Concept Sketch: Mobil Suit THAAD

Concept Sketch: Mobil Suit THAAD

                               

Although this sketch involves political issues, please don't take it too seriously since this is just an imagination of the individual.

The deployment of THAAD in South Korea has been a very hot issue inside and outside of Korea. Many believe that the deployment of THAAD will sow bigger conflict between North Korea, bringing endless confrontation between the nations; This includes China, who fiercely disagrees with the deployment of THAAD and executes diplomatic revenge toward South Korea in order to stop South Korea from bringing in the THAAD to the nation. The others who agree with the setup and expansion of THAAD believe that this equipment is the only way of securing the safety within the country. These are the general opinion of the two sides in the arrangement of THAAD. 

They both have their points and none of them are wrong. Regardless, the THAADs have been deployed in Korea and now we will just have to wait to see whether this defense system provides benefit or disadvantage in this nation.

I somewhat thought that this situation is very dramatic since this defense system could become the savior of a whole nation and its population or become the tragedy that may result in the collapse of the nation. One of my favorite animation series "Mobile Suit Gundam" shares similar theme and story. Many believe that the Gundams bring a huge change in a flow of era, whether that is positive or negative. I want to describe THAAD as more than just a defense system. I want it to look like a mech that brings a huge change in the nation, and that is why I decided to sketch THAAD as a mech.

Designs

THAAD stand for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, in which its purpose is to shoot down the incoming missiles in the air by launching ballistic missiles. Since the mobile suit THAAD is closely related to Korea, I decided to design the mobile suit related to Korea's culture; The design of the mobile suit is a combination inspired by Dokkebi, the mythical creature from Korean folklore, and Korean traditional armor. 

Thrusters

There are thrusters on mobile suit's feet, legs, skirts, arms, and shoulders for higher propulsion. The THAAD needs enormous amount of driving force in order to quickly launch the mobile suit carrying B. M. E into the air. The thrusters on every part help maintain altitude in air for stable launch of counter missiles. The thrusters beneath the arms help lifting the B. M. E with its thrusters. Armors on the suit is reduced to its minimal area, protecting only essential parts of mobile suit to reduce the weight. 

  

 The White Devils

In Mobile Suit Gundam series, many people who know the existence of Gundam calls it "the white devil" as it refers to the destructive power of Gundams and its visuality of V-shaped horns and white color of the mechs. 

So Japan has the "white devils", why don't Korea have a nice nick-name like that too? Then, I came with the idea of Korean Goblin, which has been quite popular in many regions of Asian continent for the release of dram "Dokkebi". Although there is no defined appearance for Dokkebi, many people are aware of folklores that Dokkebi carries a magical bat that can create objects such as gold, or pull off pranks to people to scare them. The gigantic weapon on the mobile suit is designed to resemble a Dokkebi's magical bat. I decided to name the weapon B.M.E which is an abbreviation of a word 'bat' in Korean(방망이). 

Not just the weapon, but many of the mobile suit's designs are from parts of Korean armors and Dokkebi. For instance, on the head of the mobile suit is a pipe with cable installed inside, inspired by a helmet of Korean armor. 

The mobile suit THAAD's design focuses on its role as tactical defense equipment rather than combat. Its main protocol is to shoot down incoming missiles before they cause severe damage to a region. Only minimal amount of armors have been attached to lighten the weight of mech for easier propulsion and maintenance of altitude when firing from the air. 

Weaponry

The B.M.E

This weapon is the reason why this mobile suit can be called THAAD. On the front side of B.M.E are 12 scopes, 11 small scopes and one giant scope on the center. The giant scope helps to calculate the distance between approaching missiles and the B.M.E, which can see extremely far distances. The small scopes help to measure precise route of individual missiles. A radar is installed inside the B.M.E for detection of missiles.

When the B.M.E goes into firing mode, the missiles launchers come out from it, almost resembling a Dokkebi's bat which looks spiky. When the targets are locked on, the B.M.E fires up to hundreds of missiles depending on the number of missiles to be shot down. The missile launchers are reloaded once it goes back into the weapon. Not just ammunition, but propellant for the mobile suit is also stored in the equipment. 

On the neck side of the mobile suit are two anti-air vulcans for shooting down aircrafts of missiles that are too close to engage with B.M.E.

Image from https://www.whoim.kr/

Korean folklore says that goblins carry magical bat


Anti-aircraft machine gun

Mounted on sides of the neck are two anti-aircraft machine gun to shoot down jets and missiles that approach the mobile suit. Although B.M.E is designed for incoming missiles, its main purpose is to counter the missiles that target citizens and is not capable of shooting down jets or other vehicles. There is A.I programmed in the mobile suit of separately maneuver the machine guns.