Standard Infantry Equipment
Chinese Small Arms and Equipment
QLB-85 'Helix' Assault Cannon
The 'Helix' is designed for full conversion cyborg bodies or battlesuits, as even a mobility-suited soldier risks injury trying to fire the heavy, 32 kilogram weapon. Fed from a pair of 45-round helical magazines and using a revolver-cannon system to maintain a high rate of fire for effective burst fire, the 'Helix' fires 32 x 70mm projectiles using a magnetic launch system. Most soldiers load it with a combination of smart gyrojet and thermobaric ammunition for a combination of fire support and all-range firepower. Equipped with a smartlink, the Helix is an advanced and incredibly powerful weapon which has seen service with both the PLA, many expanse powers, and ZOCU.
Type 80 Assault Rifle
China's premier infantry weapon, the Type 80 was only deployed en masse before the start of the ZOCU-Core war, and has shown some of the optimizations which have come along with it. Firing a 5mm penetrator round or a 32mm projectile, the Type 92 is one of the few Core standard-issue arms to use ETC propulsion, an unusual design characteristic which, on the other hand, reduces its battery drain. The long-term savings in cost in discarded battery packs may slightly reduce its combat efficiency but the Type 92 is possibly the most cost-effective weapon fielded by the great powers.
Hong Jian (HJ) 21 Man Portable Anti-tank/Anti-mecha missile
The HJ-21 is the latest in a long line of successful Chinese anti-tank guided missiles. It features a combination of infra-red, millimeter wave radar, home-on-jam and optical tracking modes, of which the first three are fire-and-forget modes. In optical tracking mode, it rides a laser beam to the target, which is provided either by the command launch unit or a compatible laser designator signal chosen by the firer. The missile has a top speed of Mach 0.9 can also be programmed for a variety of terminal maneuvers, including a "pop-up" maneuver to attack the target's top armour directly, or evasive maneuvers to avoid active defenses. It also features a "ground skimming" mode during the early stages of flight to minimize detection time. It features a tandem shaped micro-fusion/thermobaric warhead, giving it a firepower second only to Kismet's PIG-2. The combined launcher-control unit weighs a hefty 20 kilos, limiting the typical gunner-loader-helper team to a mere four missiles.
QLB-86 Squad Automatic Weapon
The QLB-86 is the smaller cousin of the Helix, and fires the same ammo as its larger counterpart. It was made as a response to the increasingly large numbers of armour suited infantry, and the perceived lack of lethality of a mere light machine gun in the SAW role. It is a very simple weapon, built out of lightweight materials to improve ammo capacity, featuring a twenty round drum typically filled with a mix of HEDP for anti-infantry work with a small number of smart gyrojet rounds for harder, or more elusive targets. Unlike its larger relative, it can only has a semi-automatic mode, but due to its lack of stabilizers other than a deployable bipod and a very limited ammunition supply automatic fire would be practically impossible to handle anyway. There are four SAW gunners per squad, replacing the two grenadiers typically found in most other militaries.
EU Small Arms and Equipment
Heckler und Koch G94
The standardized infantry rifle of the EU, the G94 is the baseline to which most infantry rifles are compared. With a 6.5mm AP component for pure kinetic energy delivery and a 6-round, 25mm coilgun capable of firing either gyrockets, nonlethal ammunition, or fragmentation, as well as an excellent electronic sight and multiple mounting rails for various components, the G94 has only become more popular after the end of the war, and the EU paratrooper holding a G94 is one of the most recognizable sights for the ZOCU war. If there are faults with the weapon it is that it is somewhat more expensive and somewhat heavier than it could possibly be.
Heckler und Koch MG12
The H&K MG12 uses the 25mm coilgun of the G94, adapting it to sustained fire and a belt feed. Either fired from a bipod or from a gyrostabilized brace, the MG12 has aim tracking features that ensure accuracy in any environment. Although the program was threatened with cancellation in 2180 due to cost overruns and its high unit cost compared to its predecessor, the FN EMAG, the design's combat record in the early days of the New Mercian ground conflict quickly changed the minds of many towards its adoption.
Heckler und Koch PSG12 Thor Assault Cannon
The H&K Thor is a massive battlesuit-portable antimateriel cannon, massing at 35 kilograns and firing a 15mm depleted uranium penetrator at 4 kilometers a second. Equipped with a high power electronic sight and aim compensation programs that see little use due to the round's mass and velocity, the Thor's punishing recoil and high power drain make it a specialist weapon-but for all that, it was more than effective against the relatively thin armor of ZOCU early-war tanks at any angle save the front, and accurate enough to be used as an antipersonnel solution. Stories of Gerhardt Rosenbaum, an EU sniper who used the Thor as a sniper weapon, have already become fixed in the public's eye-including stories of his exploits using a C3 link and disposable UAVs to, in one case, kill a New Mercian infantry commander by shooting through two sides of a solid concrete building.
