User blog:Cultred/Realism to Halo Weaponry

Detailed analysis at several weapons and technologies used in Halo, compared to similar modern technologies.

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Preface
I don't often come on Halo Fanon, but when I do, I look at several fanons. I used to prefer reading about the Necros; the technological level of the UNSC in Necros intrigued me. However, it became boring and the articles in Necros often terribly lack in quality of writing. I personally prefer the style of writing used by CommanderTony in his Tonyverse; very few spelling errors and grammar mistakes (except for the occasional "it's" used instead of "its"), along with perfect quality. Several other writers also have tremendous articles and fanons; most of them are more experienced users who have been on Halo Fanon for a longer time period.

As we all know, weaponry used by the UNSC does have many unrealistic properties. There was a clear lack of technological advances in between the 21st and 26th centuries; this, however, can be likened to the fact that the technology used by the UNSC is extremely reliable and there was no need to replace it. Then there are the gameplay elements to keep the experience rich, at the cost of canon elements found in the game. I decided to analyze the weapon technology used by the UNSC and compared it with modern technologies; the result, this blog post.

UNSC Weapons
Assault Rifle

The assault rifle is seemingly a side-by-side service rifle, along with the battle rifle. According to Halo Waypoint, the standard-issue variants of the assault rifle are the MA5C used by the Marines and Navy ground forces, and the MA37 used by the Army (both since the 2400s). Currently there is no information on the weaponry or equipment used by Air Force ground forces (such as air traffic controllers, security personnel, pararescuemen, special operations forces, and others; in fact, the modern US Air Force is actually preparing normal personnel for ground combat to help out Army and Marines in Iraq).

A canon source states the effective range of the Marine and Navy MA5C to be about 300 meters. This is likely because most combat, notably in Halo games, takes place in under 300 meters, easily. But we need to look at the details; the MA5C is a 7.62x51mm rifle (a round used in modern-day anti-personnel sniper rifles and battle rifles as a full-power long-ranged round) with a 607mm (24in) barrel. The modern-day M16A4, used widely by the US Marine Corps and in conjunction with the M4 Carbine in the US Army, is a 5.56x45mm NATO rifle (less accurate, less powerful assault rifle round) with a 508mm (20in) barrel. So the M16A4, known as one of the most accurate modern-day assault rifles, has a shorter barrel and a smaller, less accurate rifle round than the MA5C. According to Wikipedia, the M16A4, just like the MA5C, has the accuracy-enhancing 1:7 twist for the rifling in the barrel. Yet the M16A4 has an effective range of 550-800 meters depending on the target. Imagine even hitting with an MA5C from Halo 3 a target 300 meters away without firing semi-automatic; this, however, is likely simply a gameplay element.

This brings me to my next point&mdash;the MA5C and MA37 seem to only have a fully-automatic firing mode. Modern-day weapons are selective-fire; they have a selector that can switch between semi-automatic (for accuracy) and usually at least one other firing mode. Usually it is fully-automatic, but in cases such as the M16A4 used by the US military, it is a more effective three-round burst mode which balances accuracy, volume of fire, rate of fire, and limits on ammunition consumption. I wouldn't doubt that it is only a gameplay element, and that the two assault rifles both have other modes of fire; however, no canon source (to my knowledge) has stated that MA5C or MA37 to be selective-fire rifles. It has, however, been stated about the battle rifle and DMR.

M392 Designated Marksmen Rifle/BR55 Battle Rifle series

The M392 DMR is the standard mid-to-long range rifle used by the UNSC Army; all other branches replaced it with the more powerful BR55 Battle Rifle series (notably its long-ranged heavy-barrel variant, the BR55HB SR seen in Halo 3). The M392 is a select-fire rifle that fires the same 7.62x51mm round as the sister assault rifle, although its likely longer barrel (which is clear due to its longer 109mm overall size as compared to the assault rifle) allows it to have increased accuracy. However, it only uses a fifteen-round magazine. The BR55, which fires a larger round from what looks like the same exact magazine in the same stock, has a 36-round capacity. Of course, again, this could be gameplay; the Army personnel seen in Halo: Reach were possibly using a lower capacity magazine for reasons we don't know yet.

