HFR Infantry Firearms

[Ray of Meep]

Being an interstellar nation, the HFR sees infantry combat in a wide array of battlefields. Open fields against their supernational rivals on Earth, amphibious terrain, mixed forests and deserts against pirates. However, urban and space station combat are of the most pressing matters, requiring the most attention.

Thus, like other human supernations, the HFR relies on groups of elite forces to hold key infrastructure in cities and space stations. Infantry combat is primarily close range in corridors and rooms. Therefore, range and accuracy are secondary concerns to fire rate and stopping power.

However, the HFR must also face their century old enemies, the Daqin Empire, which employs genetically modified soldiers that can match against equivalent HFR personnel 2-to-1. Their danger comes from their faster reaction time and improved resilience. A bullet still tears apart flesh, no matter how biologically modified, but the Daqinren are able to carry on for longer after sustaining critical wounds, potentially staying alive once the opposition in neutralized. Therefore, accurate, heavy weaponry is required against these dangerous opponents.

 

[Ray of Meep]

.50 Beowulf - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[CadetNewb]

And the Gunsmith Girls will deliver!

The jokes about dramatized and bombastic teaser-trailer movie language aside, that sums up the situation that the Heaven Forged Republic is in. At least, just the loose overview. Given that it's really a confederacy of independent systems, the equipment will have to reflect the issues facing its client states.

Shen Zhou System for an example is militarized, and sees themselves as the bulwark against Imperial Daqin aggression. Their equipment is most likely going to reflect their needs, as well as the circumstances surrounding them, including their limitations. For an example, they're more likely to adopt weapons that are high-caliber, however, due to having a national draft, will need these weapons in bulk. Arming a system's military, let alone its planetary militia, is not easy. Chances are, compromises were likely made that will reflect their need to fight trans-human Daqin while being able to mass produce these guns. As a result, their weapons may be lots of old-fashioned steel due to the cheapness and availability of the material. The German MP-44 and descendant G-3 are good examples of this type of construction philosophy. Meanwhile, another option to reflect these criteria would be using bare-bones gun guts inside of a cheap plastic housing, much like mainland China's QBZ-95. These could be assault rifles chambered in big, fat, hard hitting calibers like the .50 Beowulf for urban fighting, or maybe traditional battle-rifle rounds like the 7.62mm NATO for longer range ability. Overall, I imaigne they'd eschew smaller, rapid fire calibers and have a very 'mass produced' feel to their guns.

And that's not even addressing the other states yet.

 

[Ray of Meep]

The other states in the HFR have more stringent gun laws. Their concerns of firearms are more catered towards their elite infantry units, therefore will be higher quality, have good recoil control for zero gravity environments, a whole suite of aim-assist electronics, integration with their armor, etc.

Li Ming is in a unique state. When it comes to civilian firearms, they require options for those living in rural areas, fending off against dangerous wild life that dominates the planet of Zhuque. I imagine large caliber hunting rifles would be distributed to civilians in need, requiring permits and proof of residency.

 

[Uso]

I keep thinking that the main difficulty would be hitting the target, and your optics/electronics package on the gun would be more important than the gun itself. The Assembly already has a variety of aim-assist tools, and I imagine the HFR would be able to produce stuff that's just as good if they wanted to.

So how far beyond a basic red dot sight would they go?

 

[Ray of Meep]

For the civilian base package, something like an AR-15 with a red dot sight on it should be sufficient, with ammunition that can roll around in the body more. The goal here for Shen Zhou specifically is to distill firearms into the culture so that trained troops can be quickly raised from the population pool. There's no delusion that a civvy can stand up against elite Daqin invaders. The rifle will likely have rails for customization for the gun fanatics.

 

[Ray of Meep]

To put the whole situation into bullet points, the HFR employs the following, primary rifles: Elite infantry rifles to rival fellow supernations, elite infantry rifles to contest the Daqin, Shenzhou civilian rifles that serve as educational platforms, and Li Ming hunting rifles to contest Zhuque wildlife.

Anti-human elite rifles:

• Shorter, more compact for urban and space station warfare
• High fire rate, accuracy and range are secondary
• Recoil control, at least as an add-on for zero-g environments
• Built in electronics for aim-assist and friend-or-foe identification
• Moderate-caliber bullet to pierce space suits

Anti-Daqin elite rifles:

• All the same points as anti-human elite rifles
• Lower fire rate for higher accuracy
• Modified cartridge with explosive properties and more tumbling inside body

Shen Zhou civilian rifles:

• Can be longer, but lighter
• Must be mass producible: minimize strategic metals required to manufacture, preferably just steel
• Easy to handle and maintain
• Mounting rails for aim-assist add-ons
• Can support cartridges with better stopping power

Li Ming hunting rifles:

• Low rate of fire, high accuracy
• High caliber rounds
• Any aim-assist besides infrared, scopes, and red-dot sights are banned

 

[Ray of Meep]

Another consideration, this time for the URC. Since they operate primarily on Earth, their concerns are against fellow humans in hostile regions along the equator. These regions of conflict don't always entail urban warfare, thus require long range options.

URC field rifles:

• High accuracy, medium to long range, fire rate secondary
• Recoil control, but not extensive
• Aim assist, friend-or-foe identification
• Overall can be cheaper than the elite rifles, since targets are not always well armed supernational forces. Improvements made through the cartridge.

The elite rifles and Shen Zhou civilian rifles should be bullpups. The elite rifles should field high quality bullets that function more as missiles with the ability to guide themselves, to some extent.