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Aegis service rifle user's guide:

All infantry soldiers except commanders carry weapons that appear much smaller than Tenzin's 20mm autocannon. Because these Aegis assault rifles were not sufficient to damage any of the robots in recent attacks, I propose a new family of larger "battle rifles". I think the best option to fill that void for mechanized infantry in western Asia should focus on range, reliability, modular parts, and simple operation when the user is stressed or disabled. A common assault rifle is not optimized for this role.

I advise the 6.5x51mm. Except for a narrower projectile, it's identical to the 7.62x51 NATO. The 6.5mm bullet is more aerodynamic, so it remains fast for a longer distance, which ultimately makes it easier to hit targets at long range. With bullets of equal weight, the 6.5 penetrates targets better the the 7.62 NATO. The 7.62 can use heavier bullets to penetrate deeper, but this causes too much recoil. The recoil of the 6.5 is mild enough to fire rapid bursts without struggling to aim.



There is an open air cavity in the tip, with a hardened steel cone to penetrate light armor. If there is no armor, the weight distribution (heavy rear core, empty tip) makes the entire bullet tumble to cut a wide permanent wound. The copper jacket has a famous central barrier, the "partition", that divides the core into a front half and rear half. The front is likely to peel backward and fragment to expose the steel cone, but the rear core remains intact. If it behaves as I hope it will, the heavy rear core will push the steel cone through armor plates but separate on the other side to form two independent internal wounds. Damage within 600m is the most severe, but it remains deadly at 1,000m or longer if the user can hit an enemy at such extended range.

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A barrel of 20 inches or longer is advised because velocity is reduced with shorter barrels. Because all bullets will be jacketed, polygonal rifling of the correct twist rate is recommended more than conventional rifling. To have a long barrel but also have easy storage in a vehicle, the shoulder stock folds to one side. It features a waterproof storage compartment, adjustable length to correctly fit an armored user, and an adjustable cheek riser for stable aim with a face mask. When the stock of the standard version is folded, the total length is 83 centimeters (33 inches). Because electronic scopes are sometimes damaged, folding iron sights are integral parts of the top accessory rail, permanently attached to every rifle. They are adjustable aperture sights with settings for 100 to 1,000 meters. The front post is hooded and can rotate 90 degrees to select the wide or tapered side. Dots of glowing tritium are set into 2 of the post's 4 sides. Tritium dots on the rear sights provided no advantage in field tests and were discarded for production models. The muzzle is threaded with a crush washer to host a variety of muzzle devices. The hand grip can be removed and replaced with a variety of sizes, styles, and wrist angles to individual preference. 

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The rifle is gas operated by dual long stroke pistons, which feature plugs that cut off gas flow against the piston after the correct distance. The rotating square bolt face can eject spent casings from the left or right side of the rifle, and uses a striker for primer ignition (comparable to the Czech Vz .58 and Chinese QBZ-95). The mass of the piston system acts as a telescoping bolt to reduce the total length of the rifle, reduce total motion necessary to function, and keeps the balance point of the rifle closer to the hand grip for quick aiming. The gas pistons are independently adjustable, which allows the user to regulate the force of the action for a specific type of favored ammunition. If one piston is damaged or dirty, the other can be opened wider to compensate. The bolt holds open after the last round is ejected. Both gas pistons can be locked closed for use as a manual straight-pull bolt action, an advantage for maximum sound reduction with a suppressor or long specialty projectiles that don't fit a magazine and must be loaded individually.

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The trigger assembly features select-fire capability, although semi automatic is advised to conserve ammunition. A reversible selector switch allows the user to fire single shots, 3-round bursts, fully automatic fire, and a safety setting that physically prevents the trigger from moving. The pull weight of the trigger is set for 5 pounds, but can be adjusted from 3 to 7. To fire with large gloves or mittens, the trigger guard can be rotated to either side or removed entirely (not advised).

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The rifle can be stripped using an empty casing as the only necessary tool. It hinges open into the upper/front and lower/rear halves. The trigger assembly is a single unit, as is the bolt/piston unit. The barrel/handguard/top rail is a single unit which can be rapidly swapped with other specialized versions. The hand grip/trigger/stock/magwell are also a unit that can be swapped to change the weapon's overall characteristics. 

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~A standard infantry soldier on patrol commonly favors a 40mm caseless grenade launcher under the front handguard, although flamethrowers and shotguns are sometimes used instead. For minimal weight of a dismounted patrol, a shortened handguard with a basic angled grip is available. The top of the handguard is solid, but vented on the sides to prevent heat from clouding the view through the optics or damaging electronics. 



