Guide to Phoenix Lore

Below is a list of the most common type of weapons used across Sol. Some may be used by almost every civilization, whereas others are only used by one or two.

The descriptions given are of the general workings of the weapon, not anything specific to the civilization using it. The individual sections for each civilization will instead provide any unique variations of these weapon types.

















Explosions in space are highly ineffective. This is because, in an atmosphere, the primary destructive force of any explosion comes from the shockwave that is created by the blast. Without anything to push against in a vacuum, there is no shockwave, and the explosion lacks its destructive power.

Explosions can still be used as a propellant, detonated inside a pressure vessel and then used to propel shrapnel outwards towards a spacecraft: like a very large fragmentation grenade or flak weapon. Shaped charge 'HEAT' weapon remain similarly viable

Nuclear warheads similarly lose much of their bite in a vacuum. While radiating energy will still melt a ship if detonated right on top of it, they are not the massive blast weapons in space that they are known for on the ground. However, when detonated in the atmosphere of a planet with a magnetic field (such as Terra) nuclear devices can create a EMP effect, as high energy particles ionize the air around it and send voltage surges through the field.

Outside of such fields a Nuclear weapon in a vacuum is primarily a radiation bomb. Without atmospheres to absorb radiation X-rays travel freely from nuclear blasts, posing the threat of highly lethal dosages of radiation to any crew unlucky enough to be caught within the blast zone.


Autocannons
Many developments in the field have kept chemical guns relevant into the 22nd century. Electrothermal-chemical propellant allows for detonation adjustable on a molecular level, while advancements in digital fire control and widespread uses of 'smart' rounds maintain these ancient weapons as cheap and accurate. In addition, guns are highly versatile- spanning a range of roles from the multi-barrel Gatling, capable of maintaining a blistering rate of anti-fighter firepower; to giant multipurpose repeaters, blazing away at enemy capital ships; and anything in between.

Most guns are externally autoloaded- much in the vein of a 20th century chain gun or electric Gatling- even up to larger calibers.

Railguns
A Railgun jumps a high voltage current through a pair of parallel bars to create an electromagnetic field - much like a very powerful electric motor. A conductive projectile is then launched via this field down the "barrel" of the weapon at tremendous velocities. The incredible amount of potential energy imparted to the projectile makes the weapon highly accurate and deadly, much more so than an equivalent autocannon. The primary drawback to Railguns comes from constant damage to the rails due to friction, high voltage wear, and micro-particles. Thus, railguns require constant maintenance or barrel replacement and are restricted to a very slow rate of fire.

Coilguns
Coilguns are similar in principle to railguns, in that they also use EM forces to propel projectiles. However, coilguns operate by having a series of EM coils wrapped around the weapon barrel, which are turned on in sequence to pull the projectile towards the enemy. While they build no friction and are therefore exempt from the extensive maintenance requirements of a railgun (and also completely silent), a coilgun's maximum energy is limited by the conductivity of its projectiles and efficiency of its transistors. They are as a result much less powerful than railguns and more complex and costly to build. Although not literally "Gauss guns", both railguns and Coilguns are colloquially referred to as Gauss weapons.


The first spaceborne weapon, missiles are very common across Sol and used by nearly every civilization.

Dumbfire
Often referred to as rockets, or torpedoes in larger projectiles, unguided missiles are vectored in by the attacking ship and used for saturation fire or when precise guidance is unnecessary

Guided
Many different missile guidance systems exist: Optical or EOTS, Laser, Radar, GPS, and Infrared. In space -where little can hide the massive trace of a nuclear starship- IR, radar, and Electro-Optical are the most common. Within atmospheres and on the ground, radar is most common; but as terrain and weather can spoof most form of BVR detection; optical, laser or GPS guided ordnance is common. In space, manual guidance is often used when commanders desire precision, such as wanting to take out very specific components on a target ship.

Missiles are extremely versatile weapons, which can easily be given various warheads or penetrators to make them effective against any kind of target. The only drawbacks to missiles are their slow speeds, vulnerability to point defense systems, and limited carrying capacity.


Lasers
LASER, or "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation", is a weapon that functions by focusing a beam of EM radiation directly at a target. Atoms in the laser are "pumped" via an energy source. This excites the electrons within, which then emit energy as photons- or light. This radiation is then focused through a series of mirrors and lenses into a very tight beam which delivers concentrated energy to the target.

The wavelength of the energy emitted is based on the extent of valence shell movement by the electrons when excited. The shorter the wavelength, the more penetrating the laser, and the longer its range.

Pulse and Vacuum Frequency Lasers
Lasers can be pulsed to increase energy efficiency. Upon impact, a laser will throw up plasma from the target, which then blocks the laser beam and reduces its effectiveness. A pulse laser fires one pulse, allows the plasma to dissipate, then fires a second pulse, negating this issue. These pulses are extremely short, in a matter of microseconds.

