Author Topic: EL-3 AMD (CDI Product)  (Read 341 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ApatheticExcuse

  • God Teir
  • *
  • Posts: 1,043
  • Dapperness +2/-3
    • View Profile
EL-3 AMD (CDI Product)
« on: January 14, 2017, 01:50:08 pm »
((I was waiting to write this up until some of Vulnus' stuff gets approved, as the justification for it existing depends completely on that. I think it's safe to say they will be, so here goes. The AT-44 referenced will be written up eventually, but it's either a bigger coilgun or a railgun that works as a shoulder-fired AT weapon. The ME-13 will never be written up unless you guys insist on it, because this makes it more or less obsolete.))


((I don't know where my PMG picture ended up, but the thing looks pretty similar to a PHASR rifle. So this works for now.))

Intent: To provide reliable Anti-Electronic/Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel capabilities

Manufacturer: Creed Defence Industries
Model: EL-3 Anti-Mech Device

Modularity: Not required for intended purpose

Production: Weapon production relatively simple for any developed society, power supply requires specialized facility

Material: Basic alloys, high tech polymers, classified materials
 
Classification: Directed Energy Weapon.
Length: 48 Inches.
Weight: 27 pounds
Ammunition Type: N/A
Ammunition Capacity: Capable of firing five full power volleys at maximum charge. Capable of firing roughly 500 volleys capable of incapacitating roughly human-sized organic life at maximum charge.
Range: Depending on atmospheric conditions, typically 300 yards
 
Market price: 25,000 GSC

Description:

The EL-3, much like other Rastal weapons, was designed as a specific response to issues encountered during sporadic conflicts with the Talen, and during the initial stages of the war with the Norenfal. While the AT-44 anti-armour weapon was found to be effective against most enemy armour, changing factors such as the unexpected mobility of Talen mechs, and some of the active defense systems of the Norenfal often caused an unacceptably high failure rate during several encounters in which the projectile was either intercepted, or the weapon was found to be difficult to accurately aim at a target moving at high speed.

While the ME-13 device was and is still capable of disabling unshielded electronics and personnel without proper thermal protection, it's effectiveness versus the highly-shielded military devices was, at best, poor.

Thusly, the CDI design bureau decided to take a different approach, eschewing microwave EMP systems in favor of a much more direct and visually impressive electro-laser device. While energy weapons are generally seen as impractical in Rastal military theory and design, an electro-laser offers enough distinct advantages in certain applications that it was seen as a worthwhile development. As of such, the EL-3 AMD was created.

The basic principal of operation is simple - a very rapidly pulsed, 800nm stream of photons ionizes the air in front of it, creating a charged "beam" of plasma that is more conductive than the air surrounding it. An instant later, a massive charge of electricity is passed down the beam, and into the target. While the actual level of power contained in this charge can vary depending on conditions and distance, for anti-electronic use, it typically reaches several million volts passed at several thousand amps. Anti-personnel charges attempting to disable rather than kill will lower the amperage to a single amp or less, depending on settings.

The major advantage of this system over more tradition EMP weapons is that it is VERY difficult to effectively shield against - enough electricity is passed into the target that a hit is guaranteed to cause some damage to delicate systems, and often a failure of any surge protection devices on board, allowing a followup hit an excellent chance at disabling the target outright.

Beyond the actual effectiveness as a weapon system, the EL-3 has been seen to have a remarkably adverse effect on the moral of enemy combatants. Though technically not more deadly than most conventional weapon systems against soft targets, the visual effect of firing has been described by troops in the field as "completely fucking terrifying", as has the accompanying auditory effect. This is seen as a positive factor in roles such as crowd control and anti-riot usage.

The disadvantages are somewhat obvious, and while the EL-3 has been shown to be very effective in it's specific role, they have prevented it from seeing wide-spread issue in favour of maintaining more conventional stockpiles of anti-armour systems.

