M99C Special Application Scoped Rifle

"I'm damned glad these things were fielded before the Necros War. Damned glad. Heard my brother was usin' one of them. I'm glad that Misriah, Trinity, and WST did their wonders before the war."

- Andrew James Lewis, Lieutenant General, HIGHCOM

The M-99C SASR is a Sniper Rifle in use by the UNSC in the 2600s. It is most notably known as the preferred weapon of Arnold Leroy Lewis III. The C and the following CA1 versions were major improvments, bearing computeried stabilisation and muzzle breaks, aiding gun stability, A-Bipods for shock absorbtion during firing, and the final weapon being made from fibre reinforced polymers, a hollow, adjustable stock, a forward handgrip, improving aim and manuverability and a state of the art Augur Scope.

History
After the success of the M-99 in the late 2400’s and the early 2500’s, the UNSC scrapped it due to cost. However, the concept of a Gauss rifle wasn't scrapped, and it re-appeared as the M-99B Sniper Rifle. However, the B variant had many problems, including weight, power, and ammo capacity. So, a new variant was produced through a joint project by Misriah, Trinity, WST, and Oracle. The product was the M-99C.

However, with the advent of the Necros War, few were produced, and were handed over to ONI. The later A1 production model saw more widespread use, especially with the reciever mounted Misriah Rail, providing adaptability for the gun sights.

Role
The M-99C was originally produced as an Anti-Material weapon for use against hardened targets such as Tanks, Aircraft, and machinery. However, the 5.4 milimeter round is also useful as an anti-personnel round, causing massive internal and external damage to whoever is hit by it. The weapon at first saw popular use with special operations units and ONI but, as it fell more and more into the hands of the Marine Corps it was used as a anti material rifle for destroying vital enemy equipment at range and destroying light armoured vehicles.

Gauss System
The Gauss system uses a system of magnetic coils to propel a magnetic projectile to a high velocity. It is more commonly installed in a larger variant on MAC Cannons and the M68 Gauss Cannon.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Coilgun_animation.gif

Ammunition
The 5.4mm is a notably small caliber in comparison to the SRS-99 series rifles. However, this made up for by the massive velocity they are fired at. The ammunition itself lacks a propellent, as they are ferrite/tungsten slugs that are fired through a gauss system.

Optical Enhancement
The M-99C uses the Augur Scope, providing 10x zoom along with bullet trajectory proediction software. The Night vision version was also a common attachment.

UNSC Remarks
"Saw this thing in battle, one time, a Necro was standin' over me, next thing I know, BANG! The creature exploded, leaving nothin' behind. Saved my life."

- UNSC Sergeant

"During the 2nd Battle of New Harmony, one of those ONI boys used it to cover us durin' our exfil. Damn thing worked wonders against the Necros."

- Unknown UNSC Corporal

"I heard these things can puncture the armor of a Scorpion. Is that true?"

- UNSC Private

"If I could sum up this weapon in one word... it would be... awesome. Misriah, Trinity, WST, and Oracle did a damned good job on this weapon. I wonder why they never came together before."

- UNSC NavSpecWar Marine