Short answer: The Impulse would win in a fight against the strike. Just to be clear, we’re only talking about the mobile suits here. We know these two mobile suits have different pilots and we know that is a big factor, which is precisely why we have chosen to scratch out that factor and focus purely on the mobile suits themselves piloted with equally skilled pilots.
The Strike (and sibling Mobile Suits)
The GAT-X105 Strike, is a space type mobile suit that was developed by the earth forces alliance, in secret, at the space colony of Orb known as Heliopolis, along with the other four other space type mobile suits, namely the GAT-X303 Aegis, GAT-X207 Blitz, GAT-X103 Buster, and GAT-X102 Duel. All the other four machines are based on the Strike but each of these four machines has a unique trait.
- The Aegis is a mobile suit that can transform in to a mobile armor and it also has a long antenna attached to its head as it is designed as a command unit.
- The Blitz’s unique trait is its mirage colloid which makes the blitz undetectable but the only down side to this unique trait is that it cannot be used simultaneously with phase shift armor.
- The buster’s unique ability is that it is capable of long range firing, sniping, artillery fire and barrages.
- The Duel was designed to be a mid-range to close quarters fighting mobile suit was it is equipped with a bean riffle as well as a beam saber and a shield.
The Strike on the other hand is in a sense a naked mobile suit. That in itself is what makes the Strike special from the rest of the GAT-models.
Although the Strike has no built in special equipment, it can equip itself with different Striker Packs that enable it to perform different roles in battle.
Three different types of Striker Packs were used by the Strike in Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. These were namely the Aile Striker, the Sword Striker, and the Launcher Striker.
The Striker Packs of the GAT-105 Strike
AQM/E-X01 Aile Striker Pack
Providing great speed and versatility to the Strike, it is no wonder that among the three Striker Packs used by the Strike, this one is the most commonly used. Although the Strike without this Striker Pack already has its own boosters, the Aile Striker Pack makes the Strike move faster and more maneuverable than when it is just relying on its own boosters.
However unlike the other Striker Packs, this one does not come with any special weapon. When the Strike launches equipped with the Striker Pack, it is equipped with a shield and a beam rifle or a bazooka, along with its built in armaments, in place of special weapons that the other Striker Packs would have the Strike carry.
With this Striker Pack, the Strike can engage in mid-range to close range combat. The beam-rifle allows it to fight in mid-range combat and the shield and beam saber allow the Strike to fight in melee combat.
In other words this Striker Pack is more focused on the balance of defensive and offensive power, compared to the other Striker Packs which are generally designed for offensive means.
AQM/E-X02 Sword Striker Pack
Boasting a long and great anti-ship sword, this Striker Pack enables the Strike to cut through most of what it comes into contact with. When it comes down to slicing through ships, fleets and mobile suits, the anti-ship sword can certainly slice them down easily. However, when it comes to mobile suits, the beam saber is more suited for this kind of fighting as its smaller size makes it easier for the user to hit a smaller target.
This Striker Pack is designed primarily for melee fighting against enemy ships and fleets as it gives the Strike the ability to easily breach an enemy ships hull with the anti-ship sword. However it can also fight at mid range thanks to its beam boomerangs.
AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker Pack
Much like the GAT-X103 Buster, the Strike assumes an artillery role when it equips this Striker Pack. The AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker Pack comes with a large 320 Hyper Impulse cannon and a weapons combo pod.
Unlike the buster however, the Strike’s cannon is far more powerful than the gun launchers of the buster. It can blast a hole in the wall of a colony or destroy a mobile suit with just a single fire. The weapons combo pod located at the left shoulder of the Strike serves as a defensive armament for close combat as it encompasses missile launchers and minigun.
When it was first introduced in the manga or anime, even Rau Le Creuset was astonished by the sheer power of the Strike when equipped with the Launcher Striker.
Because of its sheer power compared to other mobile suits, the Strike, equipped with the Launcher Striker Pack, was able to fend off the Le Creuset team with the strategic move of using a smoke screen and a long range bombardment from the 320 Hyper Impulse cannon.
