Operation Stardust

An operation undertaken by the Delaz Fleet, a group of Zeon remnant forces, with the logistical support support of Axis Zeon during 0083. The Delaz Fleet stole an Anaheim Electronics-developed Gundam capable of harnessing the output of a nuclear weapon as a directed energy blast. The Delaz Fleet used this Gundam to destroy much of the Federation's space-based military presence at Konpeito during a naval review.

This attack, however, was merely setup for the true Operation Stardust, a colony drop targeting major food growth centers in the Earth Sphere. The colony successfully made planetfall in the the Britannian breadbasket, wiping out much of Britannia's food production capacity.

Secondary effects of Operation Stardust on the modern era are numerous and continue to shape the world decades later.

• This event catalyzed the founding of the Titans, though it is generally agreed that the One Year War and Impact Wars would have made such an organization inevitable regardless.
• The death of a significant chunk of the Federation's experienced officer corps has provided soft pressure toward the development of greater levels of automation in the day-to-day operation of a ship, and many modern vessels have only "figurehead captains" with little experience and little incentive or ability to gain it, as a result.
• The loss of the Britannian breadbasket enabled the Republic of East Asia to ascend to its current status as the world's #1 food producer.
• All Anaheim Electronics development work surrounding the nuclear-capable Gundam and its sister projects was suppressed until after the dissolution of the Titans. As a result, mobile weapons development temporarily stalled out; it is generally agreed that the Gundam Development Project units were competitive with units in similar roles built a decade later.