Vacuum frequencies (those at the Extreme UV range - Gamma Range) do not require pulsing, as they easily penetrate plasma. However, Vacuum frequencies are absorbed by atmospheres, and therefore cannot be used for orbital bombardments.

The primary advantages of a laser are the lack of ammo (although heatsinks may be required), versatility (damage output is easily scaled), extreme range, and virtually instantaneous impact on a target (no other weapon fires at the speed of light).

Lasers are however notorious for their inefficiency, and produce a massive amount of heat. This heat can be difficult to dissipate, given that in space the only way to release heat is through radiation. External heat sinks can be used, but this makes the weapon vunerable to enemy fire. Another option is "open cycle cooling" which involves dumping the laser's gas into space after firing. While effective, the gas must be replaced before the laser can fire again. In this case gas could be considered 'ammunition' for its weaponry.

Particle Accelerator
Particle Accelerators are similar in concept to lasers, except they use magnetism where lasers use EM radiation. They function by ionizing particles and accelerating them forward via a strong electromagnetic field. They have an advantage over lasers in that their particles carry weight (unlike photons) and therefore do significantly more damage. However, their spread over distances is much more dramatic than lasers, and therefore they have much shorter range.

Particle Accelerators also require massive amounts of energy and much larger arrays in order to operate, and therefore often require ships to be entirely dedicated to their functioning.

The Atheris Interstellar Republic is the smallest of all the major civilizations in Sol, and as such also has the smallest military. However, this is not to say that they are the weakest.

In the early days, the ancestors of the AIR worked on earth, developing many aerospace technologies. However, as time moved on, the demand for such tech declined, and the corporation went bankrupt. Their leading scientists went with Project Daedalus, and were lost along with the pioneers that later founded the Shivan Empire.

The Republic has continued to focus on experimental technologies ever since, though this has often been delayed and interrupted by their highly tenous (and at times destructive) relationship with the Empire.

Before their separation from the Shiva system, the colonies in Sol were focussed almost entirely on research. Although they have had to become more focussed on their civilian population since the separation, they have still largely continued this trend. This focus has led them to develop some very powerful weapons, capable of allowing their ships to contend with the other civilizations very easily.


Railguns
The AIR has the most reliable rail technology in Sol. They deploy these weapons widely, even on their corvette class ships. Mari, a world of the AIR in the Shiva system, is home to a massive supply of heavy metals and other strong materials. This has allowed the AIR to construct rails that are extremely resistant to warping. They have also developed highly effective, active coolant technologies to further reduce warping.

As with any rail weapons, AIR rails will still build up lethal amounts of micro-particles over time, requiring replacement. The AIR has developed a system on their ships for retracting railguns mid-flight and quickly switching out rails so that firing may continue. because of this, the AIR has the most long lasting and sustainable rail fire of any Sol civilization.

They most commonly use ADNR (aggregated diamond nano rods) encased shells, allowing for a massive amount of penetration. They also commonly use "Javelin" rounds, which use explosives to break apart and separate themselves into a line, for rapid, but spaced out impacts that are effective at dealing with ablative armors.

Coilguns
Like their rails, the AIR has also mastered coil technologies, allowing them to be highly efficient. They most commonly use these in place of gatling style weaponry for basic point defense and anti-fighter systems in space and for the ARN's personal weaponry on the ground.


GPR-3 "Matara"
The Matara is the primary Infantry weapon of the AIR. It's a highly customizable coil rifle firing 3.61 x 19.40 mm ADNR-tipped aluminium projectiles with a 1.55 mm wide tungsten carbide penetrator. These projectiles are able to either penetrate most standard infantry armors and then break apart within the target's body or strip their outer layer and penetrate more advanced armors with its tungsten carbide core. Specialized rounds, such as scatter projectiles, are also available, but the impressive customizability the Matara is known for comes from its various firing modes. The rifle features 5 modes for different scenarios determining the projectiles' speed, depletion rate of the gun's battery core and charging time. The most powerful of the modes, MaxCharge, releases a projectile at almost 11,000 m/s, but takes 4 seconds to charge and can harm the battery's recharging capabilities. The first three modes all allow for full auto operation, with the rate of fire determined by the mode. The Matara is charged with a second trigger, which has to be pulled before every shot and during automatic fire to ensure no projectiles are fired accidentally. To power the rifle any of the IBC series battery cores can be used, similar to most other AIR energy powered personal weapons.

GPR-2C "Lancea"
The GPR-2C is the compact version of the GPR-3's predecessor. It is the most widely used chemical powered weapon in the ARN, the AIR's military, mostly because of the difficulties regarding the miniaturization of the Matara. The standard GPR-2 had been taken out of service in 2104, roughly one year after the introduction of the GPR-3, but since developing an even more compact version of the already technologically highly complex Matara would be very difficult and expensive and coil weapons don't have as many advantages over chemical weapons in urban and ship internal warfare as they do at longer ranges the ARN stuck with the GPR-2C for that purpose. The Lancea uses 5.38 x 45.53 mm caseless ammunition featuring a variety of different and exotic loads such as soft-point acid projectiles. The short barrel only allows for muzzle velocities up to 1,100 m/s using standard mass ammunition, but overall the rifle is very well adjusted to the smaller battlefields it was developed for.