Benelli M12 CAWS
A shotgun/grenade launcher equivalent, the Benelli M12 is a "snub cannon", a weapon that fires large, relatively low-velocity 40mm projectiles with low effective range but high impact power and low recoil. Furthermore the low muzzle velocity also allows a shorter overall weapon, making the M12 effective in close quarters. Standard loads for the M12 use an advanced shaped charge which focuses 95% of the explosive energy into the target, making the lethal radius minimal to even unarmored users. Other loads include thermobaric grenades, camera rounds, micro-recon vehicles, ECM rounds, flashbang, antipersonnel foam, and chemical. Due to its distinctive looks, low maintenance costs, and relatively light weight, civilian versions are popular throughout the Sphere, generally loaded with steel buckshot "canister" rounds for hunting or defense against foes who are not likely to possess power armor.
Nexter FA F40 Designated Marksman Rifle
A competing design for the standardized EU infantry rifle, the French F40 was designed in a much "older" fashion, using a coilgun firing 12.7mm gyrojet penetrators, without any secondary systems. The low-caliber gyrocs it fired were insufficient to carry significant explosive payload, but they could be accelerated to a potent velocity which allowed them to pierce most infantry armors of the ZOCU-Core War. Carrying a 20 round magazine of penetrators, the FA F40 lost the 2170 competition to the G94, but was adopted by the EU as a designated marksman rifle owing to its high accuracy (in part due to its semi-guided munitions) and stopping power.
MBDA Frion IIC
The EU's predominant disposable infantry rocket launcher, the Frion IIC is a mere 2.8 kilograms, nearly half a kilo lighter than its predecessor. Despite that, the warhead, anti-ECCM systems, and evasion subroutines are all superior, its only shortcoming being its slightly reduced range, due to the use of a two-stage rocket motor, a first stage that burns out extremely quickly and a second stage which activates in its terminal seeking mode. The Frion comes in several varieties, including explosively forged penetrator, fragmentation, HEDP, and thermobaric, and although somewhat shorter-ranged and less powerful than the New Mercian Mk. 12, was slightly more agile and had a better ECCM system, decreasing its vulnerability to enemy countermeasures.
Cuirasse De Combat
Possibly the best standardized infantry protective system fielded in the ZOCU war, the Cuirasse De Combat was instrumental in many of the surprising ground victories of the EU forces, matching their superior armor and weapons to ZOCU's transgenic supersoldiers. Like most infantry combat designs, the Cuirasse was modular, hard plates over a mobility suit. What was revolutionary was the adaptive exoskeleton, which was flexible under low strain and rigid under high strain, giving an armored EU soldier full mobility. In addition to this, the Cuirasse was built with high-efficiency artificial myomer instead of the standard design, sacrificing a degree of strength for superior combat endurance. Although this was the subject of complaints, EU experience on New Mercia quickly silenced them, as in many long battles, while the enemy transgenics were moving their armor suits sluggishly under their personal muscle power or discarding them entirely, the EU soldiers were still capable of using their armor's full capabilities. It is no wonder that the ZOCU Achilleus was at least partially based on developments pioneered by the EU's design.
Independent Powers' Small arms and Equipment
Avalon Armaments M72
Much like Kalashnikov was synonymous with "cheap" in the late 20th and mid-to-early 21st centuries, the M72 has become the weapon most commonly used by space pirates, poor rim worlds, and criminals with black market connections. Originally designed as a low-cost military solution for Valera's budding military, the M72 was too primitive to get much headway, despite its low cost. However, for worlds which would make up the League or other poor rim worlds, the design was excellent. Low-maintenance, still a credible threat, and easily reverse engineerable, the design was bought by several powers, and soon after knockoff copies were found just about everywhere. Using a 30 round magazine of 6.8mm AP rounds fired from a coilgun, as well as a single-shot breech-loading 35mm gyrojet launcher, the M72 is powerful but heavy, somewhat inaccurate, and lacks ammunition capacity.
Orion's Arms A4 Suppressor
Minowskan infantry tactics mainly center around boarding and zero-G operations, and as such a recoiless weapon was desirable. Designers considered energy weapons but rejected them for being too power hungry, and their heat production, only inconveniencing in atmosphere, could be dangerous in vacuum for a prolonged fight. The A4 Suppressor fires large caliber (~35mm) shaped charge gyrojet munitions, with very little recoil due to the weapon not giving the rounds the "kick" that most other small arms do. This reduces the weapon's range, but its heavy shaped-charge and guidance systems make up for it. Minkowskan space marines have complained about the weapon's low magazine capacity and bulk, but attempts to replace it have stalled in favor of additional warships.
