1st Generation Railgun (Gauss Rifle)

[sabredog]

I'm not 100% finished with the specs yet, but here's an idea for a first generation gauss rifle for Traveller. I figure it would be chunkier and less elegant, but throw a heavy round faster, harder, straighter than a conventional long range rile so it would be first used as a sniper weapon. Like the Barret, but quieter and with less signature.

Because it is first gen and probably introduced at around TL-9 (1 level after mass driver tech is available in Striker) it will replace the light assault gun and throw a 15mm round using a magazine for the rounds but requires a power pack to charge the beast.

I'll post the stats in the next day or two, but it'll probably be similar to the LAG but with better armor and range modifiers. And weigh less, except that might be offset by the need for the power pack.

 

[sabredog]

First bit of background info...more to follow.

Mk-4b Materials Demolition Weapon

The first generation of gauss rifles come in at TL-9 with the 15mm Materials Demolition Weapon, otherwise known and operated at the first man-portable railgun. The weapon is designed to throw a heavy, armor penetrating slug downrange at high velocity and with a minimum of drop. It has similar damage, range, and armor penetrating statistics as the earlier Light Assault Gun does, but both the gun and ammunition are lighter since the rounds don’t require propellant and the gun’s construction is simpler and uses more composites.

The round accelerates the length of the two rails with spin imparted by fins. The rounds come in solid tungsten AP darts or kinetic energy armor penetrator-high explosive (KEAPER). High explosive –armor piercing (HEAP) rounds were found to not function well given the extremely high velocity of the weapon which caused them to merely shatter on impact with a hard target.

The weapon causes no heat signature , but the rounds do make a distinctive crack when leaving the rails towards the target. Nonetheless, the weapon is far stealthier as a sniper weapon than CPR designs that were equipped with suppressors.

To power the weapon a laser carbine power pack is used to provide enough power for 20 shots. A 10 round box magazine is inserted behind the pistol grip while the power cable is connected at a jack in front of the trigger guard. The weapon comes equipped with a scope, bipod, and collapsible stock.

 

[Horatius]

An excellent beginning. The only design change I see would be the addition of a longer barrel. The extended barrel would allow for greater velocities to be achieved as well as an increase in accuracy. The shorter barrel is wonderful for when your target is something stationary (large vehicle, wall, bunker), but when the target is in motion, the increase in accuracy would be appreciated by your scout/sniper teams.

Personally, I expect to see a variant on this weapon entering service within my lifetime.