RCA-S "Sica"
The Sica is a prototype weapon still in testing with the STRD, the AIR's main experimental technology and small arms developer. It is a sidearm supposed to be carried by most ARN soldiers, from general infantry to officers. Similar to revolving chemical pistols colloquially known as "Revolvers" that saw military use only until the early 20th century it relies on a rotating cylinder for ammunition storage. It is the first one-handed coil weapon ever to be used on a large scale in any military and may mark the comeback of traditional revolving magazines thanks to its ability to store several projectiles behind each other in a rotating cylinder. The weapon fires single shots or 4-round bursts of very short but fast 6.22 x 10.73 mm projectiles at over 1000 m/s and uses a compact battery core integrated into the cylinder, which is entirely switched out for reloading.

ATR-M
From its alliance with Phoenix, the AIR makes heavy use of the ATR for anti-tank warfare. The STRD made modifications to the base ATR, using their materials for a stronger and more durable rail that can fire for longer than its standard variant.

Other
Since the founding of the AIR its military has been using chemical caseless weaponry with its infantry, only recently adopting several coil based weapons. Other notable portable weapons currently in use with the ARN include:

• CDW-2 : A coil accelerated submachine gun issued to pilots for protection.
  
• G-LRR-2 : A chemical long range precision rifle using guided projectiles.
  
• HP-3 : The current chemical sidearm in use with the ARN's infantry.
  
• SPW-3 : A chemical weapon specifically designed for firing scatter projectiles at close ranges.

CEU Naval ships are designed for fast raids against enemies. They focus on speed and firepower over defense, and therefore mount many fixed or mostly forward facing weaponry, with large engine arrays in the rear. Electronic Warfare is a staple of Naval Doctrine, confusing enemies in preparation for such raids. Once sufficient EMP or other EC weaponry is used, ships rush in to destroy their enemies before they can react.

This focus on raiding comes in large part from the history of the CEU, which is deeply rooted in piracy and mercenary gangs. The belt has for many years been a haven for freelance pilots and all their numerous gangs and fleets. Although the CEU represents order, they themselves are still a cartel of very wealthy and powerful families within this chaotic environment.

Blitz tactics allows the CEU families to resist raids, and police them at the same time. They have brought the five houses to power, and they continue to provide a platform for pre-emptive strikes against any would-be rivals in the belt.


Gatling Guns
The CEU commonly uses a six barelled gatling gun with 20mm rounds, propelled by an electrochemical explosive. These guns fire at a rate of up to 600 rpm, easily chewing apart enemy fighters and missiles.

Autocannons
The CEU uses a large amount of Autcannons as their primary armament. These function to deliver devastating blows to their enemies quickly and brutally. The most common shell size is around 150 mm, but they can go up to 400 mm on larger ships. The CEU has several types of Autocannon shells that are commonly used:

• [RAKP] - Rocket Assisted Kinetic Penetrator - this is the most common type of shell, using a diamond tipped shell, with a rocket engine that fires shortly after launch from the autocannon for additional acceleration towards its target. The shell's kinetic energy creates massive holes in targets with ease.
  
• [INC] - Incendiary - this shell is often smaller than most, meaning that the hole it creates in a ship is much smaller than that of others. This restricts oxygen to leak through the breach more slowly, allowing the shell to explode and ignite what remains of the oxygen within seconds, setting crew and equipment ablaze.
  
• [EXP] - Explosive - this shell functions similar to the incendiary, in that it attempts to preserve as much oxygen as possible in a target ship. It then explodes in order to create a pressure wave that will cause the compartment to blow apart from the inside.
  
• [FLAK] - This shell is fired on a delayed fuse, which then explodes and propels shrapnel into swarms of enemy fighters. House York has banned the usage of the weapon due to its creation of space junk, but these regulations are often ignored.

Missiles
The CEU make extensive use of missiles, working in cooperation with WMI, the Uranian weapons manufacturing corporation. From WMI, the CEU has access to some of the best guidance systems available, ensuring that the missiles almost never miss their targets. Additionally, many of these missiles are outfitted with Electronic Warfare devices, disrupting enemy tracking systems so that they might penetrate PD grids.

CEU missile types come in the same variations as their autocannon shells, with the addition of EMP warheads, which produce powerful EMP bursts to enemy ships, incapacitating their targetting arrays in preparation for CEU raids.

Nuclear Weaponry
[UFGM] - Uranium Fission Guided Missile - The UFGM is a rare weapon among the CEU, due to its lasting radioactive fallout. It has at times been used by more aggressive houses (such as the former leader of Tokugawa) in place of the EGM. Although it is only effective against ships orbitting a highly magnetic atmosphere, the nuclear explosion's massive amount of EMP radiation more effectively blankets an enemy fleet to further guarantee their blindness. However, the massive amount of X-Ray emissions often become an issue for both the enemy and the CEU, so the UFGM is technically illegal.