Kismet Techsystems PIG-2
Arguably the most lethal manpack weapon outside of a nuclear grenade, the Kismet Techsystems Plasma Infantry Gun-2 is one of the few manportable energy weapons to see service outside of special forces. A heavy, cumbersome and entirely unsubtle weapon, it uses an array of augmented delta-fusors to generate a unidrectional fusion explosion capable of destroying an entire building, earning it the alternative nickname 'Blockbuster'. Unsurprisingly, weight and backsplash keep it solely in the hands of powersuited infantry.
PACT Small Arms and Equipment
EM12 Assault Rifle
The EM12 is logistically designed to be compatible with the EM56, firing the same 25.4x108mm guided munitions that the EM56 uses as standard as its primary component, with 5 and 8 round magazines available. As a secondary component the EM12 is modular, capable of supporting various systems from sensors packages, nonlethal energy weapons, or kinetic energy modules. Standard issue for the PACT soldiers was a 3.7mm kinetic energy component, designers judging that the low firepower would rarely be a problem and the light ammunition would allow soldiers to carry more guided munitions. The EM12 was reasonably effective, although not as enthused over as the G94.
EM56 Smartgun
Where the EU's EM weapons technology was some of the most advanced in the Sphere, the PACT had superior electronics and guidance systems to most, and preferred accuracy to hitting power. The EM56 is a gyro-braced, exoskeleton mounted squad support weapon using AI target and tracking acquisition to eliminate targets with a brace of 25.4mm guided rounds. Although heavy and cumbersome, and sometimes maintenance problematic, veterans of the USMC in the ZOCU war have spoken loudly about its strong points-incredible accuracy, above average ECM resistance, and high rate of fire.
Adharan EM49 Carbine
Adhara has been a center for research and development since its 'liberation' from the previous government and although mostly uninvolved in the ZOCU war, it has still been advancing its military technology quite heavily. The EM49 has only recently been introduced in 2192, and is a successor of sorts to the EM12. Firing a 20mm guided munition from a high velocity coilgun, the EM49 lacks the secondary component entirely, allowing it to use a helical magazine to increase its ammunition capacity as well as additional sensors. The lack of a suppressive fire solution could be problematic, but the increase in firepower is potentially desirable.
XM350 Variable-Rate Pulse Laser
A rare weapon issued solely to Adharan full conversion cyborg shocktroopers, the XM350 VRPL is designed to adjust pulse rate, pulse power, and focus to maximize effective range and usability against all targets. Capable of effectively engaging light vehicles, battlesuits, and even, with a skilled operator, enemy projectiles, the VRPL pays for this by being immensely expensive and massing over 85 kilograms-nearly 50% more than the next heaviest battlesuit support weapon. It is for this reason that it has only seen very limited trial use by the PACT proper and is mostly restricted to Adharan service.
ZOCU Small Arms and Equipment
Londinium Metals AR-2164
Unlike the other powers, ZOCU did not standardize its infantry weapons, and often ended up with logistical problems in ground battles due to it, which its transgenic soldiers did not fully compensate for. The Londinium Metals AR-2164 was the standard weapon for Londinium and nearby powers at the start of the war, which combined a 15mm coilgun firing gyrojet, solid, or airbursting rounds with a 4.5mm coilgun firing APPF (armor piercing pre-fragmented) rounds. Ammunition Although lightweight, accurate, and low cost, matched against the EU G94 it suffered from inferior range and stopping power, a key problem in early ground battles against EU soldiers.
Harawayian IW-45 Standard Individual Weapon
The Harawayian IW-45 was one of the several common infantry weapons that ZOCU used. The more transhuman Harawayians settled on a heavier secondary round, with the potential capacity to knock down or wound EU soldiers via kinetic energy alone. The IW-45 looked great on paper, with a 20 round capacity for its 8.5mm tungsten penetrators and a capacity of 4 25mm gyrojet munitions, but the weapon's bulk and high energy draw and low magazine capacity made it unpopular with the soldiers in the field, and despite its improved stopping power and the accuracy of its transgenic users, the 7.5mm penetrators were still insufficient to penetrate infantry armor without a good hit against EU armor at close range. In 2190 Haraway modernized its small arms, going to the IW-48, reducing the power of its secondary component to increase ammunition load for its primary gyrojet.
New Mercian Royal Arms Type 90 Man Portable Mega-Particle Projection Cannon
The Royal Arms Type 90 was revolutionary when it debuted at the very end of the ZOCU-Core war, a (vaguely) man-portable mega-particle weapon. Massing approximately 45 kilograms with its backpack cyclotron, the cumbersome weapon could barely be used by an armored infantryman, but was effective against many vehicles. Only a handful of prototypes were produced before war's end, but have proven their worth against EU armor, and in one case, a gunship. Updated versions have somewhat reduced its mass and bulk but even the most recent designs still require the backpack cyclotrons.
