Approved Tech ARGH- HVKF-MD-1

[HK-36]

Image: Taken from DeviantArt, a piece called "KXW-18 Mass Driver Rifle" by artist Igor Kutuzov (Link here)
Intent: To create an anti-armor weapon for the Iron Company by utilizing the reverse-engineered technology of Verpine shatterpistols
Development Thread: If required
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: High Velocity Kinetic Firearm- Mass Driver-1
Affiliation: Barony of Abregado-Rae, partially Omega Protectorate (see Production)
Modularity: The railing on the spine of the gun allows for addition of custom scopes, handheld, shoulder-fired, and mounted variants for vehicles or heavier droids.
Production: Minor production (Enough to supply the Iron Company and Militia of Abregado-Rae, any additional production would require a development thread with backing from another manufacturing company, i.e. Omega Corps buying off the design to manufacture the weapon for Protectorate forces)
Material: Durasteel, Bronzium accents for aesthetic purposes on some of the designs

Description: To begin with, when I was discussing the creation of this weapon with Tegaea Alcori's writer, the creator of Bolt Guns, he was concerned whether this rail gun would be able to pierce armor of heavy vehicles (as it is intended for that role since it is an anti-armor weapon) with the bolt's caliber (Although bigger than the small pellets the shatterguns use, they are smaller than usual anti-armor caliber ammunition). So, I did some research and calculations for comparison with modern anti-tank weaponry, and I have come to conclusion that yes, these rail guns would propel MK 1 boltgun ammunition at high enough velocity to pierce heavy tank armor. However, words are only empty words where there's no evidence to back them up, below is the list of sources and variables I used to conduct my calculations, and calculations themselves (Please keep in mind, they are comparisons and estimations as many variables are initially unknown in this case, and I am not a professional physicist, although a student of Science, I have only enough knowledge to conduct such calculations and know what they mean)

Spoiler

Equations
So, to compare what kind of energy output this weapon would deal when compared to real-life anti-armor weaponry I decided to find out the Kinetic Energy of its projectiles, as it will be the energy with which it will hit its targets. The equation is
Kinetic Energy=1/2(Mass)(Velocity)^2

Variables
I started with the difficult part of gathering the variables that referred to the Bolt Gun ammunition, for that I needed the Mass of the projectile, and Velocity at which they will travel.
For Mass, thankfully, Tegaea listed the dimensions of the standard bolt-gun ammunition in its submission, 30 mm x 45 mm, it was something I could use to calculate the projectile's Mass by calculating its area and then using the density of durasteel, from which it's made, to find the Mass itself.
To find the Area I used the equation for Area of Cylinder, as that would approximate the area of the bullet the closest, A=2Pi(Radius^2)+Height(2Pi(Radius))
So, using the bullet's dimensions I assumed the height is 45 mm and radius is 15 mm, the half of it's width, therefore,
A=2(3.14)(15^2)+45(2(3.14)(15))
A=2(3.14)(225)+45(2(3.14)(15))
A=6.28(225)+45(94.2)
A=1413+4293
A=5652 mm^3=5.65 cm^3=0.00000565 m^3

So, with the Approximate Area in hand, I was able to now calculate the mass of the Projectile using the Density of Durasteel.
Excepted the Density of Durasteel isn't listed anywhere, so once more, I fell to the precedent of Real-Life equivalents, and used the Density of Steel. Steel has been described as having density between 7750 and 8050 kg/m^3, I went with 8050 kg/m^3 as it would be the closest to denser Durasteel, and I found it appropriate since the whole Bolt would not be made from durasteel, using less dense metal could make the number closer to what it would be.
So, to calculate Mass,
8050 kg/m^3 * 0.00000565 m^3= 0.045 kg Approximately

Now, all I had to do was find the Velocity at which the bullet would be propelled.
Surprisingly enough, that was easier to find than the Mass of the Bolt. In its Wookieepedia article on Mass Drivers (I went to Wookieepedia first as it is the setting in which I make the calculations) it is said that the typical speed for Mass-driver railgun projectiles was 6 km/s. However, the problem here was that the article referred to Mass Driver Cannons, I was dealing with handheld weapon, although it was indeed a large handheld weapon. The Shatterguns have been described as advanced rail-guns, as such I gave benefit of the doubt to miniaturization of rail gun technology and increasing energy output with advancement of said technology and used the 6 km/s as my velocity, at least for now.
So, I finally had the two variables I needed, Mass of Bolt ~ 0.045 kg and Velocity ~ 6 km/s ~ 6000 m/s, or Mach 17, over 17 times the speed of sound.

