Bombshell Genius
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a 5.0 version of a squad automatic weapon.
- Image Source: Lord Drakos
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: Chalacta anti-matériel rifle
- Manufacturer: Ringovinda Systems
- Model: Balamak medium machinegun
- Affiliation: Open-Market
- Modularity: Yes; can change the scope
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Durasteel, blaster components, ostrine
- Classification: Electromagnetic plasma general purpose machinegun
- Size: Large (1.27m long)
- Weight: Heavy (12 kg)
- Ammunition Type: Power cell, gas canister
- Ammunition Capacity: 250
- Reload Speed: Low
- Effective Range: Long (1km)
- Rate of Fire: High (180 rpm cyclic)
- Stopping Power: High
- Recoil: Average
- Free-floating barrel
- Recoil buffer (microrepulsors)
- Collapsible bipod
- Detachable 360-degree scope
- Advanced cooling system
- Burst firing; can fire in bursts of 3, 6 or 9 rounds
- Great penetration power (can penetrate up to 100mm of reinforced duracrete, or equivalent, while more heavily armored vehicles would have a dent into their armor)
- Explosive firepower
- Cannot be redirected by lightsabers
- High rate of fire
- Slow reload rate
- Heavy and bulky
- Very easy to detect using thermal and EM sensors
- Limited accuracy in burst fire
- A 5-second cooldown is required after burst firing
The free-floating barrel is a feature that allows the recoil to be reduced at a manageable level, while the barrel and the stock do not touch along any point along the barrel length, even though it is attached to the trigger assembly, called the receiver. In addition, a recoil buffer mounted into the stock, made up of micro-repulsors, allows the shooter to reduce the recoil felt to a more manageable level, while the collapsible bipod helps stabilize the weapon while fired. The great weight of the Balamak, while somewhat helpful against the recoil, is also a weakness, especially given its great size. Also, around the barrel are actually extruded durasteel heat pipes with internal zirconium coating, and the inside filled with ostrine, with the contact area maximized so as to maximize the outward flow of heat from the weapon to the outside environment.
The Balamak medium machinegun borne from the realization that heavy machineguns lacked mobility and required a crew, while the ned to deliver suppressive fire was still present. The use of miniaturized electromagnetic plasma cannon technology was chosen due to the various advantages of electromagnetic plasma, especially when used against lightsaber-wielders: if a lightsaber-wielder tries to block a shot fired from a Balamak with a lightsaber, the contact of the round against the lightsaber would cause an explosion that would release the plasma contained inside the lightsaber back onto the wielder. Which, given the nature of electromagnetic plasma weapons, would likely result in the vaporization of the areas hit by the plasma explosion, potentially reducing the targets into molten slag or possibly causing severe burns. Heavily armored targets would get holes punched into the armor, creating weak spots through which a second shot may be fired and penetrate the same spot. However, such miniaturization comes at the cost of lowered accuracy and lowered reload rate in battle: while it can fire about 3 shots per second in a burst that can last 1, 2 or 3 seconds, it can only do so with limited accuracy, and a shooter would need one full post to reload the weapon, during which it is vulnerable. Much like it would be vulnerable for five seconds after firing a burst due to the need to cool down after a burst.
Of course, such heat makes a Balamak very easy to detect on thermal sensors upon firing, while the very nature of electromagnetic plasma makes it very easy to detect on EM sensors. Nevertheless, it can penetrate up to 100 mm of reinforced duracrete, making it a good weapon to use in ambushes and other types of surprise attacks against several kinds of targets: vehicles, fortified positions, lightsaber-wielders, tightly-packed infantry, to name a few.
