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In the postwar era, ZAFT unveils its "Second Stage" of advanced new Gundam mobile suits. One of these designs is the high speed transforming ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam. As with other Gundam designs, the Saviour Gundam is equipped with Phase Shift armor that blocks conventional weapon attacks. Because the Junius Treaty bans the use of N-Jammer Cancelers in mobile suits, ZAFT develops the deuterion beam energy supply system to replenish the battery's energy on the battlefield. When the Saviour Gundam's energy runs low, it can receive the incoming energy beam from its mothership Minerva and recharge its battery. In its mobile armor mode, the Saviour Gundam is fast and highly maneuverable in both space and Earth's atmosphere. The Saviour Gundam is equipped with a wide variety of armaments for use in its two modes. Its main armament is a pair of "Amfortas" plasma beam cannons which can be used in both configurations. The Saviour Gundam's other armaments include two beam cannons, vulcan guns, a beam rifle and two beam sabers.

When a new war begins between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT in October C.E. 73, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal assigns the Saviour Gundam to Athrun Zala after reinstating him to ZAFT as a member of FAITH (Fast Acting Integrated Tactical Headquarters). Durandal gives Athrun free reign to act as he sees fit with his authority as a member of FAITH, but he requests that Athrun join the crew of the Minerva and help it play a role similar to that of the Archangel in the previous war. After a brief encounter with the Orb Union's military, Athrun rendezvous with the Minerva at ZAFT's Carpentaria base and participates in battles in the Indian Ocean and Middle East. The Saviour Gundam is heavily damaged while engaging Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam in a naval battle near the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Following the battle, the damaged mobile suit is declared a total loss.