User:RelentlessRecusant/Equipment and weaponry of the Myrmidon Detachment

Reactive Accelerative Combat Exoskeleton (RACE)
The Reactive Accelerative Combat Exoskeleton  (RACE) was one of the novel warfighting technologies of the late 26th century specifically designed to further the combat prowess of the Myrmidons. The RACE exoskeleton was the futuristic iteration of the antediluvian MJOLNIR armor of the SPARTAN-II Program, and was a novel powered armor that would serve as the default multirole armor of the Myrmidons, serving several key features, including: Iterations of the RACE powered armor included integrated power cells that allowed for near-indefinite operation of the powered armor in the field; the in-house power was used primarily to power the armor and power the hydraulics to extensively enhance the strength, agility, and endurance of the Myrmidons through electronically-coupled physical force as well as to power the onboard electronic systems, such as the communications equipment and integrated HUD.
 * Protection against small-arms fire and light explosives
 * Defensive measures against nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) warfare
 * Electronically connecting all Myrmidons and their commanders in the local theater
 * Integrated short-range, long-range, and tight-beam communicators
 * Supplementary augmentation of physical strength and agility through hydraulics
 * Intravenous catheters allowing for automatic dispensation of small-molecule drugs
 * Automatic measuring and recording of biological statistics (heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, electroencephalogram, body temperature, electrocardiogram, etc...)
 * Internal temperature maintenance and insulation against extreme environments
 * Integrated electronic heads up display (HUD) and short-range motion detector
 * Self-contained respiration and atmospheric supply (80% N2, 20% O2, trace gases) allowing for deep-space operations and operations in hostile atmospheres

Because of the variegated atmospheric and physical conditions of the worlds that the Myrmidons were employed, the RACE powered armor was specifically designed for multi-environment operation, with internal temperature and atmospheric homeostasis to maintain body temperature and internal atmospheric composition to allow for operation in nearly any hostile environment, even deep space and also ice worlds such as Dashan.

In contrast to the MJOLNIR armor, the RACE exoskeleton, with novel advances in UNSC engineering, was far more light-weight, flexible, and adaptable, and therefore was a skintight suit — however, there was no collateral compromise to protection; several layers of multilayer titanium would impart far greater protection than could be afforded with the aging MJOLNIR armor, and the RACE exoskeleton would withstand small-arms fire and light explosives and also incorporated countermeasures against nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) warfare.

The Mark 0 RACE was the prototypic iteration of the RACE exoskeleton and was a design that UNSC Special Operations Command was testing in the 2560s to see if it could conceptually be utilized as a standardized powered armor system to be used to augment all UNSC special forces units. A primitive version of the fully-developed RACE system of the 2580s, the Mark 0 iteration was a crude theoretical antecedent, little more than a self-contained environmental suit with light defensive capabilities, essentially a cut-down version of the MJOLNIR armor intended for widespread distribution. In contrast, the Mark 1 RACE represented the next theoretical progression in the exoskeleton series, with expanded onboard communications capabilities and an extensive onboard power supply that drove a high-powered, yet bulky and clumsy, hydraulics system to enhance the user's strength and speed. Although UNSCSOCOM would seriously consider the Mark 1 model for widespread UNSC special forces usage, the proposal would stagnate for a number of practical and logistical reasons.

Kawika Son and the Myrmidon planning staff would uncover the Mark 1 iteration's plans during the conceptualization of the Myrmidon Program, and Rear Admiral Son would insist that his Myrmidons be equipped with some form of self-contained powered armor to enhance their physical capabilities as well as to provide electronic integration throughout the unit. During the late 2570s and the early 2580s, the Mark 2 RACE would be designed as per Son's specifications, and the modern-day RACE exoskeleton would begin to its formation under Son and his team; the development of a light-weight and skin-tight suit utilizing advanced material sciences to reduce weight and increase flexibility. Select Myrmidons trainees and elite UNSC special forces personnel would tentatively try the Mark 2 RACE in a limited capacity, but despite the small sample size, the results and comments were highly favorable, encouraging the Myrmidons to further develop the RACE powered armor concept. The Myrmidons would undergo familiarization training with the RACE progression during their training with the early Mark 2 RACE concept.

Finally, by the end of their training in the late 2580s, Son's team in collaboration with the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence and the UNSC Special Operations Command would develop the Mark 3 RACE (A), the Beyond Veil's Azure-era Myrmidon combat armor, optimized for assault and counterterrorism. The Mark 3 RACE (A) would become the default Myrmidon armor as they were deployed in 2590 to the reaches of the Milky Way galaxy on full active deployment.

