Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To provide a grenade launcher in Lucerne Personal Defense's product line
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Manufacturer: Lucerne Personal Defense
Model: LPD-17 Hammerstrike Grenade Launcher
Affiliation: Silver Jedi, Galactic Alliance, Directorate, Closed-Market
Modularity: ammunition, scope, rail attachments
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: Permex-durasteel reinforced furniture, Agrinium reciever and internals, electronics
Classification: Grenade Launcher
Size: Average
Weight: Heavy
Ammunition Type: Grenades
Ammunition Capacity: 8 grenades (drum magazine), 4 grenades (stick magazine) / liquid Deutrium-Baradium Nitrate propellant (16 shots)
Reload Speed: Slow
Effective Range: Long Range
Rate of Fire: Low
Stopping Power: Very High
Recoil: High
Variable Munitions: The Hammerstrike's magazines are designed to accept standard grenade bodies as well as CSPL-12's canisters, allowing the Hammerstrike to be used for a variety of purposes and roles.
Electrothermal-chemical gun: Building off Lucerne Labs work with the Trident-class Autocannon and other large guns, the Hammerstrike miniaturizes this electrothermal-chemical gun technology and applies it to small arms design. In essence, the Hammerstrike starts a combustion reaction that will propel an inert physical munition by igniting a liquid Deutrium-Baradium Nitrate propellant with a laser. This liquid turns into rapidly expanding plasma which pushes the grenade or other munition out of the barrel. Because the liquid fuel is not part of the munition itself, and it is pumped in separately, it does not need have an ejection or extraction equipment. This trait is also responsible for Hammerstrike's ability to accept most standard grenades and CSPL-12 cannisters, as it does not need a built-in propellant for the munitions.
High Power: The Hammerstrike fires standard, full-size grenades and other similarly sized ordinance, making it relatively high-powered for a personal weapon.
Long Range: The Hammerstrike uses electrothermal-chemical gun technology to efficiently propel grenades over long distances.
Adaptable: The Hammerstrike can fire most standard-sized grenades, particularly C-22s and LXR-6s, as well as CSPL-12 cannisters. It also has a top rail that is capable of accepting a variety of scopes and sights for different purposes along with an adjustable length of pull stock. This makes it particularly adaptable for individual users and for different uses on the battlefield.
Heavy: The Hammerstrike is a fairly heavy weapon, which makes it harder to move quickly to aim at close distances as well as tiring to carry over long distances.
Low Rate of Fire: The Hammerstrike does not fire very quickly, as it takes a little time for the liquid propellant to properly fill up the firing chamber.
High Recoil: The Hammerstrike fires a relatively large projectile at high velocity, which makes its recoil quite heavy, and thus it can be difficult to control.
DESCRIPTION
Grenades and specialty ordinances have long been in demand by the galaxy's armed forces because of their versatility and power. Inevitably, more efficient means to deploy them have followed. The Hammerstrike is Lucerne Personal Defense's entry into this market, meant to fill a middle ground between the heavy and typical vehicle mounted MM-s3 and the micro-grenade launchers like the MGL-1. Like the MGL-1, the Hammerstrike is fairly man-portable, but like the MM-s3, it fires standard-sized grenades and canisters. This combination of traits has allowed it to establish a successful niche in otherwise competitive market.
At a glance, the Hammerstrike appears to be a fairly conventional design, using durasteel-reinforced permex furniture and agrinium receiver to form a traditional stocked long-arm. It also uses detachable magazines, available in compact stick mags or large-capacity drums, to feed ammunition into the barrel. However, these traditional ergonomic choices conceal that the Hammerstrike does not use traditional slugthrower technology, but rather the electrothermal-chemical gun technology originally developed by Lucerne Labs for it large capital ship weapons. By using this technology, Lucerne Personal Defense ensured that the Hammerstrike is backwards compatible with many existing grenades and munitions, giving it a wide variety of payloads. However, special consideration was made to allow it to use grenades based on the C-22 family and canisters from the CSPL-12. The following are among the more common payloads used by the Hammerstrike:
C-22 Fragmentation Grenade: This is fairly common weapon seen across the galaxy, which typically is used to create a cloud of rapidly expanding shrapnel that is effective against infantry and other lightly armored targets. The Hammerstrike typically fires these with set timers which are activated by an actuated hand in the firing chamber. However, it's not uncommon to hear of soldiers modifying these grenades with impact detonators for use in the Hammerstrike.
LXR-6 Concussion Grenade: This grenade is probably the second most common payload after the C-22. It has a tight, focused blast radius that is poorly suited against groups of soft targets like infantry, but is well-suited towards piercing through the armor plating of vehicles and other barriers.
EMP Grenade: Another fairly common weapon, this grenade can cause electromagnetic pulses that can fry or temporarily disable electronics in such things such as droids, weapons, and vehicles.
Smoke Canister: This CSPL-12 canister produces an erupting stream of smoke used to mark sites for other friendly units, obscure the vision of opposing forces, or to “smoke out” occupants in enclosed spaces.
T-238 Canister: This CSPL-12 canister produces a cloud of T-238, which causes intense and immediate nausea and vomiting in most organics. It is most often used for riot control purposes or to combat creatures.
Cyroban: This CSPL-12 canister releases a cloud of chilling Cyroban. This intense freezing effect is not only used to damage or destroy targets, but also sees use in putting out fires and combating area of effect thermal weapons.
Plank Gas: This CSPL-12 canister releases a cloud of plank gas, which rapidly corrodes not only flesh, but eats through metal objects as well.
The sheer variety of readily available munitions makes the Hammerstrike popular with its users, but it also comes with its corresponding weakness. These are all quite large munitions for the Hammerstrike's size, which not only leads to limited ammunition capacity, but also a high recoil and a slow rate of fire. Both of these problems are solved by grenade launchers on either side of the spectrum: The MM-s3 is usually vehicle mounted with extended belt magazine, while micro-grenade launchers like the MGL-1 use smaller munitions which inherently have less recoil and larger magazine capacities. Still, the Hammerstrike is a formidable weapon in the right hands, capable of indirectly barraging foxholes of enemy infantry or halting a mechanized assault on its users. Its sheer versatility and ammunition compatibility will likely ensure that it remain a common sight on the battlefield for some time.
