The SAn-1717 was developed in 2317 as part of continued experimentation into a rifles with powerful recoil absorption systems and heavy barrels that could withstand the high pressures and heat from the chromatic gunpowder rounds used by the CCM.

The weapon would see limited production in 2318 for testing and evaluation. The rather unique design of the weapon would see it become popular with collectors and enthusiasts, which would keep the factory line running for the weapon. Continued production would see the weapon start to proliferate through the human sphere, making it a relatively uncommon showpiece that could be acquired in many places throughout the Human Sphere.

Stellar Arms would attempt to Partner with the Soyuz to bring the rifle to ISOC for evaluation as a replacement for the UG-12 after The New Years Revolution in 2320. The heavy, high velocity, round of the SAn-1717 as well as the strong recoil absorption would have made it a good option for ISOC's anti-armor requirements, and under this line of thinking Stellar Arms was able to get some of the rifles into the hands of ISOC's special forces units for evaluation. Ultimately the deal with the Soyuz would fall apart very early, but it did make the weapon quite popular in certain circles.

The SAn-1717 is a very conventional rifle in terms of layout. It has an adjustable stock, pistol grip, and very conventional box magazine with ejector level in front. It has an ambidextrous charging handle on either side towards the front, and a heat resistant handguard further forward from that. An adjustable riser can be attached to the side to hold optics, and the stock can similarly be adjusted or entirely removed. A selector on the left side of the weapon allows for safety, semi-auto, or full auto fire.

The primary feature of the weapon is the pair of reciprocating barrels. The design follows on from earlier counter-recoil systems that were designed earlier that used a weight moving in the opposite direction of the bullet to counteract recoil. Modern Soyuz weapons have to contend with extreme projectile velocity and heat, quick requires increasingly heavy barrels and counter-weights in order to both survive long term use and mitigate recoil. The SAn-1717 solves both problems by making the counter-weight a second barrel. This doubles the amount of rounds the weapon can fire before the barrels need replacement and helps mitigate heat by reducing per-barrel rate of fire. It also allows the weapon to use the alternate barrel for the counter-recoil system. This provides a reasonable rate of fire with recoil that is manageable for even unaided individuals.

The SAn-1717 was designed to experiment with new recoil absorption methods, and was not actually intended for frontline combat usage. It is heavier and more mechanically complex than most rifles which make it sub-optimal for long term operations. The relatively small production run also means there are fewer spare parts for the weapon available. The small number of units that do use the weapon generally do so in order to get the maximum volume of anti-material firepower into the hands of individual soldiers. It is sometimes seen in suppressive fire-support roles in the Human Sphere.

Chromatic-6.8mm