The standard fire team equipment consists of two rifle men armed with M41A Pulse Rifle.The gun team is made up of a rifle man with an M41 and a machine gunner carrying he automatic M56 Smart Gun. Two squads, led by a Sergeant and riding with a driver in an M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, make up a section. In a drop operation, a UD-4 dropship is attached to the section from the aerospace company team. Crews commonly carry one or two synthetic humans in a technical or scientific advisory role, and to assist as medics or backup drivers\pilot's. Organic support weaponry available to the platoon usually includes eight M240 flame-throwers, eight UA-571 remote sentry guns, two M78 PIG phased plasma guns or M5 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eighteen M83 SADAR anti tank smart rockets, and a single M402 multiple-launch fire-support mortar.
M41A PULSE RIFLEThe Armat M41A is a 10mm pulse-action air cooled automatic assault rifle. The standard variant has an over-and-under configuration incorporating a PN 30mm pump-action grenade launcher.The design is similar to the Harrington Automatic Rifle of the early '60s, though incorporating many new improvements in materials technology. |
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The M41 fires the standard US M309 10mm x 24 round. This ammunition comprises of a 210 grain (13.6 gram) projectile embedded in a rectangular caseless propellant block of Nitrogen 50. The propellant is small but highly efficient, generating muzzle velocities on the order of 840 meters per second. The round is steel-jacketed and explosive tips, with impact fusing which is preset during manufacture. Terminal ballistic characteristics have been optimized for maximum lethality against infantry wearing personal armor. The round is designed to penetrate armor, exploding just after impact to inflict lethal internal damage. The standard M41 ammunition clip will hold up to 99 M309 rounds in an 'U' bend conveyer, which feeds the rounds mechanically into the rotating breech mechanism. However, in practice the clips are only 95% filled in order to reduce the autoloader's tendency to jam.
The M41 uses electronic pulse action to fire, controlled directly from the trigger. The internal mechanism, including the rotating breech, is mounted on free-floating rails within a carbon-fiber jacket. This assembly is recoil dampened to reduce the effects of muzzle climb during burst and full automatic fire. From the thumb selector, the weapon can be set to selective, four-round burst, or full automatic fire, the latter allowing a rate of fire up to the weapon's cyclic rate of 900rpm. A manual cocking handle situated in the upper receiver allows the operator to clear the breech in the event of a stoppage, or to check the chamber prior to stowage. An LED display situated just below the receiver indicates the ammo remaining in the clip. This display can be dimmed for night operations. Electrical power for the gun's motor mechanism is provided by a Lithium battery in the carry handle. This battery is good for 10.000 rounds and can be recharged either from a rifle rack or a portable power clip.
Other Variants in service include:
M41B PULSE RIFLE/ SHOTGUN
The main rifle still fires a 10mm armor piercing round with explosive tip, as with the standard model, but the under-slung grenade launcher has been replaced by a pump-action, solid slung firing shotgun. This weapon combination offers both heavy fire support with the Pulse Rifle, capable of penetrating most armor and walls, and the close combat effectiveness of the less powerful, but no less effective shotgun for use in built-up and civilian areas where innocent bystanders and important equipment may otherwise be a risk.
M41C CARBINE RIFLE
This variant is a light magazine fed automatic rifle used by the Colonial defense and security teams. This weapon does not have very good penetrating power and will not penetrate heavy armor and strong walls, but against unarmored opponents it is extremely effective. The rifle fires a smaller 9mm round. This variant is much lighter than any other automatic rifle and is very similar to the MP5 of the 1990's.
M56 SMART GUN
| The core of the Colonial Marine squad's fighting power is its machine guns. More effective than a rifle, machine guns can sustain large volumes of continuous fire both in the attack and defense, and are frequently the most decisive weapon in a firefight. The M56 is the primary squad machine gun. Lightweight, rugged and reliable, the Smart Gun is carried into battle on a self-aiming stabilized mount - so negating the need to position or set up the fun of full automatic fire - and is linked to an infrared target tracking system for accurate aiming. Flexible and powerful, the M56 system is now deployed in a variety of combat theatres and environments. |  |
The M56A2 is a 10mm general purpose automatic squad support weapon, effective out to 1500 meters. The pulse-action system employs a free-floating recoil-dampened motorized rotating breech mechanism chambered for the M250 series 10mm x 28 caseless round. The gun also includes a muzzle booster to ensure the necessary operating forces from the large round. The gun has a cyclic rate of 1200 rpm. The gun is constructed from molded carbon fiber and light alloy stampings, though some interior parts of the mechanism are plastic. The replaceable barrel system is air-cooled, though a heat-sink attachment can be jacketed onto it. The whole system is mounted on an operator's harness and slaved to an infrared tracking system. The gun is self steering on the mount though firing must be commanded manually, The entire gun assembly (including harness and full ammo load) masses 17.82 kg. The length of the gun itself is 122cm, and the length of the barrel is 54.4cm.
M240 FLAMETHROWER
| The M24A1 is a lightweight,
carbine-format flame-thrower design for use in close combat at the squad and fireteam
level. Using pressurized, ultra-thickened napthal fuel as a base and ignited by the
nozzle burner, the M240 can shoot flame at targets up to 30 meters. Once a target has been hit, fuel droplets from the flame thrower will stick and continue to burn for approximately thirty seconds. With sufficient fuel in a standard fuel reservoir for a burst of up to twenty seconds, the M240 is undoubtedly one of the most fearsome weapons in the Marine inventory, and has proven especially useful in close combat and exomorph 'critter' cull operations. |
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It is also ideal for use against fortifications because of the ability of the flame to be directed through defensive apertures. However, it is unpopular with many of its operators, partly because of its short range, and also because of the tendency of the fuel reservoir to rupture violently when hit by shrapnel or small arms fire.