However, Son and his colleagues in the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, after experiencing costly lessons with Task Force 51 and the Midgard Campaign, would insist on further and more specialized variations with the RACE powered armor. As a result, the Mark 3 RACE (E), a specialized electronic warfare (EW) variant, would be developed, as well as the Mark 3 RACE (S), a highly prototypic and specialized powered armor that sacrificed substantial power and strength for limited active camouflage capabilities, with reactive photocell technology providing enhanced electronic stealth, modeled after the Semi-Powered Infilitration (SPI) Armor of the SPARTAN-IIIs. However, neither the "E" or "S" variants would see any kind of widespread deployment.

By the dawn of the 27th century and the Galactic Era, the surviving Myrmidons would don the Mark 4 RACE, incorporating bloody lessons learned in Myrmidon warfare during the Beyond Veil's Azure Crisis.

The color scheme of the early RACE exoskeletons was variegated; tan camouflage was given for desert operations, olive camouflage was given for arboreal or jungle operations, white camouflage was given for arctic or tundra operations, and grey digital camouflage was given for urban operations. However, as Myrmidon casualties mounted during 2594 and the Beyond Veil's Azure Crisis, many Myrmidons would begin to customize their armors as badges of pride and individualism. Officers, such as Captain Raphael-M064 and Commander Ashley-M014 would adopt red colors. Senior enlisted personnel, such as Master Chief Petty Officer Karen-M013 and Chief Petty Officer Eve-M005, would adopt blue colors. Many of the junior enlisted Myrmidons would adopt green colors, although proficient specialists would adopt other color schemes — sharpshooters such as Lieutenant Blake-M079 would adopt black colors while other specialist classes would often adopt alternative colors.

However, during the Galactic Era, Captain Raphael-M064, the Myrmidon field commander, would insist that the Mark 4 RACE would have a standardized color scheme; all the Myrmidons of the Galactic Era would wear jet-black Mark 4 RACE exoskeletons with glowing crimson articulation lights with the appearance of arterial blood, giving them a decidedly sinister look.

A12 Close-Quarters Battle Carbine


"Evenly balanced and light."

- Lieutenant Commander Simon-G294

The MA12 Special Operations Capable / Close Quarters Battle (SOC/CQB) Carbine, 5.56mm, often referred to colloquially as the "A12 Carbine", was a highly modular and modificable short-range carbine that served as the default armament for many of the Myrmidons.

Although technically it was a member of the "MA" series of firearms, such as the MA5B assault rifle and the MA5C assault rifle of the Human-Covenant War, it was vastly different from its ancestral predecessors. Whereas the MA5 series was an inaccurate rugged weapon distributed to rank-and-file UNSC Marines, the MA12-SOC/CQB was instead a surgical scalpel, the versatile weapon of choice for advanced UNSC special forces operators.

The A12 featured an extended forty-round 5.56mm clip, light ammunition suitable for infantry engagements. Its design was highly rugged, designed to operate in hostile environments such as the desert environments of Midgard as well as extreme temperatures, such as the ice world of Dashan. It had a collapsible glazed fiberglass stock, instead of the burnished metal of the BR55 battle rifle, making the A12 highly lightweight and with a slender profile, making it easy to maneuver and carry in intense close-quarters environments, where speed and maneuverability were key over firepower.

Furthermore, the A12 carbine had a full-bore heavy barrel that allowed for increased accuracy and stabilized prolonged automatic firing. The muzzle was shortened, allowing for easy close-quarters usage and decreasing weight, and was also threaded, being compatible with a number of flash suppressors and sound suppressors for covert-operations wet work.

The underside receiver sported a magazine release and a "S/1/F" trigger group; primarily the semiautomatic setting was used, conserving ammunition and enhancing accuracy. Coupled with the inherent accuracy of the Myrmidons, it was anticipated that semiautomatic fire would allow for "one-shot, one-kill" usage of the carbine in the hands of the talented Myrmidons. Failing that, the "F" setting (full automatic) was also employed against heavier targets or in more target-rich environments and also to maximize fire volume.