The BR55 is, in my opinion, slightly more suited to the role of service rifle than the MA5C or MA37. It is more similar to the M16A4 of today; a more accurate rifle (usually) fired in three-round burst mode. However, the M16A4 has less stopping power (due to its smaller assault rifle round) as compared to other assault rifles such as the AK-47/AKM/AK-103 and the 6.8mm Barret REC7 carbine (personally, I prefer the 6.8x41mm SPC over the 5.56 for higher stopping power; however, that's off-topic); meanwhile, the BR55 has superior stopping power to comparable assault rifles. The design of the BR55 is likely based on modern-day rifles with a large carrying handle such as the FAMAS and the canceled XM8 (which, if properly modified, could be the most effective service rifle had it not been canceled).

But again, realism. The Army, for seemingly no reason, decides against adopting the BR55HB SR, which is undoubtedly superior to the M392. Name one example in real life that the US Army decided against adopting something that was proven superior by all other branches; the US Army has superior funding and resources than other branches and would undoubtedly be first to adopt a rifle if need be. However, the UNSC Army likely has less funding relative to the other branches (due to the increased use of the UNSC Marine Corps), or simply is in the process of adopting the BR55HB SR as the standard DMR and the M392 wasn't fully replaced by the Fall of Reach. However, it does seem a little surprising; it is likely Bungie just wanted a larger variety within the UNSCDF when making the UNSC Army for Halo: Reach.

The BR55 vs. MA5 argument can be likened to the (in my opinion, redundant) M16 vs. AK argument of today. The BR55 is more accurate, while the MA5 is widely known for its reliability. Likewise, the M16 is more accurate, while the AK series is widely known for its reliability

M7/Caseless Sub Machinegun vs. MA5K?

The M7/C is a compact weapon used by the UNSC. It is often used by special forces (such as ODSTs) and vehicle crews due to the lack of space for larger weapons. However, the M7 is an absurdly useless weapon, even in game&mdash;its unnecessarily large magazine and compactness does little to balance its gaping lack of stopping power and accuracy. I doubt many modern-day special forces (including light infantry airborne units such as the US Army Rangers) would use such an ineffective weapon, even if it is smaller than other weapons. Let's face it, ODSTs can carry massive SRS99D-SR AM sniper rifles (as seen in Halo 3: ODST) in their pods, so how is it difficult to carry standard assault rifle? The MA37 is only 80cm (31.5in) long; this is much shorter than modern-day assault rifles and just larger than modern-day carbines (or compact assault rifles). That is the advantage of bullpup weapons; the magazine is behind the trigger, allowing the barrel to start earlier and allowing you to put the same length barrel (for the same accuracy) in a smaller rifle. Personally, I would think the MA5B is more of a carbine variant of the MA5C; it is smaller than the MA5C, fires the same round, and is used by ship crews (explaining its prevalence in Halo: CE with the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's crew).

The MA5K is the canon carbine in the MA5 series. While it looks nothing like the rest of the MA5 series, it is apparently a shortened, skeletal assault rifle used by SPARTAN-III commandos. According to Halopedia, it may be used by other special forces but is not used on the front lines due to reduced stopping power. However, it undoubtedly has superior stopping power to the M7 SMG and is still very compact and easily fits in an ODST's pod. Is it just me, or does the MA5K seem like the more practical, more effective weapon to use for ODSTs and other such light infantry units? The Army has airborne special forces; this was confirmed in Halo: Reach. It is unclear what they use, but it likely may be the MA5K.