The M240 is 88cm long and weighs 2.7kg with a full reservoir (standard earth gravity). A valve at the rear of the incinerator is used to refuel the weapon; alternatively, the reservoir can be screwed off and refilled or replaced separately. A twist-valve on the flamethrower regulates the fuel flow and a thumb switch on the handgrip electrically ignites the nozzle burner when depressed. The weapon is fired by squeezing the handgrip trigger, and will continue to fire until the trigger is released. The range of the M240 can be increased by making a high angle shot, firing the flame unit up at an angle of about 45 degrees - the burning fuel then descends onto the target in an arc. In this way, shots can be made up to a range of 50 meters, though it is far less effective than direct fire is penetrating an armored firing slit or aperture.
[ IMPORTANT: naked flames should not be permitted in any pressurized environment with a high oxygen content.]
M42A SCOPE RIFLE
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The M42A is a 10mm pulse action semi-automatic rifle employed as the primary sniper weapon of the USCM. This rifle is a key component of battalion operations; its long range and precision extending the tactical zone of control by up to a kilometer or more, subject to local terrain. The rifle is issued on a scale of one per company, though it is normally held for use in a battalion controlled pool of up to four Scout-Snipers. |
The M42 is laid out in a bullpup configuration, with a casing of titanium-aluminide over a durable frame. Up to six plastic spacers are supplied for adjusting the the butt length of the individual Scout-Sniper. An overhead rail carries a folding bipod clear of the barrel. The internal mechanism is designed to have a high degree of commonality with the M41 - using the same rotating breech and feed - though it is chambered for the match-standard 10mm x 28 caseless round. The barrel is free-floating with a right handed twist and is contained within a protective shroud and receiver housing. Barrel options include a flash suppressor or a muzzle brake for long-range shooting. Ammunition feed is from a 15 round Match Rounds magazine inserted beneath the stock of the rifle, behind the thumbhole of the pistol grip.
The match-standard batch M252 HEAP round has a maximum effective range of 2,950 meters. A long-range stabilized ball round is also available, with an effective range of 3,800 meters. The factory standard M250 smart gun round can be used with no adaptation, though it has an effective range well under 2,000 meters. Fusing for the M250/M252 ammunition is controlled from a separate selector switch.
A combined, multi-spectral twenty power passive sensor is mounted over the receiver. The scope display shows a composite image based visual, infrared and electromagnetic emissions. The scope display can be augmented by input from the local sensor matrix via a digital comms broadcast or direct optical cable link. Motion trackers, ground radar, lidar and IR sensors may all be linked into the rifle; furthermore, the optional Parget control system allows the rifle to be able too connect into the local sentry gun matrix, allowing the Scout-Sniper to redirect sentry fun firing arcs when in hot contact.
M5 ROCKET PROPELLED GRENADE
The M5 rocket propelled grenade system is a small reloadable shoulder-launched weapon. The launcher consists of a 140cm steel alloy tube weighing 2.3 kg, with a rear backblast vent incorporating backblast diffusers, trigger mechanism and 4x power telescopic sight. Each 2.2kg round is a 60mm hypervelocity spin-stabilized rocket with an impact-fused supercritical HEAT warhead. The rounds are carried separately and handloaded into the launch tube. Sighted visually, the system has an accurate range of approximately 400m and a maximum range of around 2,000 m. Though the rocket's warhead has little chance against medium and heavy tank armor, it has proven popular and effective for use in its secondary role against infantry in bunkers and building strongpoint.
M78 PHASED PLASMA INFANTRY GUN (PIG)
The M78 PIG (phased-plasma Infantry Gun) is a man-portable anti-armor weapon. Weighing 15.2kg in its entirety, the PIG consists of two parts: the gun and its power pack. The M78 is a 15 mW phased plasma system firing vaporized Cadmium Telluride pellets from a 30 round feed. The fast-discharge system powering the gun's laser and magnetic coil is fed from a 4 mW hydrogen fuel cell in the power pack. The firing cycle takes 3 seconds, most of which is taken up by the powering up of the discharge generator. The penetrating power of the system is considerable and it is claimed to be able to breach the flank armor of a heavy tank at 1,000 m.
M83A2 SADAR
The M83A2 SADAR (Shoulder-launched Active-homing Disposable Anti-tank Rocket) is a lightweight one-shot anti-armor weapon capable of engaging enemy vehicles at ranges up to 1,000 m. Fully disposable, the rocket's launcher is discarded after firing, whilst the rocket, a fire-and-forget weapon, guides itself toward the target. When stowed, the SADAR system consists of a watertight carbon-fiber composite blast tube, inside of which is an aluminum launch tube containing the missile and guidance electronics. The weapon is cocked by unlatching the forward ring of the blast tube and pulling the inner launch tube forwards until it locks. A trigger assembly and thermal acquisition sight are then flipped into position, and the weapon activated by pushing a charge button on the trigger grip. From this point the weapon can be sighted and fires from the shoulder.
The M83 acquires and tracks targets with a cooled infrared imaging seeker mounted in the rocket's nose. When the charge button is pressed, the inert IR seeker is cooled to its operating temperature within two seconds and begins feeding images to the operator's thermal acquisition sight. The seeker remains charges for twenty minutes, after which the rocket may only be fires unguided. When a target (such as a vehicle) enters the acquisition sight, the operator can lock the seeker onto the target. So long as the target image remains clearly within the seeker's field of view, the weapon can be launched at it.
