Mecha Profile: Fafner Mark Drei - Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor

What do you fight for? To protect your loved ones? to restore world peace? or to destroy the enemy and get revenge for your people? The latter reason is why Sakura Kaname fight against the Festum in the first-generation Nothung-model: the Fafner Mark Drei. The third Nothung-model Fafner unit piloted by a girl who wanted revenge against the Festum, the Mark Drei soars through the sky and command an army to fight on the battlefield.

I. History:
– Mark Drei is a first-generation Nothung-model Fafner model and is the third model manufactured by Alvis (Drei is three in German). The Mark Drei has an orange-ish red paint scheme.

– After the attack from the Festum intensifies, Tatsumiyajima was forced to increase the number of Fafner pilots. Three close friends – Kenji, Mamoru and Sakura – was chosen as Fafner pilots along with Kazuki Makabe (pilot of the Mark Elf). Sakura was assigned the Mark Drei and deployed on numerous anti-Festum mission during Dead Aggressor. However, piloting the Fafner accelerated her assimilation phenomenon and rendered her unconscious. Canon Memphis replaced her as the Mark Drei’s pilot during the first Operation Azure. Later on, she recovered and kept piloting the Drei into Exodus.

– During Heaven and Earth, the Mark Drei participate in the Offensive Force during the 2nd Operation Azure. The Mark Drei crashed during the fight and Sakura was injured. Coupled with her prior injuries from the assimilation phenomenon, she retired as Fafner Pilot. However, in Exodus, she returned to active duty with the restored and upgraded Mark Drei. The Mark Drei was retired at the end of Exodus and Sakura retired as a pilot altogether.

II. Technical Specs & Armaments:
– The Mark Drei (Drei is “3” in German) is a first-generation Nothung model. The Drei shares the same body proportion with the Mark Elf and Eins, with a light orange color-scheme. Mark Drei has a slightly different back thruster with additional delta wing. However, it mostly fly using the Lindwurm as a carrier unit.

– The Lindwurm is an aircraft that Fafner can dock with. The craft is equipped with a variety of weapon such as Missile pods and a Grapple hook. At the tail of the Lindwurm is also a Laser Cannon that can deal substantial damage to low-to-mid Festum types. The Lindwurm has high maneuverability and resembles a stingray.

– For fixed armaments, the Mark Drei has a pair of Knuckle Guard that can heat up the palm to perform a thrusting/chopping attack (similar to a Shining Finger), as well as the Razing Cutter that can fire grappling wires. Finally, it has the Mine Blade stored on the knee compartment. During the 1st Operation Azure, the Mark Drei’s shoulder was also equipped with a piece of the Aegis equipment that can generate an energy shield.

– For handheld armaments, the Mark Drei is seen using the Piram – a wire shooter that can pierce Festum and deliver an electric charge to wired enemies. This weapon was mainly used by Sakura. When piloted by Canon, the Mark Drei uses a Luger Lance – a standard Tatsumiyajima Fafner weapon that can act as both a melee weapon and ranged weapon. The Mark Drei also used the Scorpion – a small sub-machine gun.

– During Exodus, the Mark Drei was installed with the Sleipnir system – to control the unmanned Fafner Trooper models. It is also during this time that Sakura and the Mark Drei gain their SDP: the ability to “summon” more Fafner Troopers to fight. The number of Trooper models it can summon isn’t specified, but it makes Sakura feel like there’s more than one of her and her temperature fluctuate between really hot and cold. After each battle, the “summoned” Troopers disappear. After being upgraded with the Einherjar module, the Mark Drei’s SDP becomes more stable and powerful.

III. Gallery: