M62 battle rifle

The BR662-SHR (Scoped Heavy Rifle) was an Allegiance-built model of the venerable UNSC-designed Battle Rifle series.

Battle Rifle Concept
Prior to first contact between the Royal Allegiance and the UNSC, the former had phased out their equivilants of battle rifles, instead making more extensive use of assault rifles, carbines and SAWs. The Allegiance found that most battle happened at distances of under 300 metres, therefore a heavy rifle designed for longer range was less useful. Battle rifles were generally heavier than assault rifles and harder to use due to their size. As a result of this, the Allegiance's last true battle rifle before 2553 was nearly two centuries earlier.

Aquirement
In spite of this, the Allegiance saw that the UNSC used battle rifles to great effect, not just at long ranges but at medium and sometimes even short ranges too. Instead of funding development for a new weapon, the Allegiance simply gained permission to produce a licence-built, heavily modified battle rifle for their own use. The UNSC was happy to comply, considering the massive regeneration of UNSC territory the Allegiance was helping to make possible.

In time, the Allegiance continued to produce such derivative weapons until the BR662 was produced. The weapon was completely flawless in every way, the result of decades of continual refinement. At this point the gun could be improved on no longer. The weapon went into service in early 2577, and continued to be used until the early 2800s. This can be compared to fighter piston engines, which reached the peak of their advancement at the end of the Second World War.

Replacement and The Swarm War
By around 2700, Particle Cannon technology had progressed far enough that prototype energy-based small arms were being trialled. At this stage, the BR662, along with most of the Allegiance's ballistic weapons, began to be replaced by their energy-based counterparts. This was true for the BR662- which was gradually replaced by the BRP32-SHR Battle Rifle between 2719 and 2800. However, the BR662 continued to serve alongside its replacement for much of the Swarm War, even longer on the civillian market.