ZGMF-X56S The Impulse
ZGMF-X56S Impulse, a newer mobile suit model designed by ZAFT compared to the Strike which was designed and developed by the earth alliance during the first Alliance-PLANT war.
Just like the Strike, the Impulse was made as a prototype mobile suit for the second stage series mobile suits of ZAFT. These mobile suits were namely the Chaos, Gaia, Abyss, Saviour, and of course the Impulse.
Each of the mobile suits of the second series from ZAFT had its own unique fighting armament or capability, except for the Impulse. Just like the Strike, the Impulse is just a plain mobile suit on its own.
However, just like the Strike, the Impulse has the unique ability to equip different equipment by means of its silhouette packs, which are suspiciously similar to the Strike’s, but unlike the Strike, the mobile suit itself is not a one piece model, instead it is collection of modules that attach to each other after launching each part.
Silhouette Packs of the ZGMF-X56S Impulse
Core Splendor
To be fair, this is not considered as a silhouette of the Impulse, but it is worth mentioning as this is the main module of the Impulse. Although it is a flying machine, it is not listed as a mobile armor but as a support fighter jet.
After launching, the Core Splendor attaches with the other modules of the Impulse, which are the chest flyer and the leg flyer.
Force Silhouette
Very similar to the Strike’s Aile Striker Pack, this silhouette gives the Impulse enhanced mobility, and atmospheric flight capabilities. It is also armed with a pair of beam sabers.
Sword Silhouette
Also very similar to the Strike’s Sword Striker Pack, this silhouette gives the Impulse the ability to fight enemy ships, fleets, tanks, and large mobile armors thanks to its anti-ship laser sword. Just the Sword Striker Pack, this silhouette comes with mid-range capabilities due to its beam boomerangs and beam rifle.
Blast Silhouette
This too is similar or analogous to the Launcher Striker of the Strike. Boasting two High-Energy long range cannons, two Hyper-Velocity rail cannons, and two quadruple missile launchers, and a pair of beam javelins for close combat, this silhouette can be used to fight in long, mid, or close combat.
The Key Differences
Power Supply
When the Strike goes into battle, the Strike must manage its power supply because it is fairly limited, if it shoots its beam rifle too much, the power will drain much faster than normal, this is also true for any other mobile suit including the Impulse. Getting hit with missiles also drains power faster as phase shift uses more power to block the effects of the blast.
All of those hold true for the Impulse as well but it has a special feature that makes this mobile suit the only mobile suit with seemingly unlimited power.
This feature of the Impulse is its Deuterion beam energy transfer system. This system is basically a wireless energy transfer for the Impulse. As long as the Impulse is in the vicinity of the Minerva, whenever it gets low on power or energy, it can just use the Deuterion beam and its energy banks will be back to full again.
This feature alone gives the Impulse and edge over the Strike if it comes down to a lengthy battle.
The Versatility
Although the Strike is a very versatile mobile suit, the Impulse takes the word versatility to another level. By the nature of its design, the Impulse is able to detach and attach its modules when the pilot so desires.
The Impulse can also change silhouettes while in the middle of combat if the current silhouette it is equipped with is damaged in the fight.
It is note worthy though that the Strike has also done this feat, changing equipment in midair while in a battle but this was done by aligning the Archangel’s catapult with the Strike, where as the Impulse’s silhouettes can be launched independently and the system will lock on to the main module or the core splendor with laser guidance, allowing the pilot to change silhouettes with ease.
This feature is also very favorable for the Impulse. Both machines are similar but the efficiency of the Impulse to change silhouettes gives it the edge over the Strike.
Our Final Thoughts
Although both mobile suits are exceptional in their own aspects and in their own time, the Impulse with its Deuterion Beam system, detachable module system, and its silhouette pack system, give the Strike a major disadvantage if these two mobile suits face off and those are the reasons why the Impulse would win in a fight between the two mobile suits with equally skilled pilots.
Thank you for reading! I hope we answered your questions!
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