Metal Gear (weapon)

Metal Gear is the code-name for a series of powerful bipedal tanks, usually armed with nuclear weapons.

Definition
The general definition of a Metal Gear is a mobile nuclear launch platform similar in purpose to ballistic missile submarines. However, its precise definition is debatable, as many other weapons have been designed to fill a similar role, or have used the same technology. The individual units have varied greatly in appearance and size, but their purpose has always been the same—to destabilize the global balance of power via the threat of covert long-range nuclear attack.

The term "Metal Gear" was coined by Soviet weapons scientist Dr. Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin to describe to Naked Snake in 1964 the "missing link" between infantry and artillery: infantry could roam the battlefield at will, but were both vulnerable and lacking in firepower; artillery could inflict immense damage upon an opponent while resisting similar damage, but was at the mercy of the terrain. Granin envisioned a tank with legs, enabling it to quickly traverse the battlefield, dealing and repelling force on a scale never before seen.

Following an encounter with a Gekko in 2014, Otacon explained to Old Snake that what makes a "Metal Gear" is specifically its nuclear launch capability. Taking in Granin's original coinage of the term, it can be therefore assumed that a Metal Gear can be defined as a bipedal nuclear weapon. Not only does this negate the Gekkos and the Mk. II/Mk. III from being true Metal Gears, but it also discounts Metal Gear RAY.

Shagohod
The Shagohod, or "Treading Behemoth", was the first tank designed to fire nuclear missiles in 1964. It was not, at least by Granin's definition, a Metal Gear. Volgin rejected Granin's visions of bipedal tanks in favor of forcing Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov to combine existing technologies to perform the same function - tanks, ground effect craft, and rockets. The result was a system that could extend the range of intermediate range ballistic missiles from 2500 kilometers to 6000 kilometers - the difference between the need to place said missiles in a neighboring country and the ability to launch trans-oceanic attacks.

ICBMG
The ICBMG (short for the Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear) was developed by Sokolov for the United States in 1970. Sokolov was heavily influenced by Granin's designs when creating this Metal Gear. The idea for this version of Metal Gear was to use a large rocket to launch the actual Metal Gear unit itself into near-orbit before releasing it, allowing it to parachute back down to the target location where it would then launch its payload of nuclear weapons.

Metal Gear RAXA
Metal Gear RAXA, pronounced "rasha" (/ræʃæ/), was a prototype of the ICBMG created in 1970. Although considered to be the first Metal Gear, neither RAXA nor the ICBMG truly lived up to Granin's original vision of a bipedal walking tank.

Peace Walker
Peace Walker (also known as Basilisk and Aurelia) was a weapon capable of launching a strike if either attacked by a nuclear strike or assessed (truly or falsely) that something is a significant nuclear threat due to data. It was designed as an unmanned weapon and the primary weapon for the Peace Walker Project by Dr. "Huey" Emmerich and Dr. Strangelove in 1974. Its first form resembled a Metal Gear due to the design deriving from Granin's blueprints for Metal Gear. However, despite being the closest machine at the time to fulfilling Granin's definition, its primary mode of transportation was still quadrupedal, as evidenced when Peace Walker transformed to travel over to Nicaragua. Also, unlike other Metal Gears, it is completely incapable of launching a premeditated nuclear strike due to being built for deterrence. However, it can be tricked into launching a nuclear strike at an innocent party if supplied with false data. Its capability of launching a retalitory strike even at innocent parties due to false data, however, isn't even the most threating aspect of Basilisk, as it can also leak false trajectory data towards third parties (such as NORAD), and it cannot be turned off unless dumped into the water, even if it and the Mammal Pod AI received sufficient damage.

Metal Gear ZEKE
Metal Gear ZEKE was the first fully bipedal tank. It was designed by the Militaires Sans Frontieres at the Mother Base by Huey Emmerich and Strangelove in 1974. It is equipped with a railgun, a radome, and a jetpack to increase mobility. Originally an unmanned weapon, Paz Ortega Andrade hijacked and modified it as manned weapon and planned to launch a nuke at the United States's Eastern Coast if Big Boss (Naked Snake) didn't rejoin Cipher; however, it was heavily damaged during the fight. Strangelove noted afterward that it could at least regain the ability to walk, as she made a backup copy of the AI, but whether it could be used again was up to Big Boss. Its overall appearance was a skinney version of Metal Gear REX.