However, before I continued on I wanted to gather my variables for the device I was going to compare this rail-gun weapon to. I chose a M40 Recoiless Rifle, the current recoiless rifle used by U.S. armed forces. Recoiless rifles are a type of tube-launched artillery, much like rocket launchers, that differ from the said launchers by using solid anti-armor shells as opposed to self-propelling rockets. I chose them as my comparison because, although they use chemical explosions to propel their shells, they use un-propelled ammunition for anti-tank purposes much like my Rail-Gun would do.
So, I quickly found my velocity for M40 ~ 503 m/s, almost Mach 2, and for my mass I used their heaviest anti-tank shell the Austrian-made RAT 700 with weight ~ 1.1 kg

So, from the current looks of it, my railgun would be firing much smaller projectiles but at much greater speeds, the question of it all would be, is it possible for it to fire at great enough speeds?

Calculations
First I calculated the Kinetic Energy output of my Rail Gun using Mass of Bolt ~ 0.045 kg and Velocity ~ 6000 m/s
Once again, the equation is Kinetic Energy=1/2(Mass)(Velocity)^2
KE=1/2(0.045kg)(6000m/s)^2
KE=1/2(0.045)(36000000)
KE=1/2(1620000)
KE=810000 Joules
Now, to compare, I calculated the Kinetic Energy output for M40 Recoiless Rifle using Mass of RAT 700 ~ 1.1 kg and Velocity ~ 503 m/s
KE=1/2(1.1kg)(503m/s)^2
KE=1/2(1.1)(253009)
KE=1/2(278309.9)
KE=139154.95 J

Clearly the Rail Gun would deal far more damage to Armored Units than the M40 recoiless rifle, however, that was not really the question on my mind, it was whether the Rail Gun would fire its projectiles fast enough to pierce armor. And what if it wouldn't be able to achieve the velocity of Mass Driver Cannons, 6 km/s, even in its advanced form?
Well, what I calculated next was the minimum speed the gun would need to fire its projectiles at to achieve the same Kinetic Energy output as the M40 Recoiless Rifle, so for that my variables were Kinetic Energy ~ 139154.95 Joules and Mass of Bolt ~ 0.045 kilograms, I was solving for Velocity,
139154.95=1/2(0.045kg)(v)^2
278309.9=(0.045)(v)^2
6184664.44=v^2
2486.90 m/s ~ Velocity
(2486.90/6000)*100= 41.45%

So, to achieve the same penetration as modern Recoiless Anti-Tank Rifles, my Rail Gun would have to fire its projectiles at 2486.90 m/s, Mach 7, or 41.45% of what was described the average muzzle velocity of Mass Driver Cannon in Star Wars. Anywhere 2486.90m/s<Velocity<_6000m/s and it would be improvement on the modern Recoiless Anti-Tank Rifle armor penetration.

So, with all of that I feel like I can safely say two things:
Using MK 1 Bolt Gun bolts this hand-held mass driver would be able to achieve penetration on heavy-tank armor, and
Physics are fun

One day two Gados scientists were working on Abregado on the new models of shattergun-based weaponry. One looked at the other and asked "What if we would fire a bolter ammuniton from this thing?" the other looked to him and went, "One way to find out," and so they hugged and began working on their design.

What came from this union was a bastard child of a Shattergun and Bolter, the scientists were unsure what to call the device, a Rail-Bolt gun, a Shatterbolter, or just call it what it is, a Small Mass Driver.
Either way, what came of this was a weapon capable of delivering massive damage to enemy armored units and bombarding the infantry.

The increased size of the weapon, especially barrel length, enabled the gun to fire at greater power output than even the SR-1 sniper rifle the Gados have designed it based on the shattergun designs. However, this was necessary to propel the heavier ammunition. At least heavier than the small-caliber pellets used before. Drawback of that was, however, the increased size of the weapon, making it heavier, and harder to move about the field. Of course, that was often a problem with such weapons, and so a mounted variant has been made among with hand-held variant for ease of control and movement on the gun by installing it on vehicles or heavier droids.

A miniaturized repulsorlift system has also been installed into the gun, as well as inertial dampeners, much like in the case of Shattergun Rotary Cannon the Gados have designed, in order to make it useable to the infantry in the first place. These additional systems enable this Rail Cannon to be carried about the field easier, as well as aim it with lesser difficulty, and upon firing, it decreases the recoil enough to not throw a grown man on his butt or break the soldier's shoulder when used. As with the previously mentioned Rotary Cannon, the Gados haven't bothered installing full sound-dampener system on the weapon, it had enough energy drain as it was and there was no way somebody was going to do anything stealthy with it. The sound-dampening system in the weapon are enough to keep the barrel of it from exploding due to the sonic boom going on inside it, and to keep it from deafening the soldiers to use it, or those around, but it is not a silent weapon at all, and the soldier wielding it is advised to have sound-resisting systems in his helmet.