The upper receiver was an open mount that received a number of scopes and sights, typically a red aiming reference ("red dot sight") for close-quarters combat, although rarely, telescopic sights were employed for engagements over longer-ranges. The sight was modificable with a night-vision filter for nighttime fighting as well as an infrared filter for more specialized applications. Furthermore, a "gun camera" was also attachable to allow for real-time image intelligence (IMINT) in highly specialized Office of Naval Intelligence missions to identify high-priority targets.

M7SF Submachine Gun


The M7SF Submachine Gun (Special Forces), Caseless 5x23mm was the 2580 era iteration of the M7/Caseless Submachine Gun employed during the Human-Covenant War. Whereas its predecessor, the M7/Caseless, was an inaccurate weapon with a high rate of fire (unaffectionately called the "bullet hose") typically issued for self-defense to officers, vehicular crews, and pilots, three decades of work by the UNSC Special Operations Command would transform the M7/Caseless into the highly-capable precise killing implement known as the M7SF to the Myrmidons.

The M7SF was designed specifically for close-quarters combat applications, where the submachine gun's light weight, smaller size, and maneuverability made it more preferable than the A12 carbine or other assault weapons. However, the special forces concern with the M7/Caseless was its inaccuracy; while the M7/Caseless was small and light, its shot grouping was unacceptable for sensitive Myrmidon operations, such as hostage rescue. Therefore, the M7SF featured a longer and heavier full-bore barrel, therefore increasing dispersion of the kinetic energy of the projectile along its length and increasing accuracy at the cost of slightly increased weight. This was compensated for the M7SF's new plastics, which decreased weight compared to the traditional fiberglass stock.

The M7SF had a threaded barrel that typically accommodated a flash/sound suppressor; this severely abrogated the muzzle flash and sound of each shot, therefore making the position of the shooter far more difficult to discern in camouflaged environments. Furthermore, the suppressor was conducive to many of the covert operations undertaken by the Myrmidons, where it was imperative to confirm mission confidentiality, and also where individuals needed to be discriminately eliminated without alerting nearby individuals.

The upper receiver was typically reciprocated to a red aiming reference (red dot sight) or a close combat optic (reflex scope) to increase accuracy. Thermal imaging and night vision (light-amplifying) filters were also available for warfighting in dark and/or cold environments.

While the M7SF was equipped with the traditional "S/1/F" (safed, semiautonomatic, or fully automatic) trigger group, to preserve accuracy, Myrmidons typically employed the semiautomatic setting in urban combat situations; Myrmidons were trained as conventional counterterrorist teams to kill with a single shot to the head, with a second shot ("double tap") to ensure that the target was permanently downed.

AS DAM Anti-Materiél Sniper Rifle


The AS DAM Anti-Materiél Sniper Rifle is a special-application anti-materiél and anti-vehicular sniper rifle designed by the HRV Armament Company and Acumen Science Laboratories. The first weapon of its kind, the sniper employs extremely-dense kinetic penetrators made of iridium, the second most-dense element known to mankind. The extraordinary density of the kinetic penetrator rounds imparts the AS DAM penetration power that far surpasses the SRS99D S2 AM Sniper RIfle of the Human-Covenant War era. The unique iridium ammunition of the AS DAM allows it to be effectively employed against stationary materiél (i.e. fuel tanks, missile launchers, installations, etc...) as well as stationary vehicles, from vans, armored personnel carriers, and even tanks. The extreme density of the iridium round, coupled with the extremely high muzzle velocity from the AS DAM, allows the rifle to defeat the armor or plasma shields of almost any stationary armored target found on the battlefields of the Galactic Era.

The AS DAM was introduced to the Myrmidons to give trained snipers a potential anti-vehicular and anti-materiél role. However, typically, the minimal operating team for one of these sniper rifles requires at least a sniper and a spotter, who also provides security. Naval Special Warfare teams typically employ a third team member that is dedicated to provide security for the sniper team. The sniper rifle allows Myrmidons to abrogate enemy personnel, materiél, or vehicles from extreme ranges with high accuracy. The usage of one of these rifles against personnel is extraordinary overkill: the sheer kinetic power of the projectile, which can defeat tanks, is extraordinarily devastating against infantry. Furthermore, the application of the rifle can be tuned: engine blocks or wheels can be targeted to selectively disable vehicles.

The rifle was also employed as a psychological warfare weapon against insurgents: the selective and unerring culling of enemy vehicular and personnel detachments with the sniper rifle was often psychologically terrifying, combined with the massive shockwave and report with every shot.

The AS DAM, capable of penetrating many types of armors and barriers, also has obtained a unique role in a counter-sniper position.