The UFGM is also used at times as a radiation bomb in vacuums, though this tends to be less effective due to advances in radiation shielding technologies. Its most effective use in CEU warfare is the orbital bombardment of atmospheric targets. However, the weapon has yet to be used in this capacity.

Particle Accelerator
The [ASPA] (Anti Ship Particle Accelerator) represents the pinnacle of CEU ship-based weaponry. Typically running the full length of their host ships, these massive weapons use magnetism to massively accelerate ionized particles at trememdous speeds towards their enemy. Although relatively short ranged, the CEU makes up for this with their blitzkrieg style tactics and fast ships. These weapons make short work of enemy armor, boring holes straight through most ships in only a few seconds. However, the massive energy and structural requirements mean that these weapons are typically mounted on ships completely dedicated to their usage, and require a somewhat lengthy recharge period.


The arsenal of the CEU infantry bears few differences from an early 21st century military. Whereas other civilizations delved into more exotic weaponry, CEU continues to rely on more proven and reliable weaponry, with longstanding service records to prove their continual effectiveness.

[AR-72]
Named for the year of its invention (2072), this Assault Rifle is the primary weapon of the CEU army. It is completely modular, allowing it to be easily disassembled and repaired, or to replace smaller parts quickly without needing to buy an entirely new rifle. This modular design also gives it an extensive set of modifications from which to choose, which range from enhanced scopes, to silencers, to extended or higher caliber barrels, to grenade launchers. Years of improvements means that the AR-72 is able to fire lower caliber bullets with greater results than its ancestors. The standard munition is a 3 x 40 mm round, with an average muzzle velocity around 1500 m/s.

[LR-73]
The LR-73 is the sniper version of the AR-72, with a highly extended barrel, using specialized projectile of the same size, but with a much larger casing for more explosive propellant. the LR-73 can fire up to 1700 m/s, and strike targets at a range of up to 5 km.

[AVML]
The AVML (Anti-Vehicular Missile Launcher) is another weapon with roots dating back to the early 21st century. It is a shoulder mounted guided missile launcher, which can easily a variety of targets depending on the loaded munition. The most common types of missiles are Shrapnel (anti-infantry, anti-aircraft), Kinetic (anti-heavy), Explosive (light armor), and EMP (Electronic).

Other Weapons
the CEU maintains a wide variety of weapons for usage in just about any situation. These typically are standard projectile weapons, with very similar concepts to those listed above.

• [P-72] - The short-barrelled, one handed version of the AR-72 for use in close quarters
  
• [S-83] - A standard sub-machine gun for use in close quarters, using 2x30 mm rounds at 1000 m/s
  
• Grenades - ranging from incendiary, to frag, to smoke, to EMP, to anti-armor

The ESC possessed by far the largest armed force of the nations of Sol. They built their Navy, Terrestrial Guard, and Marine Corps to be large, highly versatile, and capable of combating threats from any of the other Solar civilizations.

Part of this versatility stems from a defense procurement industry that spans countless cultures and tactical philosophies. These melded together to form well-rounded and highly adaptive tactics and designs, as opposed to the more focused ideologies that often prevail in the outer system.


ESC ships are highly practical, with only nominal crew quarters and "comforts", preferring instead to devote as much of a ship as possible to its combat capabilities. ESC ships are built around their engines and dorsal guns, generally having smaller interior space but overall possess thicker armor and a higher abundance of weaponry.

Missiles
From the first OO-7's bolted on the 'Quokka' to the massive intra-system SOM's that ring Earth's equator, missiles have always been an integral part of the ESC naval arsenal. All ESC ships of the line carry multipurpose VLS cells which can fabricate a range of high delta-V interceptor missiles (AFM's) or high mass anti-ship missiles (AShM's). Dedicated craft often carry special cells for 'heavy' AShM's carrying multiple kinetic penetrators or a nuclear shaped charge 'HEAT' warhead.

Coilguns
The primary weaponry of 3nd and 4rd generation ESC ships are large, dorsally mounted coilguns. These guns propel projectiles at incredible speeds, wielding enough enough kinetic energy to tear many smaller ships apart. Some common shell options are:

• Kinetic - a carbyne tipped magnesium alloy shell creates an extremely durable penetrating rod capable of slicing through armor with ease.
  
• Flak - a shell with a set delay or proximity fuse that explodes into a cloud of shrapnel to take out enemy small craft. Supplants missiles in its 'area denial' effect, saturating a wide area of space with deadly fragments. Flak shells are banned by some civilizations of Sol as they can create lingering debris fields.
  
• Nuclear Squash Head - Resurrected by Horus as a simple but highly deadly brute force weapon, this shell deforms against enemy armor and then detonates a nuclear warhead against the enemy ship. Propagated through the hull itself, the resulting shockwave rips apart most ships. Those that survive are often doomed to die later by the intense radiation.

