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This fanfiction article, M62 battle rifle, was written by Athena32. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
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The BR62 Battle Rifle was a battle rifle used by United Nations Space Command, The Royal Allegiance and Ve'nek Dominion before and during the Swarm War. The direct successor of the UNSC's previous battle rifle, the BR55HB, the BR62 was an enormous leap forward from the BR55, featuring better accuracy, advanced weight reducing materials, frictionless barrel coating and a selective fire capability. The BR62 filled the capability void between smaller calibre rifles using the 7.62x51mm NATO, which lacked sufficient range and stopping power, and larger calibre sniper rifles chambered for the 14.5x114mm round, which lacked the portability of smaller systems. Utilising the 9.5x60mm high velocity, full power rifle round, the BR62 was able to engage targets at short, medium and semi-long ranges, its accuracy and stopping power great advantages against heavily shielded and armoured infantry targets. As a Battle Rifle, the BR62 fired a full-sized rifle round with increased range, accuracy and kinetic energy characteristics compared to assault rifles, giving a distinct advantage when facing hostile infantry forces. The rifle was also modular, allowing for a wide array of attachments to be added. The Unified Coalition of Governments later made use of the BR62 as part of its military, during the latter part of the Swarm War and the Galactic Civil War two decades later.
History
During the Human-Covenant War, the BR55 and its successor, the BR55HB, saw far more effectiveness against Covenant armour and shielding than the MA5C Assault Rifle. Mainly this was down to its calibre; the BR55 used M634 X-HP-SAP 9.5x40mm ammunition, rather than the 7.62x51mm NATO rounds used by the MA5 family. This increased bullet size meant a higher impact energy on contact with the target, better accuracy and increased range, all of which improved over the 7.62mm round. The BR55 was at first issued to designated marksman within infantry squads, but later was issued far more widely, second only to the MA5C. Its selective fire modes, accuracy and increased range over the MA5 rifles, along with its ease of use, meant the BR55 would continue to serve in UNSC forces in various forms for decades to come.
In 2595, when the ageing BR55 came up for replacement, the Allegiance issued a contract for a 9.5x60mm modular rifle that could engage targets at over a kilometre and harass them at 1500m. Several competing companies put forward design prototypes, including Misriah Arms, Avalon Orbital and Hall Munitions Inc. Hall Munitions, having two decades earlier bought the rights to the BR55 design, opted for a fully modernised, heavily updated battle rifle named the XBR62, that made use of various design and technical improvements since its predecessor was designed. Beating its competitors in several tests, the UNSC, Ve'nek Dominion and Royal Allegiance accepted the BR62 into service with the Navy, Marines and Army as a designated marksman and service rifle.
The BR62 was introduced gradually between 2602 and 2608, replacing the BR55HB and several license-built variants. The Allegiance fielded the BR62 alongside the BRP32-SHR Battle Rifle, a particle weapon, for its distinct advantages against armour. in 2719. It was still in service in 2733 when the Swarm War broke out; by this stage, it was clear that monetary issues, coupled with its effectiveness against Swarm armour, would keep it in service for the duration of the war.
Usage
Despite being a Battle Rifle, the BR62's main usage, especially earlier in its deployment, was as a designated marksman rifle within squad-based combat. A small number of soldiers in a squad would be equipped with it to add a long-range rifleman capability to augment its firepower. Later on it was employed much more as a standard service rifle, seeing extensive usage by standard infantrymen, Marines and Special Forces units. Its long range in comparison to many other service rifles made it an excellent choice in large engagements; this, coupled with its large calibre round and relatively light weight, made it popular and widely used.
The BR62's selective fire ability, in addition to its controllability and low recoil, meant it was a weapon useful at nearly all ranges. At long and semi-long range, or for increased accuracy, the weapon could be used in semi-automatic mode, and burst fire at closer ranges. A fully automatic mode of fire gave the user a powerful close and mid-range option; even though its usage was restricted to closer ranges, it was highly efficient against powerful close range enemies, charging Jiralhanae and Reapers being a notable example.
Design
The BR62 was gas-operated with a rotating bolt, meaning it needed to be charged before the first round can be fired. The charging handle was used to chamber the first round, while the following rounds were chambered and fired and the casings ejected using the high pressure gas from the round fired. The handle was located on the left side of the weapon, positioned at the front of the slide during operation and slid back to enable reloading. The magazine was housed in a receiver mounted on the underside of the stock, while the release catch was located on the right side of the weapon. The weapon's ejection port was located on the right side of the weapon, though it was fully ambidextrous and could be changed in a short amount of time without tools. The barrel itself was longer than the original BR55HB, meaning the bullet traveled for longer in the barrel and as a result gained higher muzzle velocity and an increase in accuracy.
