A5 Series

The A5 series, collectively known as the A5 Individual Combat Weapon System, is a series of air-cooled, electric-operated assault rifles produced by Mars Corps Armory. The A5 is the workhorse of the United Space Command Armed Forces. Having been in service for more than two hundred years, the A5 series is the oldest rifle platform currently utilized by the USC military, with half a dozen models still in use. While the USC Marine Corps and the Navy use the A5A designation, the Army refers to the weapon as the AC87.

Design details

The A5 series is a family of air-cooled, electric-operated, magazine-fed weapons designed for automatic fire. They typically feature an attached electronics suite that provides information on rounds remaining in the magazine and a compass heading, as well as fulfilling several other "housekeeping" functions. These rifles are rugged and sturdy, and perform exceptionally well in a variety of environments, especially given the perceived delicacy of the attached electronics suite. A5-series weapons generally come configured with a standard-issue flashlight mounted beneath the barrel, but can be fitted with a grenade launcher or an underslung shotgun.

Firing mechanism

The A5 series rifle is a bullpup rifle and is made of Titanium-G alloy. The rifle is electric-operated and fires from a closed bolt. The charging handle used to chamber the round is situated on the left side of the rifle and moves during operation. Once the first round is fired, the electric energy from that round and those to follow impinge upon a electric piston, which pushes back the bolt carrier, rotating the bolt inside which unlocks it and extracts the spent brass from the chamber and ejects it. As the bolt carrier group is propelled forward, it chambers another round. This cycle continues until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle must both be pulled back and locked or must be fully cycled after a fresh magazine is inserted to chamber the next round. The magazine itself is located at the butt of the rifle and the magazine release button is located above the magazine well and has an arrow pointing down toward the housing.
The electronics suite is integrated along the top rail guard of the weapon. The A5 is designed for the toughest of situations, able to be subjected to elements that would otherwise cause a weapon to malfunction, or render a weapon inoperable. The electronics suite contains an LED ammunition counter that displays the number of rounds remaining in the inserted magazine, as well as displaying a magnetic compass. The suite can also project a targeting reticule on the user's heads-up display or neural interface; if such equipment is not available, pop-up iron sights within the cowling can be used.

Ammunition

The A5 series rifle uses the 7.62×51mm Full Metal Jacket, Armor Piercing rounds. These rounds are designed to pierce body armor so the rounds are reasonably large, and are surrounded by a molded jacket of metal, which enhances its armor-piercing capabilities. More exotic ammunition types, like shredder rounds, are available for use, however these modifications are available only by Mission Conditional Requisition (MCR).

Known Models

A5A Individual Combat Weapon System - The A5A, or AC87 to the USC Army, was introduced in 2437 and is still favored heavily by the Army despite newer iterations of the series due to its ruggedness and simplicity. The A5A has a more skeletal cowling than other A5 variants.

A5B Individual Combat Weapon System - Much less accurate in comparison to the A5C and A5D, it is often relegated to use in short-range combat. The A5B receives a sixty-round magazine.

A5C Individual Combat Weapon System - An improvement upon the A5B, featuring a heavier barrel with a one-in-seven twist, a stronger magazine spring mechanism, a lower-profile electronics housing, and a sturdier, more ergonomically designed trigger guard. It receives a shortened thirty-two round magazine; the reduced magazine capacity in relation to the A5B is part of an effort to prevent wearing of the magazine spring. It is used by the Marine Corps and the Navy in short-to-mid range combat.

A5D Individual Combat Weapon System - The A5D receives a thirty-two round magazine like the A5C, and also an increased capacity thirty-six round magazine. At some point before 2590, it became the standard-issue fully-automatic rifle of all USC military branches.

A5K Carbine - The A5K is a carbine variant of the A5A that is used almost exclusively by Special Forces units. It receives a thirty-round magazine and is fairly modular, capable of being assembled in various configurations.