Railguns
Still in use by the ESC for their sheer power, these massive guns propel shells the size of cars or sometimes even larger (in the case of Horus) towards their targets at speeds of up to 12 km/s. Where coilguns can tear corvettes apart, ESC railguns punch holes through dreadnoughts and stations.

Although rail technology is dangerous and requires careful maintenance, the ESC works to overcome its limitations through innovations in rail materials and coolant technologies, and by limiting the firing rate of the Railguns significantly. Some commanders have been known to push these limits to annihilate hated enemies, although such risks are rarely unmet by severe consequences.

Helical Railguns
The pinnacle of ESC weaponry, Helical Railguns are a combination of Coilgun and Railguns, providing the reliability and versatility of the first with the raw power of the second. These fearsome weapons are largely still in the prototype stage as of 2107.

ESC traditional and Helical Railguns use the same shell variations as their Coilguns.

Autocannons
Although Gauss Flak is the most common ESC solution to fighters and missiles at range, conventional chemically propelled autocannons are also used to compliment these PD grids. Electric Gatling CIWS and larger caliber repeaters are often used as secondary and defensive armament on ESC ships.


Partially due to Old Guard dogma in the Marine Corps, ESC Vehicles make heavy use of chemical autocannon technologies, as opposed to refining tactical scale Gauss weapons. They are supplemented by various types of missiles, rockets, smart bombs, and even nuclear weaponry. Railguns are much more rare on the ground, as they are much harder to mount due to the massive power requirements. However, the ESC does have several tank destroyer models completely dedicated to the firing of these highly lethal weapons.

Vehicles are organised into a multitude of Orbital and Armored divisions. Heavily co-dependent with the ESC Navy for fire support, Orbital divisions integrate trans-atmospheric air support with Orbital Drop Ranger teams and light vehicles brought in by dropship and landing craft. Armored divisions are disembarked from heavy transports once proper spaceports or landing areas are accesible; and consisting primarily of MBT's alongside airborne or mechanized strike recon teams, and supported by integrated fire support from artillery and atmospheric fighter/gunships.


Although the utility of infantry in the open plains of Mars or Europa is limited to small, elite recon teams; the ESC maintains a large number of motorized divisions for 'door kicking' and doing grunt work within the countless mega-cities and asteroid warrens of Sol.

M-91
In use with strike recon teams and other elite units, the most advanced weapon of ESC ground forces is the M-92 infantry coilgun. Manufactured by the ESC sponsored North American Arms Design Syndicate, The M-91 replaces chemical propellants with electrical coils for significantly greater power. The M-91 is designed for sustained automatic fire: maintaining accuracy by accelerating its pistol caliber rounds at speeds up to 2000 m/s while maintaining a magnetically induced spin. Higher caliber anti-armor ammunition and heavier dedicated SAW variants exist. The primary disadvantage of the M-91 in its role is its power requirements: requiring a change of both magazine and battery pack when reloading. However, the M-91 possesses greater range and firepower than chemically propelled contemporaries- while maintaining an advantage in reliability and sustained fire over more exotic directed energy weapons.

AK-772/Veka
Conventional firearms still maintain a stubborn foothold in the ESC arsenal with the Kalashnikov Design Firm AK-772 'Veka' or century. This continuation of the legendary assault rifle line takes advantage of electrothermal-chemical propellant ammunition and gyroscopic 'smart' rounds to match the accuracy and damage of gauss weapons, if not their range and firepower. With most of its cutting edge technology hidden within the bullet; the gun is (like its ancestors) highly versatile, rugged, and used widely among the ESC for its ease of manufacturing and durability under hostile conditions.

Type-97 CIS Drone family
Structured to operate in cities, without vehicle support, [?] Motorized divisions rely heavily on a variety of infantry scale drones as a force multiplier. The highly modular T-97 Close Infantry Support Drone provides alternatively, a floating shield and breaching lead; a squad-integrated heavy weapons platform; or a pair of airborne eyes connected to an enormous arsenal of battalion-level support assets. A squad's drone operators are as valuable to it as its combat lifesavers.

The ESC has the largest and most varying armory of all the Solar civilizations, having an arsenal stemming from a wide variety of national backgrounds, industries, and manufacturers contributing to the whole. While the AK-772 and M-91 are the most common weapons used, there are also countless variants of projectile weapons and even some more exotic weaponry, like crew served laser's or even experimental "lightning guns" in use by Guard Divisions and informally throughout the republic.

The Foy Republic is a small empire but resourceful one. With their invention of the jump drive, the warships were designed to use this in their combat styles.

The ships of the Foy fleet are "small" compared to their allies and enemy's ships, and tend to be designed around the large guns they carry.

The ships of the Foy fleet are "small" compared to their allies and enemy's ship and tend to be designed around the large guns they carry.