~A squad marksman's electronic scope features integral laser range calculators and bullet trajectory data, which can be linked to the trigger. The marksman designates the target, pulls the trigger with the safety on, and the scope automatically removes the safety when he aims at the perfect spot for a guaranteed hit. Designated marksmen are encouraged to use match-grade ammunition with heavier bullets for maximum consistency. If the ammunition is not consistent, the system is useless.



~A squad gunner uses an upper half that has a folding bipod and feeds from linked belts of ammunition. The barrel is thicker to absorb heat without warping, and lined with fluted heat sinks. The chamber is also fluted slightly to assist extraction of casings, and the first 1/4 of the bore is plated with an expensive cobalt-molybdenum alloy that has extraordinary abrasion resistance at high temperatures. The bipod includes a bottle opener to prevent soliders from using their magazines to open beer.





~A stealthy special forces operative uses an upper that fires 9x40mm, a cartridge that fires heavy subsonic bullets with a sound suppressor. It's made from shortened 6.5x51 casings, and has the same total length, so if feeds from the same magazines and same bolt face. The same rifle can be used by a checkpoint guard with high velocity ammunition and a muzzle brake to shoot through lightly armored vehicles.

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Without accessories or a loaded magazine, the rifle weighs slightly less than 4 kilograms (9 pounds). This would be considered heavy for an intermediate assault rifle, but it is noticeably lighter than the FN FAL and is comparable to the HK G3 battle rifle. Because most Aegis soldiers are mechanized infantry or dismounted cavalry anyway, the weight is relatively inconsequential.

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Although many variants do not feature a bayonet lug, every rifle is issued with a sword bayonet (50cm total length) It is most commonly used as a mundane garden tool, to cut vegetation or food, but it looks visually intimidating and makes Aegis infantrymen feel more confident. There is no record of anyone ever using the bayonet as a bayonet in combat, but it is frequently displayed during negotiations as a successful deterrent. The sheath has a coarse and fine sharpener, one ferrocerium striker rod, and a few meters of braided cord. Many consider it a tool instead of a weapon, and some prefer to replace it with a personal blade.

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Standard magazines are made of reinforced polymer and hold 30 rounds, but the spring tension is so strong that most prefer to load 25. Some fill all 30 rounds, then leave the magazine full for several months to weaken the spring. The magazines are inserted straight upwards into the magwell and are heavy enough to drop free when released. Short magazines that hold 15 rounds are available for marksmen who intend to lie on the ground as low as possible. Straight-sided 60 round magazines are currently being tested. Feeding reliability of a quadruple-stack design is not yet proven, but the soldiers assigned to test them have reported good quality. For dedicated squad machine gunners, there is a 120-round pouch that hangs from the magwell. A linked belt of ammo feeds smoothly up from either side, but not actually through the magwell itself. The pouch has several derisive nicknames that vary regionally, commonly referring to human or animal genitalia. 

Средняя Азия. Популярное оружие: штурмовые карабины АКМ и АК-74, их складные варианты АКМС и АКС-74, китайские и пакистанские копии и вариации. Винтовки FN FAL и SMLE из Индии под патрон 7,62х51NATO, СВД. Пулеметы: ПК, ПКМ и его китайские варианты. Крупнокалиберные пулеметы: ДШКМ и многочисленные копии многих стран. Гранатометы: РПГ-7 и его китайские копии и варианты. Минометы: 82-мм батальонные советские минометы и их копии из Китая, Индии и Пакистана, 107-мм РСЗО Тип 63 из Китая и их пакистанские копии. Безоткатные орудия: СПГ-9 и их китайские копии и варианты, китайская копия американского М20, индийская копия британского L6 Wombat.

Местная тактика основывается на использовании малых групп, так называемых "кулаков". в которой каждый боец имеет свою узкую специализацию: корректировщик, носильщик, связист с средствами сигнализации или связи (далеко не всегда это рация, это может быть и фонарь, и свисток, и сигнальные флаги - вариантов в этом регионе придумано много), сапер, минер и так далее.
Основные приоритеты в тактике направлены на уменьшение времени боя и сокращение сил и расхода боеприпасов для выполнения боевой задачи, в ущерб времени и вероятности выполнения.

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Central Asia. Popular weapons: AKM and AK-74 assault rifles and their compact variants AKMS and AKS-74, their Chinese and Pakistani reproductions and variations. FN FAL and SMLE 7,62х51NATO Indian rifles, Russian Dragunov rifle. PK and PKM machine guns and their Chinese variants. DShKM heavy machine gun and it's copies from other countries. Anti-armor weapons: RPG-7 and it's Chinese copies, Chinese copies of US M20, Indian copies of UK L6 Wombat.

The common tactics for this area relies on small squads, "fists". In this unit each member has a narrow specialization - spotter, ammo/heavy weapon carrier, communications specialist (not always a radio communication. Other means like flash lights, whistles, signal flags and others may be used), sapper, demolition specialist, etc.
Tactics prioritises minimising the time of combat engagement and amount of ammo expended, often trading it for the overall mission time and general risks.