New Mercian Achilleus Infantry Combat System
The most capable and eventually the common infantry combat armor of the ZOCU powers, the Achilleus class of combat armor was built around standard lines, an armored mobility suit with an exoskeleton that had attachment points for armored plate. Unlike the competing designs, the Achilleus combined mobility, durability, sensors, and cost-effectiveness into a robust package the equal of the EU Cuirasse de combat. Entirely proof against the G94's KE component past 120 meters and capable of deflecting the G94's munitions dispenser on a glancing hit, while equipped with an advanced and powerful sensors suite combining IR, visual, sonar, lidar, and wall-penetrating radar, the Achilleus is still in New Mercian operation even today, only somewhat updated from its original status by the addition of somewhat heavier protection due to the updates on the mobility suit.
Harawayian Yemaya Marine Combat Armour
Despite it’s many positive features, Harawayian marines found the Achilles unsuitable for their needs for a suit of combat armour suitable for amphibious and aquatic operations such as combat around Haraway’s many reef settlements, islands and deep ocean cities. The Yemaya integrates many features from the Achilles but includes an under water mobility pack and a layer of faber produced smart materials designed to harden and resist water pressure as well as provide support for it’s wearer, allowing them to breath normally. The Yemaya has been widely exported to those planets forces that bother to support “wet” Marine units.
Alshain Medical Atlas Mobility Suit
The suit that the Achilleus was built around, the Protector is Alshain Medical's sole military product, the majority of its income at that time being from prosthetics and light exoskeletons for the elderly and infirm. Armored against limited small arms fire (modern pistols or non-AP loads for modern rifles) and capable of reducing the user strain by up to 60% for a 150 kilogram total combat load, as well as fully integrating a nanocomputer network running the latest Redberry Solutions RedOS-M military software suite, the Atlas became a runaway success with the adoption of the Achilleus, to the point where knockoff copies are found in much of the Expanse, identifiable by their distinctive round exoskeleton interface plugs.
Therson Arms Leo Infantry Armor System
Designed in the days of the Breakdown by Hampshire, the Leo was revolutionary when it was constructed, and saw service throughout the Hampshire civil war. At that time, the mobility suit + modular armor paradigm was new and revolutionary, advanced by a several powers roughly independently at the same time. The Leo was upgraded its operational lifespan throughout until the ZOCU war, where Hampshire, mostly sitting out the war, supplied legions of sets to New Mercian soldiers. Unfortunately, the Leo's Jager mechanized mobility suit was vulnerable to critical damage at the joints, as it was only designed to be proof against light shell splinters and chemical-propelled gunfire. Furthermore its battery life was surprisingly short in New Mercian climes, owing to a flaw with the crystal-matrix battery structure, and its hard armor plates were cumbersome and restricting. Its powerful sensors array and ECM systems-superior to most PACT equipment, in fact, proved themselves vulnerable to critical damage as well. After the adoption of the Achilleus the Leo was quietly retired for the superior and more cost-effective solution, a major factor in the 2192 bankruptcy of Therson Arms.
General Ordinance Type 35 Platoon Artillery Gun
From the earliest days of the New Mercian civil war, there were extended periods of fighting in mountainous terrain; the iconic stand of General Grossman and the remains of the pre-war 2nd Corps in the Stirling Pass during the first month of the war being a classic example. It quickly became evident that, while extant self-propelled artillery pieces, while more than capable of operation in the relatively flat areas away from the mountains, were simply unable to keep up with infantry in the rocky environs of the hotly contested mountain passes. The solution was the Type 35, an artillery gun capable of being quickly (dis)assembled into and from easily man portable components, and able to be deployed in an extremely small area. Although shorter ranged and nowhere near as powerful as a conventional self propelled piece, the Type 35 could go places impossible for heavier weapons, and it's light weight and compact component parts enabled a single platoon to carry two guns. A company equipped with Type 35s, therefore, effectively included a six gun battery as an organic component, a significant amplification of firepower. Outside of the mountains, however, the Type 35 proved ineffective, and it thus remained almost entirely assigned to dedicated mountain units.
Harawayian IWP-6 Sabre Hound Combat Drone
Designed to accompany an infantry squad, the Sabre Hound is a squad six legged walker armed with a heavy weapon such as a 35mm gyroc or gauss cannon, a MPB or a 160mm ATGM launcher. The Sabre Hound is a pretty typical support drone, capable of navigating the ground on it’s own. Targets can be designated by squad members, or, unlike most EU or PACT equivalents, engaged autonomously by the Sabre Hound’s AI.