The new generation or retro fitted ships of Foy are using one Railgun. The size of the Railguns are immense and run the up to half the length of the ship, generally Railgun onboard ships are 100-120 meters (328-394ft) in length and 10-14 meters (33-46ft) in diameter. They are a highly accurate weapon that can deliver pin point blows on ships in hit n' run tactics but due to the size and reloadspeed of the gun, ammunition is not carried in abundance for the gun. Typical amount of ammunition on board is around 15-30 shots as the ability to use jump drives, the Foy fleet has a staging area where ships can jump to to rearm or make quick repairs and refuelling.

The implication of Coilguns have been in use since the beginning of Foy's Naval fleet. They have been a reliable gun for the purpose of hit and run tactics that the Foy Navy is notorious for! New ships in the fleet have two massive Coilguns that are mounted side by side under the Railgun. They are about 50-70 meters (164-230ft) in length and 4-8 meters (13-26ft) in diameter. Unlike the Railgun more ammunition can be carried and from 60-80 rounds are carried for the two guns.

Primary uses are for point defence. Small array of autocannons are mounted in strategic positions to allow for side barges or more common use as anti-missile, anti-spacecraft defence systems. Typical caliber of the guns are small thirty millimetre autocannon.


Along side the weapon package of the three guns an arsenal of missile pods are carried on board.

Guided missiles are stored in pods along the ships hull. Up to ten missiles are in each pod and the number of pods are up relatively high in the hundred ranges. More condensed pods where thought of but the likelihood that they get hit and destroy by the enemy targeting them was to high, so small parcels of small to medium sized missiles were used instead. The pods are meant to be pulled out and refitted with new pods as there is no space in the ships for a reloading system of the small style of ship design is meant to be kept.




Almost all weapons are able to be modified for different environments giving the user more precision and reliability of their weapons. Foy military requested Trayan keep the ammunition consistent and similar for easy ammunition trading amongst soldiers on the battlefield.


Mk1 is the standard assault rifle of the Foy military. It's small enough to be useful in ships for boarding party's or to ward off unexpected guests. It's magazine well in the butt allows for the gun to have the chamber moved back allowing for a longer barrel but still keeping the gun small. This is an excellent assault rifle with a multi fire mode setting allowing it to be used as a marksmans rifle. It fires 7.62 caliber and has a magazine size of 32 rounds and its shock absorbent buttplate allows for more comfort in sustained fire.

The Trayan Mk2 is the Navy's preferred weapon. It's a short yet heavy hitting sub machine-gun. This gun design is compact yet versatile. With a magazine amount of 50 rounds of .44 magnum it's able to drop any solider who winds up to close.

Found on all military troops hips is the 244. It's a tough little hand gun. Chambered for .44 magnum it comes with standard old fashion iron sights but can be equipped with multiple attachments. The use of the .44 mag allows for less production of different rounds and allows for ammunition swapping on the battlefield.






The Standard Long Range Sniper Rifle System is a ten round .57 caliber rifle. Kitted up with a twenty four power smart scope which takes in the atmospheric changes and calculates for wind, bullet drop and lead of moving targets all so the marksman can easily point and shoot at a target. The rounds are just as advanced as the scope. They are an armour piercing round with a small charge of explosives in them that goes off after entering the target.

Arguably a Swiss Army knife of the launchers this RPG is able to support many roles. The ammunition ranges from direct fire rockets, anti-air tracking missiles, EMP missiles, flares, remotely guided rockets and anti-tank rockets. The launcher has two tubes that can be pushed into one another to make it compact for travel and can be mounted onto a stand for a more permanent position of fire.

The Phoenix Republic has pursued plasma technology further than anyone else. This research first began under the ESC, when the ancestors of the Republic colonized Mars. Although these first colonists are most widely known for their PD technology that sparked off the First Colonial Rebellion, Plasma technology was another goal. Much of the original research was destroyed as the colonists fled Mars, but the experiments continued under the Republic. This was further driven by the need for a habitable zone on Titan, where a breathable atmosphere could exist.

Innovations in plasma technology provided the Republic with a sustainable source of power, and a shielding technology with which to trap gases and create this zone. From there, Phoenix has become a pioneer of plasma technology, replacing all ship fusion reactors with plasma, using plasma thrusters, and most recently, using plasma to power their weaponry through lasers.

The Phoenix Navy primarily uses an artillery doctrine, preferring to kill any enemy before they have a chance to close. Historically, this has not always been the case, as more conventional weapons were used in the past. However, a few friendly fire accidents resulting from orbitting projectiles (which resulted in the total loss of some of the affected ships) motivated the Senate to ban the use of all dumb fire weaponry in space.

With Rails, Gauss, Gatling, and Auto weaponry all being declared illegal, the Navy pushed the corporations to provide a suitable replacement. For some time, missiles were the primary weapon of the Navy, and in many cases they still are. However, lasers are on the rise, providing the Navy with weaponry that easily outranges every other civilization.

Phoenix ships today focus primarily on targetting technologies, power efficiency, and long range firepower. What they lack in mobility is more than made up for in their ability to kill an enemy before they have any chance to return fire. With their lack of rapid fire weaponry, they struggle with PD. However, this is accounted for by a higher than average use of drones and fighters.


