Mobile armor

For a list of mobile armors see List of Mobile Weapons

In the various Gundam anime and manga series, a mobile armor is a non-humanoid combat robot that is typically much larger and more powerful than contemporary mobile suits. Mobile armors are almost always piloted by antagonist characters, and despite their power, are usually destroyed by the main protagonist in the same episode they are introduced. Also, there are some mobile suits that have ability to transform into mobile armors. These machines are known as either transformable mobile suits or transformable mobile armors; the distinction seems to be based almost entirely on the size of the mobile weapon.

While the mobile armor concept is most prevalent in the original Universal Century timeline, mobile armors also appear in the Future Century, After War, and Cosmic Era alternate universes. In the Cosmic Era timeline, mobile armors are initially very different from those in other series, bearing more resemblance to space-use fighter craft than giant robots. However, the most recent mobile armor designs have returned to the original concept.

Some have said that the small RB-79 Ball "mobile pod " from Mobile Suit Gundam should be considered a subtype of mobile armor, but this idea is not widely accepted.