VMF02-3MS Tisiphone

Model Number: VMF02-3MS
Code name: Tisiphone
Unit Type: High mobility melee mobile suit
Manufacturer: Venus Military Force (PMS design)
Operator: Venus Military Force
First deployment: AC 217
Pilots: Venus Military Force pilots
Accommodation: Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Height: 14.9 meters
Weight: 5.8 tons
Armor: Titanium steel alloy
Powerplant: Ultracompact fusion reactor, power output rating unknown
Equipment and design features: Head mounted sensors, range unknown; High mobility thruster system, maximum thruster output unknown
Fixed armaments: none
Optional fixed armaments: 2 x heat lance, mounted on forearms or hand-carried, tips attached to retractable cable for limited firing
Optional hand armaments: 2 x beam saber, stored in charge racks on leg armor, hand carried in use; 2 x beam dagger, stored in charge racks on waist armor, hand carried in use; 1 x beam rifle, hand carried in use, 1 x beam cannon, hand carried in use

Following the capture of all seven Prototype Mobile Suits, Inc engineers by Chayton and Arthur Pembroke, six of the team managed to escape Venus shortly after the completion of the VMF-MSX01 Anteros and VMF-MSX02 Hymemaios mobile suits. Left only with head engineer Tiffany Geslacht, the Venus military put the remaining captive to work designing new mass produced mobile suits, resulting in the VMF02-2SMS Aglaia, VMF03-2HMS Atropos, and VMF02-3MS Tisiphone suits. Unable to refuse, Tiffany once again put her design expertise to use in designing seemingly sound designs, but deliberately making sure the finished designs would not be as efficient as others credited to the PMS design team.

Of the three new designs, the Tisiphone is argueably the worst in terms of design and performance. The suit's primary armament of a pair of superheated lance weapons and extremely light armoring allowed it serve as a high speed unit, but much of the suit's mobility was wasted on the average Venusian pilot. Smaller than the other suits and with a weight nearer to that of a racing suit than a military model, and sporting a considerable thruster suite, the Tisiphone could outmanuver nearly any other mobile suit being fielded if in capable hands. If was not until well after the suit went into production that Venusian engineers and pilots discovered the flaws in the design, and they would spend a great deal of time trying to find ways to correct these flaws without having to discard the already-built units. Many methods were tried, mostly field modifcations made aboard the ships of the invasion fleet.