theft of the Earth Federation Forces' RX-78GP02A Gundam "Physalis" mobile suit in October UC 0083 and four units aiding in the defense of Zeon's underground Kinbareid Base in eastern Africa.

Special thanks to the people at Mecha HQ for providing the original revue.