Because Aegis was recently defeated in battle by an enemy with superior technology for the first time in history, it is obvious that their current weapons and armor are not sufficient to defend themselves. Tenzin has excellent weapons and armor, but his soldiers did not.

It appears that they are issued unremarkable assault rifles and armor that covers most of their torso. Armor is not my area of expertise, but I know enough about weapons to criticize their choices. An intermediate caliber sprayed on automatic fire is not well suited to Central Asian steppes and mountains. Therefore, I started working on a family of weapons better suited to Minerva's environment and common missions.

It should be posted in the Weapons thread in a few days.

Good! That means I may have guessed the approximate dimensions and weight of the cannon shells. Not good for anyone without powered armor.

I drew a cartridge for Tenzin's autocannon. I was hasty, but it appears to be a 20x91mm. The total length of a whole cartridge would be 137mm, the same as a 12,7x99 (.50 BMG) cartridge. The projectile is 76mm long. The base diameter is 25,5mm, the shoulder diameter is also 25,5 (straight sides). A conservative estimate of powder capacity is 25 cubic centimeters, compared to 19cc's for the .50 BMG. I can't accurately calculate the recoil because I don't know the total weight of the weapon. However, a .50 BMG firing a lighter bullet at slower speeds from a 13,5 kilogram rifle produces 95 joules (70 foot pounds) of recoil force. I expect Tenzin's main weapon would break a human shoulder if it was fired without powered armor.



My goal for the new cartridge is to reach 1220 meters per second with a 61,5 gram projectile. It would have 45700 joules (33,700 foot-pounds) of kinetic energy at the muzzle. At one kilometer, the projectile has fallen 660 centimeters (260 inches, about 22 feet) assuming a G1 ballistic coefficient of .350 (a measure of how aerodynamic the bullet is, mediocre in this case). At one kilometer, it would still be moving at 396 meter per second (1300 feet per second) and would have 4880 joules (3600 foot-pounds). This does not count an explosive projectile, which are common for the 20mm caliber.



The smaller cartridge shown is a 6.5x51mm, which would be good for general issue. It has respectable power and trajectory, and it's made from a 7.62 NATO casing with a smaller-diameter bullet. Professional shooters with modern rifles commonly use this cartridge to win long-range target shooting competitions. Recoil is mild enough to fire rapidly, power is similar to a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser: 9g (140gr)  855mps (2800fps) = 3300 j (2440 ft-lbs)

The bullet is fictional, based on the superb Nosler Partition bullet and modified to hunt humans instead of boar. There is an open air cavity in the tip, with a hardened steel cone to penetrate light armor. The copper jacket has a famous barrier that divides the core into front and rear halves. The front is likely to peel backward and fragment, but the rear core is lead with a full copper jacket. If it behaves as I hope it will, the heavy rear core will push the steel cone through armor plates. Damage within 700m is worst, but it remains deadly at 1,000m or longer if you can hit someone. If there is no armor, the weight distribution (heavy rear core, empty tip) makes the entire bullet tumble inside to cut a wide permanent wound.

Do take a moment of your time to format the text you write if it is a long one. A giant wall of text is rather hard to read, especially if it contains a lot of non-common words.

If I remember correctly, new england generally has rather strict firearms laws. I advise this website for information about guns because they rarely mention politics and focus on honest reviews. For the record, here are some basic rules:

-magazines and clips are not the same thing

-aim down the sights, nobody fires from the hip unless they have computer guidance

-keep you finger off the trigger unless you're actively shooting at something

-fuel and explosives don't explode when shot unless the bullet was incendiary

-all guns are loud enough to damage your ears

-hand signal are used when you're deaf from explosions, not when you want to be sneaky

-nobody ever flies backward when hit by a bullet

-shotgun pellets only spread 1 inch per yard as a general rule

-excellent target shooters aren't necessarily good in combat

-everyone misses the enemy often, ambushes are popular because they let you prepare to fire

-automatic fire is inefficient and typically used to pin enemies in one place, not actually kill them

-ammo is heavy and often bulky

-if you shoot fast, you need to reload often

-running out of ammo in a fight is like suddenly running out of air

-moving targets are hard to hit, and moving targets at long range are even harder

-angry faces do not hold weapons, hands do: always look at hands first

-the faster the shooting ends, the less shot you will get

-missing the enemy at a faster pace doesn't help you

-nobody shoots to wound: if you don't want them to be dead, don't shoot them

-for a headshot, aim between the eyes (front) or at the top of the ear (side) to destroy the area of the brain that controls movement (chapter 4, page 33)