Metal Gear TX-55
Metal Gear TX-55 was the first documented bipedal tank designed at Outer Heaven by the Eastern scientist Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar in 1995, based on the technology designed by Granin. TX-55 proved Granin's vision to be a potent weapon — a mobile nuclear launch system that made stationary missile silos obsolete. This Metal Gear was never actually deployed, as it was destroyed before its development could be completed.

Metal Gear D
Metal Gear D was a re-designed version of TX-55 and was very similar in appearance. It was also developed by Dr. Madnar within Zanzibar Land in 1999. This Metal Gear also featured additional weapons for close range combat.

Metal Gear G
Metal Gear G, or Gustav, was to be a small-scale, mass produced version of D (sans nuclear capability), designed to assist infantry in local combat areas. It was in development around 1999, but was never produced due to Zanzibar Land's collapse shortly thereafter.

Metal Gear REX
Metal Gear REX was developed by Dr. Hal Emmerich (Otacon), in a joint venture between ArmsTech Inc and DARPA, at the nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island in 2005. It was considered to be a revolutionary weapon - unlike all previous iterations of Metal Gear, not only could REX deliver a nuclear weapon both to and from any point on the globe, it was undetectable and untraceable. All previous Metal Gears were merely mobile ground-based launch systems for nuclear missiles, little more than the land-based equivalent of ballistic missile submarines. REX utilized a railgun, which fired much smaller projectiles without chemical propellants - factors which made them virtually invisible to RADAR. It thus completely negated the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction - whoever controlled it could launch a nuclear attack at any target at any time without fear of reprisal. Additionally, unlike all the previous Metal Gears, REX's legs were heavily armoured rendering grenades useless.

Metal Gear RAY
Metal Gear RAY is only a Metal Gear by Granin's initial definition - although RAY is a bipedal weapon, it lacks any form of nuclear armament. However, it did serve as part of a true Metal Gear's "conventional" armament - Arsenal Gear. RAY was designed and developed by the Pentagon and the United States Marine Corps in 2007 as a countermeasure to the abundance of Metal Gear REX derivatives being developed due to REX's plans being leaked onto the black market after 2005. For this reason, it was, until the creation of the Gekko, the only Metal Gear designed for close-range battle.

RAY is notable for being the first attempt at Metal Gear mass-production. The Patriots (via the United States Army) produced twenty-five mass-produced Metal Gear RAY units to serve as guards for Arsenal Gear in 2009. They differed from the original RAY in that they were unmanned (the original intention of the Marine Corps), had no tail and were slightly smaller.

Arsenal Gear
Arsenal Gear is an evolutionary step ahead of all previous Metal Gears, functioning as a submersible warship, instead of a bipedal tank. While capable of the same covert long-range nuclear attacks that define Metal Gears, this was merely a layer of its numerous defenses. Its true threat lay in its ability to conduct information warfare through the use of its onboard artificial intelligence (GW) in 2009.

Gekko
Gekko were the second attempt at mass producing Metal Gear models, and the most successful. Given the codename IRVING by the U.S. military, this model was designed for short-range combat, and Gekkos were rapidly replacing tanks by 2014. They were equipped with assault weaponry, a near sentient A.I. system and near impregnable armour on the body. Their powerful legs were inspired by both REX and RAY, built with artificial, self-repairing muscle tissue, making it more agile than previous Metal Gear variants and it's overall appearence resembles a smaller ZEKE.

Although not technically Metal Gears due to their lack of nuclear launching capability, the Gekko more than fulfil Granin's vision of bipedalism, indeed overcoming the limitations faced by both infantry and artillery.

Metal Gear Mk. II and Metal Gear Mk. III
The Metal Gear Mk. II (later superseded by the Metal Gear Mk. III) was a robotic companion with a blue exterior. The Mk. II served as a recon device but could also shock enemies (knocking them unconscious) and was equipped with Stealth camouflage in 2014. The Mk. III replaced the Mk. II, following the Mk. II's destruction. The Mk. III served the exact same purpose and functioned the exact same way, the only difference being its red exterior.

Although it was not actually a Metal Gear, the Mk. II was named as such by Otacon so that he "would never forget that [he] was the one who built [Metal Gear REX]".

