its single SS-20 "Saber" IRBM (which has to be reloaded after firing), the Shagohod has defensive weaponry, including three 12.7mm DShKM machine guns to defend against aircraft and infantry, six 9K112 Kobra surface-to-air missiles to protect against aircraft, and a 100-barrel volley gun to defend against armor. The Shagohod's most evident weakness is in its propulsive screws; when they are blocked or damaged, the tank becomes nearly useless. Also, its need for a long, flat surface to accelerate seriously impairs its versatility. The prequel Metal Gear Solid 3 depicts the Shagohod as a parallel development to the Metal Gear mecha; the Shagohod is developed by Dr. Sokolov at a secret base in Tselinoyarsk while self-proclaimed rival Director Granin conceives of the Metal Gear concept at approximately the same time. But Volgin favors Sokolov's Shagohod weapon over Granin's Metal Gear concept, and funds the production of the Shagohod prototype. This is possibly due to the fact that, though a walker like Metal Gear would ultimately prove to be a far more versatile system, the Shagohod was only an unusual combination of technologies that already existed at the time (tanks, ground effect, IRBMs, and booster rockets), as opposed to an unrealized idea requiring years or even decades of research as well as incredibly large amounts of money to produce. Sokolov is ultimately forced in Groznyj Grad's weapons lab to finish the Shagohod prototype as Volgin was planning to mass-produce the weapon and ship to all the countries of the Eastern Bloc, as well as bait to foment armed uprisings among dictators, ethnic insurgents and revolutionary groups throughout the Third World. Naked Snake had to take out this prototype as per FOX's first mission, which Snake did with assistance from EVA. Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear The Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear (or ICBMG for short;) is the featured mecha in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. In the series chronology , this Metal Gear is the first built prototype. The design, completed by Dr. Sokolov, is based on Granin's original blueprints (the same ones seen in Metal Gear Solid 3). Unlike the future bipedal models, this Metal Gear's design is quadrupedal and its nuclear function is to act as a mobile launching device for MIRVs. While therefore capable of making nuclear strikes against several targets at once, its range is limited, and (unlike the Shagohod) is unable to compensate for it with speed. Thus, it