The barrel end featured a three-way muzzle brake reducing recoil, and was threaded to accept a suppressor. The weapon possessed rails on either side of the handgrip, the weapon's underside and the top side of the carrying handle, enabling a large amount of attachments to be quickly added according to required usage or user preference. A magazine release was located on either side of the weapon's external polymer casing near the magazine well. The rear of the BR62's upper receiver, above the action and firing mechanism, accommodated a removable adjustable cheeckrest that assisted in accurate long range fire. The weapon's upper receiver mounted a fore and rear foldable, removable ironsights that featured as standard on the weapon; they were frequently removed upon the use of more advanced optics. The weapon's handguard, sides and stock were constructed from lightweight yet strong and resistant polymer, as was the ergonomically-designed pistol grip. The upper receiver/carrying handle, rails and magazine assembly were constructed from high grade steel, while the barrel and firing mechanism were precision-machined titanium alloy.
Lighter than BR55, the BR62 experienced lower recoil despite this, mainly as a result of several recoil-reducing methods. Several hydraulic buffers linked to the weapon's microprocessor accurately controlled recoil, reducing it considerably. The weapon also featured a venting system that recovered part of the gases generated by the round, and pushed it back in a space located behind the bolt during the cycle. The bolt 'bounced' on a sort of 'gas cushion' that acted as a buffer, dramatically reducing the weapon's recoil. It also featured energy absorption mechanisms in the buttstock, absorbing energy and reducing felt recoil. The weapon's bullpup nature meant that it was somewhat back-heavy; however, the recoil reduction mechanisms largely balanced this out, and its rather heavy barrel combated any muzzle climb. The barrel end also featured a three-way muzzle brake reducing recoil.
The rifle was modular, meaning that it was assembled in interchangeable sections that were easy to separate, in addition to its rails which accepted a wide range of attachments. The upper receiver or carrying handle, on which were mounted the iron sights and an attachment rail, was itself mounted on a rail and could be removed according to user preference, for example to reduce the weapon's size. This was, however, not an often used option as the fire mode selector, which was located on the left side of the upper receiver, needed to be relocated to a position just above the trigger; this was not a quick task and required the use of specialised tools. It also removed the vastly useful tactical computer. The cheeckrest module could also be detached, which was often the case when the handle too had been removed. Attachments such as optics and sights could then be mounted onto this rail. Integrated into the upper receiver was a tactical computer which was heavily expanded from that of the BR55, no longer just showing tactical waypoints and ammunition reserves. It was able to link to the user's neural interface, allowing it to display, in conjunction with the user's Heads-Up Display, large amounts of information pertinent to the user's needs. Much of this comprised tactical information about the combatant's immediate battlefield surroundings, including but not limited to friendly and hostile positions, topographical and meteorological data and current commands, objectives and targets.
Ammunition
The weapon was rechambered from the older, less potent 9.5x40mm experimental UNSC round, for use with the Allegiance calibre 9.5x60mm. The round saw an increase in casing length, increasing the bullet's velocity and providing higher kinetic energy on impact. The round's increased velocity considerably increased its kinetic energy, meaning that upon impact with a target it imparted a significant amount of energy. The round's impact energy, accuracy and range contributed to its potency; it was effective against body armour and even energy shielding employed by many forms of infantry. A standard magazine held 36 rounds in three staggered columns of twelve rounds each.