Speaking of the weapon's energy output, firing much bigger projectile than that of small-caliber pellets previously used has taken its toll on the systems, the rails and additional systems of the weapon need 10 seconds to charge up before shooting, in that time the weapon is stabilized and the magnets ready to fire once more. However, the good thing is, it can be charged before the battle and then it retains this energy until fired. This means that a soldier could charge it up on board of a dropship and fire right away when the doors open, or wait until more convenient time. However, when aiming it is advised to let the weapon stabilize with additional systems in 3 seconds, otherwise, the recoil is much greater, although not enough to injure the soldier using the weapon. That way, the additional 3 seconds provide a much more accurate shot, allowing the soldiers to hit targets from longer distance.

Speaking of the weapon's accuracy, as it is a large shattergun, it is a very accurate weapon with effective range of that of some sniper rifles. It is very useful against advancing enemy armored units who have not yet gotten the defensive positions in range of their guns, or 'sniping' enemy armor with a flanking maneuver from cover.

As to the gun's power and ammunition, the solid metal Slugs of MK 1 bolt gun work wonders against heavy armored units. The solid slugs are propelled at incredible speed and are able to punch clean through a vehicle in some cases, dealing heavy damage. While the standard bolt ammunition has lesser penetration than Solid Slug, although it is able to penetrate Heavy Vehicle Armor with a good hit, it has a rather curious property when fired from this small mass driver. The Gados scientists called it the Hyper-Velocity Shrapnel Effect. What it describes is, when the standard bolt ammunition is fired and impacts its target, or soil, it explodes as it would usually, however, at the speed it travels, it loses its area of effect damage. Instead, it is a conical effect as the shockwave of its explosion and shrapnel are propelled forward due to velocity (This part is least grounded in actual science as my plane to Poland is nipping at my heels and I have no time to research this to be certain ). The shrapnel, due to explosion, retains velocity similar to that of a shattergun pistol ammunition being fired, acting very much so like a shotgun version of shattergun in fletchete shrapnel version. This can pepper light and medium vehicles and penetrate their armor, although heavy armored vehicles deflect the shrapnel, or the shrapnel imbeds in their armor and impales it without really causing any further damage, and it's a very devastating effect to be used against infantry, especially when the shock-wave of it hits them like a run-away train. As such, the Slugs are advised to be used against heavily armored units and the Bolts are much more effective in bombardment against groups of infantry.

Due to the larger caliber of the weapon, it is able to fire the DUST balls, much like the shatterguns of the Old Republic, in order to maintain surveillance of the battlefield, as well as the various Anti-Force User grenades to bombard the field with their effects, such as gas cover. The ammunition of the gun comes in magazines of 10, much like for the original bolt guns, while the grenades and DUSTy balls need to be loaded one at the time into the mechanism.

While normal Bolt gun ammunition can be fired from the Mass Driver, special magazines of it has been made by the Gados scientists to be fired from the weapon. The only difference is that this modified ammunition affects only the explosive Bolts, they have been set to arm after passing 10 meters, to avoid any devastating misfired or premature detonations. And such events would indeed be devastating with a weapon like that, the blast of it would be far greater than that of a Bolt Gun due to the much larger muzzle velocity, all Gados scientists agreed on that.

What they couldn't agreed on was whether to make the weapon held like a normal rifle or shoulder-fired in its handheld weapon. As that, both variants were made in its hand-held format. The Rifle-Held allow greater accuracy with the weapon while the Shoulder-Fired variant allows for greater recoil absorption, allowing for the user to skip the 3 second stabilization period and fire the weapon sooner.
Classification: Shattergun Slugthrower
Size: Handheld or Mounted
Status: Military
Length: 140 centimeters (Based it off of SR-1 design I recently submitted, 130 centimeters, the main structure of this weapon is based on it)
Weight: 23 kilograms (Based it off of the weight of real-life FGM-148 Javelin, 22.3 kg, a modern rocket launcher)
Ammunition Type: MK 1 Bolt Gun ammunition (Specifically standard Bolts and solid metal Slugs), DUST balls, or Anti-Forceuser Grenades
Ammunition Capacity: Magazines of 10 Bolt Gun rounds (As with original Bolt Guns), DUST and Grenades have to be loaded one at the time, do not come in magazine format
Effective Range: 1000 meters (Same as the range for MK 1 boltgun bombardment)

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="HK-36"] - Your approximation of the bullet's volume reminds me of the old physics joke about the spherical chicken. That said, your physics pretty much check out, you've got enough drawbacks to counter the benefits, this ain't the first railgun sniper rifle, and, hey, if people abuse this, I'll just deny it retroactively. Approved pending secondary.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Approved.