Missiles
The most common ship mounted weaponry in Phoenix are missile launchers. Like the CEU, the PR gains most of its guidance technology from WMI, but also has developed some of its own "rational" missiles, using AI research from the HLF corporation. These AI guided missiles are capable of performing complex evasion maneuvers and independently reacting to PD fire, providing a very hard to hit target, and an extremely reliable guidance system.

These are the most common types of Phoenix missiles:

• CKM - Carbon Kinetic Missile, which is analogous to a standard Kinetic projectile of other militaries. Due to Phoenix having more ready access to organic materials than heavy metals, the most common material for these penetrators is carbon-fiber.
  
• PPM - The Parasitic Plasma Missile is a more rare, but often more deadly variant that latches onto ships rather than impacting them. Once attached, they create a spray of plasma to burn through ship armor. There are several variants of the PPM, to serve different purposes. The most common massively increases the plasma spray once a breach is created, ionizing the air beyond and creating a pressure shockwave in the adjacent chamber. Another variant fires an explosive package into the breached chamber for a similar effect. Simpler designs simply detach, forming a leak, or serve to create weak spots for other weapons to strike at.

Lasers
Phoenix Lasers most commonly use lasers operating in the Extreme UV range for maximum effectiveness. X-Ray and Gamma lasers are currently under research, but are difficult to produce and focus. EUV bears a similar focussing issue, and also is very inefficient. Both challenges are overcome by pulsing two infrared lasers into a nanofunnel, which doubles the wavelength of the beam, producing the EUV. This frequency is highly effective at drilling through enemy ships, but suffers when used against planetary targets due to atmospheric filtering. The nanofunnel can be retracted, allowing the IR lasers to fire, which penetrate the atmosphere more easily.

However, orbital bombardment is more commonly done through specialized Near-UV or Blue lasers, which allow for more power output, while still mostly penetrating the atmosphere. Near-UV is preferred due to its atmospheric ionization effect, which creates an effective plasma channel for ship based electrolasers. However, this requires the ship to be closer to the ground targets, since an atmosphere is necessary to create a complete channel from the ground to the ship.

Phoenix overcomes the heat issues through the use of both internal and external (retractable) heat sinks. External heat sinks are also a major reason that Phoenix adopts an artillery doctrine, as close quarters would lead to these arrays getting destroyed and forcing a shutdown of the weaponry. In cases where damage output needs outweighs heat tolerance, Phoenix ships carry spare gas, allowing the lasers to be cooled by ejecting the hot gas into space and replacing it for a new firing sequence.


ELR - 9
The most common infantry weapon, the Electrolaser Rifle fires a UV laser at its target, ionizing the air and creating a plasma channel. The channel is then used to conduct an electrical charge directly at its target and electrocute it. The power can be modulated to produce both lethal and non-lethal shocks. Because of this feature, it is also a common weapon among law enforcement. The rifle has the advantage of not requiring ammo, though it does need a change of battery packs after several shots. Phoenix troops therefore carry batteries where other soldiers would carry bullets. Some armour variants also have built in battery packs, allowing the soldier to plug his rifle into his suit for a longer lasting power source. This power source is kept separate from the system that powers the suit itself, so the soldier does not lose his survival systems the same time he runs out of "ammo".

ATR
The Anti-Tank Railgun is a bulky and somewhat dangerous weapon, which accelerates anti-tank sabot rounds at tremendous speeds, wiping out armoured targets with Kinetic Energy. The weapon requires constant maintenance and a large power pack, meaning that it is not practical for frontline use, but serves as a long range AT weapon.

LAS
Laser Rifles are commonly used as snipers, due to their extreme range. These weapons are miniature versions of their starship counterparts, pulsing lasers at an IR frequency (so as to remain invisible) to burn targets many kilometers away.

Other
Projectile weapons are not banned on the ground as they are in space, so Phoenix also makes usage of Autocannons, Gatlings, and Conventional Rifles in a similar fashion to other races.

Below is a list of weapons used exclusively by their manufacturing corporations.
For more information on the Phoenix Corporate structure, view Lore III: Corporate Politics


Infantry Weapons
The FRJS and FRMS are the two most common railguns. They are unique in that they fire a specialized ferrofluid instead of the common metallic slugs. The ferrofluid solves two of the biggest problems that face railguns; heat, and friction. Ferrofluid has strong friction-reducing properties, which drastically extends the life of the rails. The ferrofluid is also used as a heatsink before being fired, excess heat from the rails is directed to the ferrofluid before it is ejected from the weapon at lethal speeds. The barrel of the weapon is incredibly small; only about a millimeter in diameter. A specified amount of ferrofluid is magnetically drawn into a firing reservoir, which then quickly forces the fluid into the barrel where it is accelerated to a fraction of the speed of light; combining this with the extremely thin barrel creates a long and thin stream of extremely hot ferrofluid that resembles a laser-based weapon when fired. The ferrofluid has excellent armor-piercing capabilities; and the extreme heat and slightly separated projectile allows the weapon to function 'effectively' against personnel as well. Extreme speeds are achieved by firing small amounts of ferrofluid at a time. This weapon cannot be up-scaled; the properties of the ferrofluid prevent it from being properly fired from rails more than a few millimeters apart.

