Approved Ranged Weapon Imperial Heavy Repeating Blaster HRB-Q12 (HRB-Q) Quad-Barrelled Platform

[Doctor Afic Otker]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a variant of the HRB-12 heavy repeating blaster suitable for starships and defence roles
• Image Source: N/A
• Canon Link: Heavy Repeating Blaster
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: Imperial HRB-S12 (HRB-S) Infantry Weapon

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: The Galactic Empire
• Affiliation: The Galactic Empire
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: Imperial HRB-Q12 (HRB-Q) Quad-Barrelled Platform
• Nicknames: H-12, Pinkfire
• Modularity: Yes
  • Modular Scope Attachment
  • Modular Barrel Variants
  • Modular Underbarrel Attachment
  • Modular Coolant Fuel and Cooling Unit
• Production: Mass-Produced
• Material:
  • Reinforced Durasteel Frame
  • Manganese-Plastoid Alloy Grip Handle
  • Blaster Components
  • Bondite and Aluminium Internals
  • Tibanna
  • Dallorian Alloy Thickened Barrels
  • Anti-Corr 113 Treatment
  • CyroBan Coolant Compatibility
  • Power Generators with Reinforced Alusteel and Dallorian Alloy shielding

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Heavy Repeating Blaster Vehicle Armament Platform / Heavy Repeating Blaster Static Weapon
• Size: Very Large
• Weight: Very Heavy
• Ammunition Type: Power Generator
• Ammunition Capacity: Very Large (Sustained 1500 Blast Volley at Maximum Power)
• Effective Range: Battlefield (Maximum Firing Range of 4,600 Metres | 15,100 Feet)
• Rate of Fire: Selective Fire Modes (Average)
  • Charged Single Shot
  • Semi-Automatic
  • 3-Blast Burst
  • Fully Repeating Automatic
• Damage Output:
  • Charged Single Shot (Very High)
  • Semi-Automatic (Very High)
  • 3-Blast Burst (Very High)
  • Fully Repeating Automatic (Very High)
• Recoil: Very High

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Modular Underbarrel Attachment
  • Glowrod
  • Targeting Laser
  • Blaster Sight
• Rangefinder
• Four Spaced Barrels
  • The barrels are positioned in a square formation.
• Centred Iron Sight/Scope Attachment
• Modular Scope Attachment
  • Macroscope
  • Electronic Scope
  • Nightvision Scope
  • Infrared Scope
  • Computerised Interface Scope
  • Pinpoint Scope
  • Targeting Scope
  • Sure-Sight Scope
  • KXM-OS-01A 'Electric Eye' Weapon Optics System
• Minimum use of six power generators or an equivalent vehicle energy source
  • The HRB-Q12 can be connected to 8 power generators at the same time.
• Alternating Use Mode of power generators to faciliate one-man operation of the weapon and limit generator overheating
• Cooling Unit compatible with most coolant options
• Heat Sink
• Compatibility with Imperial vehicle armament slots
• Heavy Blaster Actuator
• Precision Chamber
• MWC-HS Hyper Trigger model Hair Trigger
• Trigger Cable
• Recoil-dampening Stock
• Autosteady Gyro-Gimbal
• Cautionary Pulser
• Power Pulsator

STRENGTHS

• Long-Range Capability: In order for the weapon to be on par with slugthrower heavy weapons and other modernised weapon systems, the HRB-12 series has been designed to be effective at long-range engagements, thus giving the Galactic Empire a viable infantry weapon for battlefield engagements. This also allows the HRB-12 to be used as an armament choice for military vehicles expected to engage at relatively long distances. This long-distance effectiveness is only possible due to the HRB-Q12 model requiring at least six attached power generators to be fully operational.
• High Penetration and Damage Output: The weapon is designed to have devastating penetration and damage potential even at long distances. This is to give Imperial fortifications and Imperial vehicles a viable option to engage enemy infantry and vehicles at range with great firepower.
• Relatively Accurate: Provided that the operator can keep the recoil under control or fires in short bursts, the HRB-Q12 can be an accurate weapon even at range.
• Sheer Volume of Fire: While the base weapon has a mediocre rate of fire, the project engineers decided to compensate for this by giving the HRB-Q12 variant a configuration of four spaced barrels thus greatly increasing its overall volume of fire down-range. This also has the added effect of increasing the damage output and target grouping of the HRB-T12 with thrice as many thick plasma bolts being fired at the same spot.
• Ideal for Starships: Powerful and devastating enough to destroy enemies at long range yet extremely energy intensive, the Imperial HRB-Q12 is the recommended armament for starships who desire a powerful point-defence weapon.
• Powerful Armament for Static Defence: Powerful and devastating enough to destroy enemies at long range with vastly superior hard stats compared to lighter HRB-12 variants (HRB-S12, HRB-D12, HRB-T12), the Imperial HRB-Q12 is a significantly effective weapon when used within permanent fortications.
• Redundancy: While the HRB-Q12 only requires six power generators to be fully operational, it can be attached to eight generators at once. This is recommended to improve the weapon's reliability, supplement its firepower and create redundancy in its munitions.
• Charged Single Shot: The HRB-Q12 has a fire mode that allows all of its power generators to charge a particularly potent bolt of plasma before firing downrange. This requires a particularly long charging time before firing, with the charging time being exponential for each separate barrel the power generators have to individually charge. This is useful for critical hits against heavily-armoured targets, especially at range. A brief cool down is required between each charged single shot.
• Minimum Crew Requirements: It was considered a flaw that prior heavy repeating blasters, such as the E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannon, required at least two operators, with one firing and the other monitoring the power generator, due to its manpower-intensive use. The HRB-Q12 is designed to only require one operator to use, with an option for the heavy repeating blaster to alternate between different power generators when one was clocked to be near overheating levels. This feature is usually automatically wired into the blaster configuration when attached to a vehicle platform or permanent fortification.

