| WIP, incomplete and noncanonical, prototypical and subject to change. Ignore the placeholder image lol |
An armour-mount implementation of the Cyclone Firing Mechanism, the Cyclone Demonstrator is a selective fire weapon by design, the Cyclone can act either as a stealthy standard sub-sonic rifle, a kinetic penetrator, a sniper-cannon or a high-speed minigun through a combination of a centrifugal accelerator, magnetic accelerators and a rotary system.
Important is that the weapons range-finder can slide smoothly between combinations of these functionalities on the fly to produce the best solution based on the tactical situation at hand.
It was originally designed to kill power-armour pilots and strike critical systems of armoured vehicles and was modified to become a next generation kinetic strike weapon. The weapons system itself is not intended for mass production due to its high development costs and complexity, though sale to the public is perfectly negotiable through the proper channels.
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| References: DREAD, M134 , GAU8, BAE Railgun , ZF1, XM25 |
| Listen while reading: Kota Hoshino - "Mech Dinosaur", Underworld - "Peggy Sussed" 1) |
The rifle works by accelerating rounds at a high speed centrifuge, powered by an array of low-end gravitic centrifuges through a frictionless hub. Since the rounds are kept moving and don't contact the outer wall, the system is effectively frictionless, cold and allows for a much higher ammunition capacity with a much smarter use of space. Its worth noting that the rifle takes some time to 'warm up' - around 12 seconds from an offline state before the weapon becomes live. Up to four cycled and separated streams of rounds can be held, each of a different caliber and classification.
New rounds are loaded by feeding them in into the injector which add them to the load of the centrifuge. Every time a round is expended, a new round is cycled from a mounted magazine, belt or drum into the cyclone centrifuge mechanism. Integrated computers sort them automatically.
When fired, rounds are cycled out through the ejector of the centrifuge and out into the barrel, which is appropriately chambered and rifled via a morphic structol interior sleeve which also acts as a cooling radiator mechanism. Essentially, the weapon adapts to the round it is firing, meaning it should be able to fire most classifications of round, regardless of manufacture - an improvement of the dynamic chambering of the existing Ek Yra in that theoretically, this technology could be added to other existing weapons as an after-market addon.
Optionally, barrels can be cycled for a higher rate of fire comparable to a minigun or the structol rifling can be sequentially charged, magnetically accelerating the round to 500/1000 meters/sec, the energy of which is pulled from a capacitor. Optionally, the weapon can be uplinked to an external power source and much higher round velocities achieved - easily 5000 meters per second.
These features are not mutually exclusive and can be blended together via smart fire-control, using range-finders to estimate the targets position and then firing a round fast enough to strike the target but also often enough to deal repeated damage. In this sense, it is effectively an adaptive weapon.
The use of a gravitic centrifuge means the system is able to lighten the weapon substantially, making it much easy to carry. In addition, the same centrifuge acts as a gyroscope of sorts, offering limited stabilisation and recoil correction. If uplinked with MONO™ headset, intent-recognition steps in to exert correctional force, partially automating the aim of the user.
A subspace accelerator can be can be added to the barrels, further boosting the round velocity to upwards of 15.3 kilometers per second, a minor improvement over the 400,000 km/h (11.11km/s) the existing Lorath 610mm Subspace Enhanced Railgun sings to, thanks to some precise calibration.
At maximum velocity, the gun has a charge time of once every 8 seconds, a great improvement over the cannon, though with a much smaller round with the aim of putting multiple rounds on target simultaneously with precise computer controlled fire, similar to the 'popcorn' effect enjoyed by NLOS (no line of sight parabolic artillery weapons). Additional cooling apparatus is also included, to prevent the catastrophic overheating the accelerator would induce.
Such a system absolutely requires an additional power-source, such as that provided by powered-armour. It is primarily designed for operation in a vacuum over long ranges.
The icing on the cake is a specialised chambering system which allows the bottom barrel of the cycling systems to fire a custom shell from a revolver-style mount - completely bypassing the cyclone mechanism. This may be useful for special operations such as tagging, flares, explosives, special penetrators and other options.
Extensions mounted upon the barrel can optionally coat the leaving round with an explosive or incendiary coating, pulling from tanks mounted inline with the barrel. This system mounts to the same hardpoint as the subspace accelerator and the two cannot both be mounted simultaneously.
Optional sensors on the BFG-Cyclone include a classic scope, the Far-Sight™ scope and the Wide-Shot™ detection system.
FarSight™ is effectively a miniaturised wide-band photon detection system, similar to that found on most contemporary powered-armor. It has been simplified and ruggedised. Functionally speaking, it can see passively into most of the EM spectrum (to detect radio or microwave communications, magnetic fluctuations, infared thermals) as well as other electrical discharges.
It can also search actively with an adaptive cathode, acting as an optical radar of sorts, even allowing it limited visual penetration through surfaces to identify objects on the other side toward the upper-band of the EM spectrum. Unlike powered-armour, its aperture is very narrow, making it a better choice for picking off tactical targets at range and opening an engagement. Combined with the magnetic acceleration system, the Cyclone is a first-class sniper-rifle.
WideSight™ on the other hand is the philosophical opposite. Working similarly to basic detection on powered-armor, it a horizontal visor of sorts beneath the basic scopes that functions as a wide-aperture compound eye. Since a user can only ever see in one given direction with limited peripheral vision, WideSight™ offers additional detection within the visible spectrum up to 120 meters. Combined with range-finding and a high rate of fire or additional penetration based on data provided by the Far-FarSight™'s identification of the cover or protection the enemy is using making it an effective weapon against powered-armor. Used in conjunction with the MONO™ headset or translational software, the user's awareness is augmented hugely, giving a distinct tactical advantage.
To do Get help from Kampfer and Doctomoe on this one before you start producing visuals. You're way in over your head, Osaka. Also decide: Is this going to be a personnel weapon or an armor mounted weapon (probably personnel…)
When firing with additional assistance from the barrel, not just the centrifuge, the friction of the round superheats the air its travelling through, nullifying the stealth advantage in exchange for additional velocity (ideal for fast-moving targets), range and kinetic penetration.
Programmable airburst rounds and kinetic penetrators need to be developed for the weapon separately (XM25 system).
Misc notes (QA format:)
(these need compiling and clarifying in the basic blurb)
Q: Maintanance nightmare: Too many moving parts?
A: The gravitic centrifuge has no moving parts. Only the barrel moves.
Q: Barrel would be noisy. Need a battery.
A: Energetic recovery from the centrifuges power the barrel.
Q: Computer failure - would that be an issue?
A: The Centrifuge packs many small computers rather than one large one making it incredibly redundant. In practice, even if half of them fail at any given point, the device will continue to work with no problems and damaged structol circuits contain XNA data of their construction and will typically repair themselves. In short, the computer components only require maintenance around once a year, simply by adding a carbon/water solution into the centrifuge while it is not active.
Q: Is there really a need for this weapon?
A: It can operate in threemodes: Low performance/stealthy, high rate of fire or high velocity/range/power. If you don't know what you're up against, the weapon is an ideal choice.
Optional consideration: a centrifuge at the end of the barrel, vectoring the trajectory of the round Replay