BR55CW SA Battle Rifle

The BR55CW SA Battle Rifle, or the BR55 Commando Weapon Suppressor Attached Battle Rifle, is a weapon manufactured by the United Nations Space Command for spec ops personnel in the field, and is the successor of the BR55-SS Battle Rifle.

Physical Description
The BR55 is a bullpup, fully automatic, UNSC rifle that fires the 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP round. It fires from a 36 round magazine which fits flush in the receiver. The receiver is built directly into the underside of the butt of the gun and is located behind the grip (known as a bullpup configuration).

This titanium alloy weapon is gas-operated with a rotating bolt and therefore must be cocked before the first round can be fired. The charging handle used to chamber the round is located on the left side of the weapon and does not move during operation. Once the first round is fired, the gases from that round and those to follow impinge upon a gas piston, which pushes back the bolt carrier, rotating the bolt inside and continuing to chamber rounds until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle can either be pulled back and locked or, it can be fully cycled after a fresh mag has been housed. If it is pulled back and locked, then it must be pushed forward once a fresh magazine is housed to chamber a new round. The magazine release button is located on both sides of the gun with an arrow pointing down towards the housed mag in the stock. The ejection port is located on the right side of the weapon. There is also a fire selector on both sides of the ammo display.

The BR55CW SA, unlike the other BR55 models, lacks the optical scope, and instead has a plain carrying handle. In addition, it's barrel is prolonged by a silencer, which is fixed on the end of the barrel to silence the weapon. It features ablative baffles, texture buffers, and ablative stealth coating to ensure that it is undetectable on radar and other scanning systems.

Development
After the early successes of the BR55X Battle Rifle, the testing model, the BR55 Battle Rifle was produced. However, this was only a temporary model. ONI Section III planned to create numerous variants, and also replace the standard BR55 with the BR55HB SR. Several new designs were thought up, and the BR55CW SA was among these. It was created to fill the medium range niche in the spec ops forces, and was the successor of the BR55-SS Battle Rifle, another silenced BR55 model.

The main goal of the BR55CW SA was to make a weapon that Spec Ops personnel could use in the field to exchange fire at medium range without compromising stealth. To accomplish this goal, the standard BR55 was affixed with a silencer, and an optical scope. Unfortunately, during testing, the scope revealed the shooters position quite often, and it was taken off to allow for higher stealth.

Field Usage
The BR55CW SA has seen widespread usage among commando and spec ops forces who rely on stealth for survival. Though it has not been implemented into mainstream infantry hands, it is still widely fielded among spec ops types. The BR55CW SA Battle Rifle has seen action in a variety of missions, and reports from the field are generally positive. The BR55CW SA was used primarily in the years following the Human Covenant War, against rebels.