The most common and effective type of ammunition the BR62 employed was HVS/AP-HE, or High Velocity Shield/Armour Piercing-High Explosive. Probably the most advanced and effective feature of the round was its ability to penetrate powerful shielding. Towards the rear of the bullet was a small particle forcefield generator. This was powered by a minute power source which activated as the round left the barrel, providing more than enough power for a few seconds in flight. The shield was arranged in a conical shape, with the narrow point projected out in front of the bullet. Upon contact with a shield, the forcefield would force a small hole in the shields, indiscriminate of their strength. The hole would only be maintained for a split second and would thereafter collapse, though it was enough for the bullet to pass through the gap. As the shield was particle based, it was equivalent to a conventional penetrator; instead it was projected out in front of the bullet and specifically aimed at piercing shielding. Generally, however, the round's extreme stopping power would ensure shield depletion; this way it was preserved for armour penetration instead. As a result of the forcefield, the area of high pressure usually occurring at the front of a fast moving object, such as an aircraft or bullet, was shifted instead to in front of the forcefield. This did not deplete the field’s power by a noticeable amount, but allowed the bullet to travel faster than it would normally without the presence of a forcefield. This effect, although widely documented, is in essence a side-effect of the shield defeating field, albeit a welcome one. As a result the bullet had roughly a 30% velocity increase over other, similarly weighted bullets, disregarding its exotic propellant method. The armour piercing component of the round consisted of a ballistic cap, a lightweight synthetic material designed to deform on impact, and arranged in an aerodynamic shape. Below that was a penetrator core of CVT (Chromium Vanadium Tungsten) and Austenitic Steel alloy. This alloy had been condensed using gravitational field manipulation, achieving an 82% smaller material for the same weight allowing it to be used in larger quantities and higher masses. It had then been liquefied by ion fusers, then bombarded with charged particle vibrating waves as the material cooled. This dramatically improved the bonding strength of the molecules and guaranteed the penetrator would hold its shape on contact with the target. Behind this was a pre-fragmented block of TC3 alloy, composed of tungsten, cerium and copper carbide, with a delayed fuse in the centre. Once the bullet penetrated the armour, the fuse was activated on a split second timer. This fuse contained a plasma based high explosive compound, which fragmented the pre-weakened TC3, in turn heavily damaging organic structures and internal organs. As a secondary function the TC3 was incendiary, causing severe secondary damage to soft targets.
Unlike some Allegiance infantry weapons, the round was not caseless, the magazine containing both bullets and their attached casings. Rather than using a plasma-based propellant in these casings, they instead contained gas which was ionised, super-expanding and forcing the bullets out of the barrel at a muzzle velocity of just under 3,500m/s. In order to partially ionise this gas, the weapon utilised a miniaturised Electrothermal Acceleration system. The system used a plasma discharge rather than a chemical reaction to force the bullet down the barrel. A high current, high voltage energy source was used along with a capacitor bank. The capacitor was located inside the weapon itself towards the rear, had a life span of 8 to 10 years and was removable through a mechanism in the stock. The energy source was a small device located in each magazine, providing a high voltage and current energy source capable of providing power for propellant of that magazine's rounds. This system replaced the older method of a single power source located in the weapon that needed to be reloaded every so often; this way the magazine was the only thing that needed to be changed. Both were attached in series to the electrode system in the BR62's barrel. The capacitor was loaded with as high a voltage as possible, and the capacitor was then discharged. The gas in the gap between the electrodes would ionise, turning the non-flammable propellant into superheated conductive plasma. At this point, associated volumetric expansion would propel the projectile from the barrel at very high velocity. This greatly increased the bullet's velocity, lowering its transition time and increasing kinetic effects and penetration on contact with the target.
Variants
BR62 Heavy Barrel
The BR62HB
The BR62 Heavy Barrel, or BR62HB, was identical to the standard variant apart from that it featured a 36 inch (910mm) barrel instead of the usual 872mm (34 inch). This increased its accuracy, range and muzzle velocity markedly, though made the weapon rather large and unwieldy in close quarters combat and other space-restricted tasks. The heavy barrel also helped steady the end of the rifle, reducing muzzle climb when firing on full auto and in rapid bursts. This increased the accuracy and overall effective range of the weapon. As the weapon was made so cumbersome, it was usually issued to designated marksman operating outside of squad-based tactics, rather than for squad-based tactics or as a service rifle.
BR62 Carbine
The BR62 Carbine
The BR62 Carbine was a shortened variant, intended for use at closer ranges than the BR62. It featured a substantially shortened external barrel, as well as space saving measures and shorter carrying handle and forward handgrip. This reduced the weapon's length by 192mm, making it just 720mm long; its barrel length was reduced from 872mm (34.3 inches) to 680mm (26.7 inches), reducing range and muzzle velocity but making the weapon more easily wielded in tight quarters. It was mainly used by special forces, in particular ODSTs, who needed the firepower the 9.5x40mm round offered but were short on space. It was also on occasion issued to vehicle crews as a defensive weapon alongside more conventional and popular submachine guns.
Gallery
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