R-10 Perihelion Draft 12102019

R-10 “Perihelion” Multipurpose Combat Weapon:
The R-10 Perihelion is a standalone weapons program spun off from the Apex Project as the divergence of the needs of Starfleet and the goals of the R-9 project became apparent. While the R-9 attempted to compete with the lower-cost Moland and T.443s, the increasing desire among officers in the Starfleet Weapons Design Partnership was for a more sophisticated and capable weapons platform. Where the R-9 is the design based on proven principles, mass accessibility, and straightforward engineering, the R-10 is a more ambitious design. Also a bullpup but chambered in the harder-hitting 5x50mm Telrosian Hypervelocity, the R-10 is significantly longer and heavier than the R-9, with a heavy barrel and coil accelerator system intended for extended automatic fire and an accurization system that can be engaged to reduce fire dispersion, though at the cost of noticeably increased heat generation. The ammunition feed and magazine mount is not compatible with the R-9/Moland magazine system, but instead uses a magazine and feed system taken from the Scorpion Assault Weapon. Using large horizontal magazines and most often shorter 5x35mm Universal slugs to increase capacity, the R-10 is capable of operating as a suppressive fire automatic weapon; with 5x50mm Hypervelocity slugs and after engaging the accurization system, the R-10 serves as a dangerous marksman weapon. The rate of fire is adjustable, and is buzzsaw-like at its limits with 5x35mm ammunition; these rates of fire are reduced with full-power ammunition, or while accurization is engaged. The weapon features numerous firing modes: semi-automatic, 5 round burst, and fully automatic. Like the R-9, the R-10 is outfitted with a bayonet lug, with an eye to the export market.

The R-10 is equipped with an integrated smart optic system, which features a high-zoom optical lens and is synced with other components and inputs into the rifle to project firing paths and expected dispersion with a given set of ammunition and power settings. This optic can also sync with the MIDAS II armor’s Gunlink system, allowing precise firing from behind cover and use of the optic and projected firing paths and dispersions even without shouldering the rifle or aligning the optic with the eye. The R-10 also has a mounting points left and right for a modular offset 40mm grenade launcher, which has an integrated in-line tube magazine that holds several grenades for either semi-automatic or burst fire and will also integrate with the smart optic to provide trajectory, dispersion, and expected blast radius information for a given grenade loadout.

The specifics of the networking between the R-10 and MIDAS-based systems has been an area of focus, in terms of risk minimization. The R-10’s linkage uses a low-powered transmitter with a range of approximately 8-10 feet and broadcasts on a tight beam with the armor set while synced. The weapon must be manually resynced with the headset if the link is lost, which is triggered manual and is not an automatic search. The communications within the weapon from various components are conducted via hardwire, while information on ammunition and magazine status are read in using physical contacts in the linkage to pass information. The numerous advanced features on the R-10 make it an extremely capable weapon, but also a demanding one to upkeep.

R-10AvX “Perihelion”: Full-featured version, including full networking and smart linkage systems as per original design specs.
R-10BvX “Aphelion”: Stripped-down version, omitting network sync capabilities, the predictive components of the optic system, and the accurization system. Shorter and lighter barrel and coil assembly together with other simplifications to reduce system weight.
R-10CvX: Significantly modified experimental Aphelion variant using 10x50mm magnetic slugs.
R-10DvX: Significantly modified experimental Aphelion variant using 3x33mm magnetic slugs.
R-10EvX: Significantly modified experimental Aphelion variant designed for use with chemically fired cartridges.