Outer Haven
Outer Haven is a modified Arsenal Gear model that Liquid Ocelot stole from the Patriots in 2014, and hid at Shadow Moses Island. Outer Haven houses a repaired GW, which was recovered from Arsenal Gear. Haven is armed with missile launchers and later equipped it with Metal Gear REX's railgun. As well as utilizing Octocamo, Arsenal has a large supply of Gekko units and Haven Soldiers, whom patrol it's insides. Also, just like Arsenal Gear, Outer Haven has its own force of mass-produced Metal Gear RAY units, which are used to attack the U.S.S. Missouri in 2014. Outer Haven also has "Mount Snakemore", with the faces of the four Snakes (Big Boss, Liquid Snake, Solid Snake (Old Snake), and Solidus Snake) in Mount Rushmore-like style. However, this was probably apart of one of its OctoCamo disguises, so therefore was likely not a permanent feature.

Names
At least one Metal Gear took its name from U.S. designation codes of IJA fighters during WW2, e.g. Gekko took its name from the Nakajima J1N1-S, while others are named after animal species, e.g. Metal Gear RAY from manta ray. However, JD's conversation with Raiden, towards the conclusion of the Manhattan Incident, revealed that REX and RAY's codenames could also be derived from the Allied codenames for WWII Japanese fighter jets. More specifically, REX was was the name given to the Kawanishi N1K Kyōfū, while RAY was a name given to the Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, similar to ZEKE.

Behind the scenes
According to Hideo Kojima, the idea of the fictional "Metal Gear" weapon, a nuclear-capable walking tank, was conceived in response to the nuclear war hysteria during the mid-1980s that resulted from the Cold War, as the U.S. military had no mobile land-based nuclear weapons delivery system at the time.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker allows the player to design a Metal Gear unit based on AI core memory boards and parts retrieved from the AI Weapons, resulting in Metal Gear ZEKE.

Metal Gear 2
Metal Gear 2 is from the non-canon game Snake's Revenge.

Metal Gear GANDER
Metal Gear GANDER is from the non-canon game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. GANDER is armed with machine guns, missiles, rail guns, a flame thrower, and nuclear missiles.

Metal Gear KODOQUE
Metal Gear KODOQUE, codenamed Pythagoras, is from the non-canon games Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2. Armed with remote control missile launchers, beam cannon, and a plasma gun on its head. When inactive it is inside a cylinder shaped object fitted at it arms. Flat looking missiles can be found here.

Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh
Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh is from the non-canon game Metal Gear Acid 2. It is armed with a nuclear missile, neutron bombs, Vulcan Cannons on each of its arms, and a slot on the top for launching energy that can cause any equipped cards to be destroyed.

Mesal Gear
Mesal Gear can be seen in the "Mesal Gear Solid" minigame featured in Ape Escape 3. It resembles the looks of the Shagohod. Although not able to be fought in battle, Mesal Gear is said to be armed with a "Lazy Cannon."

In Metal Gear Solid 3's Snake vs. Monkey game, Mesal Gear makes an appearance as the Shagohod's "lazy cousin". It's a large, steel monkey version of Metal Gear with drills instead of hands as a joke to Volgin and the Shagohod. Atop the head is an evil looking ape with an eyepatch, which is a reference to Big Boss. Also, when knocked off the Mesal Gear's head, it engages Snake in combat with a punch-punch-kick CQC combo instead of the usual slap.

Main series

 * Metal Gear TX-55 - Metal Gear
 * Metal Gear D - Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear G (mentioned only) - Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear REX - Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear RAY - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
 * Arsenal Gear - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
 * Metal Gear RAY (mass-produced model) - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
 * Metal Gear RAXA - Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
 * ICBMG (Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear) - Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
 * Metal Gear Mk. II - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Metal Gear Mk. III - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Outer Haven (a variant of Arsenal Gear) - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Metal Gear ZEKE - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Similar weapons

 * Shagohod - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 * Gekko - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Pupa (GW-Pupa-5000) - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
 * Chrysalis (TJ-Chrysalis-6000) - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
 * Cocoon (TR-Cocoon-7000) - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
 * Peace Walker/Basilisk/Aurelius (AL-Aurelia-8000) - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Other Metal Gear games

 * Metal Gear 2 - Snake's Revenge
 * Metal Gear GANDER - Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
 * Pythagoras/KODOQUE - Metal Gear Acid
 * Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh - Metal Gear Acid 2