Most significantly, the EL-3 relies on a fairly specific set of atmospheric conditions to operate effectively, and is unable to reach peak performance outside of air-like settings. In a vacuum, it simply fails to function in a meaningful sense - while the charge is significant enough to still pass through the vacuum, the directional laser requires at least some form of matter interaction to direct it, and though a vacuum does present a lack of resistance for the electrical component, it also presents nothing in the way of conductive elements. Testing has shown that the EL-3 is still a very viable device in these conditions at what has been termed "knife-fight" ranges, but relies heavily on the charge pathing to the target of it's "own" volition. Because of this, and due to the ease in which heavy weapons systems can typically be used by an individual under such conditions, the EL-3 is not issued for combat in these environments.

Beyond this, the actual performance varies somewhat depending on conditions. While enough energy is used to make it effective in it's intended roles, the amount of power reaching a target can be difficult to effectively estimate, meaning shots intended to incapacitate can often kill, and effective single-hit kills on machines with well-designed redundancy systems can be hard to reliably predict. A three second delay in the firing sequence experienced at full power settings during which the draws energy, while often inconsequential, can make followup shots difficult.

The weapon itself is relatively straightforward in layout, featuring a simple safety, as well as several pre-programmed settings designed to optimal performance against a variety of targets. Adjustments (such as to pulse duration, wavelength, and beam width) can be made in the field to compensate for differing atmospheres, but are generally beyond the abilities of most Rastal Guard general infantry members to perform. As of such, most configuration is done prior to issuance or by technicians based in the combat environment. Power is supplied by replaceable battery/capacitor packs, similar to the SPW-113, though these are intentionally more difficult to remove and replace due to the sheer amount of power involved and are also usually done only by trained technicians.

((Ok, if it's not somehow obvious, this shoots lightning bolts at you. Lasers, according to RL science, suck IMO as combat weapons. Electrolasers are also pretty impractical, but they're very, very cool and would theoretically be excellent in an anti-mechanical role.

I think I built enough weaknesses into this for it to be fair. Yeah, it can potentially kill even well-shielded mechs and robots in a single hit, operating on a more "direct" principal than EMPs (and also using enough energy to weld mechanical components together under the right conditions), but the flip side of this is that a gun fired by a mech or robot will almost always kill a person in a single hit, whereas the opposite is likely just about never true. This evens the field somewhat, but only under specific conditions.

It also doesn't really do anything a feasible AT rocket couldn't beyond ignoring most active defenses. It just does it in a more sci-fi way. I didn't really think through what a full power charge would do if hitting a person, but yes, I guess it can totally unfairly one hit kill you, even if you're wearing heavy armour (ok, well, honestly, it will certainly kill you as there's enough power here to realistically burn through a shockingly thick piece of iron let alone a squishy human), but so will just about any other gun if you're hit right, and any other anti-tank weapon. Really though, the biggest advantage it has over more traditional AT gear is that it is just about guranteed to always cause at least some kind of damage to the target's systems. The disadvantages are as listed, and that it's much more expensive and heavier (being over ten pounds heavier than most people will be able to fire from the shoulder) than a simple rocket launcher.

Also, no, it doesn't work against spaceships and stuff (at least ones bigger than small fighters and shuttles, etc.). Once you get big enough, it's pretty well assumed that you'll have to run far more power than what this outputs to even operate, and that you'll have built enough redundancies and surge-protectors into your design to shield against a sudden discharge on a much larger level.))
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 02:35:34 am by Discord »
Gone. Cheers guys.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


Siege-Loli

  • Admin
  • God Teir
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,290
  • Dapperness +14/-4
  • ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Resident Lolicon
  • Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
    • View Profile
Re: EL-3 AMD (CDI Product)
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2017, 03:53:16 am »
Neat.

Approved.
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.

RedVulnus

  • POST LORD
  • **********
  • Posts: 2,312
  • Dapperness +20/-4
    • View Profile
Re: EL-3 AMD (CDI Product)
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2017, 11:24:38 pm »
Shit thought I'd approved this already

APPROVED

ApatheticExcuse

  • God Teir
  • *
  • Posts: 1,043
  • Dapperness +2/-3
    • View Profile
Re: EL-3 AMD (CDI Product)
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2017, 02:10:26 am »
Added to the CDI thread.
Gone. Cheers guys.

 

NOCTIFER IS A FAGGOT