Hashmal

The Hashmal (ハシュマル 'Hashumaru'?) is an unmanned mobile armor and made its appearance in the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANStelevision series.

Design & Development
The Hashmal is one of the countless Mobile Armors that took the lives of a quarter of the world's population during the Calamity War.[1] Mobile Armors are independent, unmanned weapons controlled by their own Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).[1][2] Meant for slaughtering humans, they will move towards areas with high human populations for that purpose.[1][3] Like the Mobile Suits that were developed to counter them, Mobile Armors use Ahab Reactors as their main power source, have a frame made of high hardness, rare alloy, and are covered with nanolaminate armor which make them difficult to destroy.[1][4]

The Hashmal is designed for ground use, its limbs are actually arms and can be stored in the shoulders.[4][5] Despite being larger than a Mobile Suit, it is much more agile and reminds one of a bird of prey during attacks.[5] It is armed with a head-mounted beam cannon, a superhard wire blade attached to the back of its head, and a pair of claw-mounted kinetic energy shot launchers. It is usually accompanied by multiple small, unmanned units known as Pluma.[3] Plumas are actually produced by the Hashmal itself, and they operate based on its orders.[1] Besides serving as attack units, Plumas are also capable of repairing the mobile armor and play various support roles.[1] The Hashmal’s core control unit is exposed on the underside of the head, however landing a direct hit is difficult not only due to the nanolaminate armor on the rest of the machine, but also because of the accompanying Plumas protecting it.[4]

Armaments

 * Beam Weapon
 * Essentially a beam cannon, it is mounted in the head which will open up when the weapon is in use.[3] Has high destructive power and effective range, but it could not be fired instantly. It is not used in battles against Mobile Suits or other Mobile Armors, as nanolaminate armor are capable of diffusing beam weapons and minimizing their damage.[1][5] Instead, the beam weapons are used by Mobile Armors for attacking humans.[1]


 * Kinetic Energy Shot Launcher
 * Mounted in each claw, the launcher fires projectiles that are essentially rocket-powered spears.[1][4] These projectiles with their high thrust, propulsion system are capable of penetrating enemy's armor.[4][5]


 * Superhard Wire Blade
 * A blade with high hardness attached to a wire made of a special alloy, it is mounted at the back of the head and cannot be reproduced with current Post Disaster-era technology.[1][4] At room temperature, the wire's special alloy is viscous and can bend flexibly when charged with a trace amount of electrical current.[1][4] The weapon can move easily in any direction, and can be used to launch surprise attacks from blind spots.[5]

Equipment

 * Pluma


 * Energy Supply system
 * Built into the shoulders and located behind the large red panels, the system supplies power to the Plumas via microwaves.[1] Although the system is not directly related to combat, it is proof that the Mobile Armor is an autonomous unmanned weapon, and hence an important function.[5]

History
Uncovered by the Tekkadan in PD 325 in a half-metal mine on Mars, the Hashmal was in a dormant state as the half-metal had prevented it from detecting Ahab Wave.[5] It was accidentally awakened when Iok Kujan's Reginlaze moved too close during a standoff with Tekkadan and McGillis Fareed, and it sensed the mobile suit's Ahab Wave.[5] The Hashmal then set the Plumas out to attack anyone nearby, damaging Iok's Reginlaze and annihilating his mobile suit team. It then sends the Plumas out to forage for fuel and materials. Afterwards, it sets its sights on Chryse where Tekkadan is waiting to ambush it, only to have Iok intercept it and draw it towards the Agricultural Center. Ride's attempts to use his Shiden as a shield against the Hashmal's beam cannon, but the Shiden's nano-laminate armor diffuses the beam shot, causing heavy damage to the complex and killing the civilians. Ride is then overwhelmed by the Plumas' sheer numbers but is saved by the timely arrival of Mikazuki and his Gundam Barbatos Lupus. After disengaging the safety limiter on the Barbatos Lupus' Alaya-Vijnana system, Mikazuki heavily damaged the Hashmal and destroyed its core control unit, but not without incurring significant damage to the Gundam and himself. The tail of the Hashmal was salvaged and transplanted onto the ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex, Gundam Barbatos Lupus' upgraded form.