The FRS-J version is the higher powered version for the FRS railgun platform. This version has a longer "barrel" and a more precise jet for firing the fluid into the barrel. This version can fire about 30 shots per minute, at roughly 15000m/s.

The FRS-M is the modular version of the FRS railgun platform. This feature boasts a very high rate of fire for a railgun, and it does so by firing in bursts. The "barrel" actually consists of 3 pairs of rails that alternate fire. Each rail has it's own capacitors that charge while the others fire. While she FRS-M does not have nearly the same projectile velocity as the FRS-J, it makes up for it with fire rate; being able to fire in semi-auto, or 3 round bursts at a rate of about 180 shots per minute, each at about 7000m/s. This version of the weapon is highly modular, and can be adjusted in a multitude of ways.

HLF guns, like all rails, require a large power source. HLF has overcome this obstacle through their cybernetic suits of armor worn by each HLF soldier. These suits come in with built-in power reservoirs, allowing for continual fire over a matter of hours.

The Uranian Confederation has always been staunchly neutral, and thus never required as heavy of a military investment as the other civilizations. However, this is not to say they do not maintain one. The U-Con military is still very capable, and it is an essential part of guarding their massive trade network from those who would pirate or exploit it.

Uranian ships are very spartan in design. They have few crew comforts, preferring highly efficient designs with as little wasted space or unnecessary space as possible. There are two primary military industries in the Confederation: WMI and AAM. AAM focusses primarily on making ships, while WMI focusses primarily on making arms. The two have a symbiotic relationship, with WMI often improving AAM designs with new weapons technologies.

WMI specializes in missile technologies, and is the primary exporter of military goods within the Confederation, having numerous contracts, most notably with both Phoenix and the CEU. However, AAM is always the first to benefit from WMI research, and therefore Uranian ships have some of the best missiles in the system.

The Uranian Navy specializes in efficiency. They focus on being able to do as much as possible with as little as possible, and their projectile weapons are the most accurate in all of Sol. Their highly trained crews make up for any weaknesses, while their highly versatile ships are able to quickly react to any foe.


Missiles
Missiles are by far the primary armament of Uranian ships. With WMI's research, they have the most widely successful accuracy rates of any Navies using missiles, and they are the first to receive any of WMI's technological advancements in this arena. Uranian missiles use a wide range of guidance options, with multiple countermeasures (such as spiral trajectories) added to their missiles to avoid destruction by PD systems.

Below is a list of common missile types:

• Kinetic - a heavy metallic head meant for turning the missile's momentum into destructive Kinetic Energy
  
• Flak - a missile that explodes in mid-flight to create clouds of deadly shrapnel. Used in anti-fighter and anti-missile systems.
  
• Cluster - a missile that breaks apart mid-flight to send a cloud of deadly kinetic projectiles at the target ship. Another variant keeps the bomblets in a line, but spaced out. This focusses the damage in one area for further penetration, and is effective for dealing with ablative armor.
  
• Rocket Cluster - same as above, except the bomblets are further propelled by rocket engines to increase Kinetic Energy on impact.

Railguns
Uranian railguns are very similar to that of other races, except for the projectiles that they use. Each shell is outfitted with hydrogen maneuvering jets, allowing it to make tiny course corrections mid flight for superior precision.

The Confederation has never had the need to maintain a standard army, though a nominal one is used in case of invasion. Their primary infantry force is stationed on board ships, to be used in boarding actions. This is typically done in policing trade routes, customs operations, and anti-piracy. Because of this, most infantry weapons are designed to have their damage easily adjusted from lethal to non-lethal.

XM84
The XM84 is the primary rifle of the Uraniun military and police forces. It is highly modular, allowing barrels to be swapped out for higher caliber or longer options with great ease. However, the biggest advantage comes in the rounds used by the XM84, which give it its true versatility, and in most cases do not require any change of barrel from the standard 4 mm.

• Standard - a very typical round designed for penetration
  
• MEGI or MEGL - Mid-air Explosive Gas (Incapacitating or Lethal) rounds use sensors to explode shortly before hitting their target, spreading incapaciting or lethal gas over their victims.
  
• MEI - Mid-air Explosive Incendiary rounds work in the same fashion as MEG rounds, except that they explode into a ball of fire to suppress enemies.
  
• GSR - the Guided Sniper Round is the most advanced bullet type in Sol. It uses tiny fins to adjust course mid flight, using IR tracking to ensure that no target escapes. GSR rounds are one of the only common round variants to require a barrel change, switching to a longer barrel with a slightly larger caliber (5 mm).