The MA5K seems like a replacement for the MA2B, a shortened assault rifle. We see SPARTAN-II's on their first mission in Halo: Fall of Reach using the MA2B effectively against rebels. The MA2B also seems like a superior compact weapon that should be used by ODSTs. Instead, we still see the use of the ineffective M7 SMG; this, however, may be a gameplay element (again).

Adaptability/Modularity

A majority of modern-day weapons are very modular and adaptable. They utilize "Picatinny rails" (MIL-STD-1913), or modular brackets, for attaching a variety of different useful items such as sighting systems, underslung grenade launchers or shotguns, flashlights, among others. Before Halo: Reach, we never saw any rail interface system (RIS) on weapons in Halo; this is likely due to graphical improvements. However, the only weapons I recall seeing an RIS on were the M45 Tactical Shotgun and the M392 DMR. But wasn't the MA37 supposed to be one of the most adaptable assault rifles used by the UNSC? Yet it is seems to be unable to add targeting lasers for artillery and orbital bombardment (instead we use a larger, unnecessary H165 FOM) or any sighting systems such as scopes, reflex sights, etc. Several fanons on this sight fix the issue, but it still goes unnoticed in Halo canon.

The modern-day canceled XM8 project used a different system that, instead of using modular brackets, used small oval holes (called the Picatinny Combat Attachment Points). This allow for more precision when attached; soldiers would never have to zero their rifles when attaching different combat optics. While not backwards-compatible with the standard MIL-STD-1913 without an adapter, they were apparently more effective. However, after the cancellation of the XM8 project, the idea was scrapped. HK, the developer of the XM8, used a similar system in their new HK416 and HK417 (M4-derived rifles with increased reliability) that allows similar precision attachment on MIL-STD-1913 rails.

At first I thought it was likely that UNSC weapons used the PCAP system rather than actual rails to add attachments and modifications to their weapons. However, then we saw Halo: Reach and a few weapons with MIL-STD-1913-type rails. It may be that some weapons use these while others use the PCAP system; this is unlikely, however.

The PCAP system has been applied in Halo Fanon by The All-knowing Sith'ari here.

Equipment and Uniforms

My final argument of the day will be the lack of load-bearing design used in UNSC personal body armor. Halo 2 UNSC Marines had pockets and such systems lining their entire vest; in Halo 3, in which the armor is likely a visual update or retcon, marines lack this feature instead for more sturdy-looking body armor. In Halo: Reach, both the UNSC Army and UNSC Marine Corps use load-bearing items such as pockets attached to the armor in various configurations; my question is whether or not that is enough.

Look at a modern-day US Army Improved Outer Tactical Vest with MOLLE equipment. While body armor in Halo: Reach is more realistic than previous Halos, it still looks like it can hold a little less than modern body armor. That includes equipment, backup batteries, ammunition, and much more. In the 26th century, it is likely the equipment the soldiers need to carry is lighter and/or smaller; however, there also should be several other pieces of equipment that are capable to be carried by soldiers due to technological advanced; such equipment includes the TACPAD.

Finally, soldiers in Halo: Reach notably lack as much camouflage as previous games. Passive camouflage is not meant to hide someone, but it is meant to extend the time it takes to identify someone as an enemy just long enough to give the camouflaged soldier the edge. In Halo 2 and Halo 3, camouflage was very clear on the marines. However, in Halo: Reach, camouflage seems useless due to the larger non-camouflaged plates. The UNSC should then have used body armor plates that are colored for their environment; instead, we still see brown plates in woodlands and green grenadier plates in the desert environment. I don't know how effective camouflage would be against Covenant personnel, but it definitely should have been a little more advanced than what we see in the games.

Summary
Basically, while making the games, Bungie did not consider several things that caused the equipment and weaponry seen in the Halo games to be lacking as compared to modern-day equivalent equipment. However, it is not easy to make a game based in the future without making it all Star Wars-like, which is why we see the lack of technological advances as compared to today.

Please provide me with feedback on this analysis and tell me if I have any major spelling errors or factual mistakes. }}