WEAKNESSES

• Volatile Power Generators: Due to the extremely high energy needs of the weapon, the power generators often remain charged with an extreme amount of power output. When directly struck, power generators of the HRB-12 series often combust into flames in best-case scenarios or even create spectacular explosions that often wipe out their own crew and sometimes the vehicle itself. As such, it is recommended in the doctrine manual of the HRB-12 that infantry crews hide their power generators well behind cover or even bury them if necessary. Engineers are instructed to embed HRB-12 power generators deep within the armour of the vehicle when attaching the weapons platform as an armament.
• Extremely Energy Intensive: The HRB-Q12 requires a great deal of energy to fire powerful plasma at range in a relatively small piece of weaponry. The HRB-Q12 requires a minimum of six power generators to be attached and charged. The HRB-Q12 is severely limited in its capability when its power source is not optimal.
• Tedious Maintenance: While the HRB-Q12 has a simple design making it relatively easy to repair, the weapon being quad-barrelled and requiring a high number of power generators make its routine maintenance a rather long-drawn and tedious process.
• Very Heavy: Due to its crude design, dense metal materials, numerous power generators, absurd number of barrels and the general mass of the weapon, the HRB-Q12 is a very heavy weapon by even heavy repeating blaster standards. Vehicle designers are instructed to keep in mind of weight considerations when deciding to attach the HRB-Q12 to a vehicle smaller than a starship, if it is even possible to do so.
• Too Heavy for Infantry Roles: Due to the absurd number of power generators and significant weight of the HRB-Q12, it is simply impossible for mere infantry to even attempt moving, let alone assemble. As such, the HRB-S12 is the only variant that is barely light enough to fulfill an infantry crew role.
• Bulky for Small Craft: Due to the absurd number of power generators, overbearing size and significant weight of the HRB-Q12, it is incredibly energy intensive and bulky for even heavy planetary vehicles. As such, the HRB-Q12 is largely relegated to starships and permanent fortications while lighter variants in the HRB-12 series are used for military vehicles.
• Bulky: The almost haphazard configuration of the triple spaced barrels of the HRB-T12 and its general increased size leads to it being difficult to carry or maneuver.
• Very High Recoil: Despite the HRB-Q12 using plasma technology, it is inevitable that the weapon platform has an high amount of recoil even for a heavy repeating blaster thanks to its crude design, multiple barrels and extraordinary power potential.
• Incredibly Loud: The HRB-Q12 is a loud piece of weaponry, even by slugthrower standards. This often leads to hearing loss and high levels of repeated yelling when the HRB-Q12 is used in combat situations.
• Mediocre Rate of Fire: Compared to other contemporary heavy repeating blasters, The HRB-Q12 has a mediocre or average rate of fire even in automatic fire mode. This is largely a non-issue due to the weapon's overwhelming firepower, superior volume of fire, accuracy and long-range capability. However there exists the potential of the weapon being outsuppressed by a rival weapon with a notably faster fire rate.
• Easy to Locate: As is the flaw with all energy weaponry, it is much easier to trace its position during long-distance engagements compared to slugthrowers. While the Infantry Platform variant can be adjusted to have a relatively low profile, all variants of the HRB-12 fire a distinctive hot pink plasma. This makes it especially easy to identify and locate the position of any HRB-12 even when engaging at long ranges on the battlefield, making it likely that users of this weapon will be focused on by the enemy.

DESCRIPTION

Darth Solipsis' Galactic Empire is known to design its arsenal in the aesthetic and doctrine of Palpatine's First Galactic Empire, primarily to emulate itself as the true legitimate successor of his Imperial legacy. This included using the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster as the standard vehicle weapon and heavy infantry support for Imperial forces. There were many upsides to the platform that saw its widespread use despite its antiquity such as its devastating firepower, built-in encrypted local comm network and minimal recoil. However the E-Web suffered from a fatal weakness that being its maximum effective range didn't even reach a full kilometre, meaning that it is often outranged by even primitive slugthrower weapons. Furthermore, the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster required two people to effectively operate it with one manning the weapon and another monitoring the power generator. As such, this left the Imperial infantry battalion vulnerable to getting outranged and losing out on valuable manpower when they used the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster in engagements with enemies that had superior ranged technology.

Many officials in the Galactic Empire, especially Deputy Science Officer of the OIS, Doctor Afic Otker, advocated for modernising and even overhauling the Imperial arsenal to keep pace with their many foes. Their efforts were rebuffed and stalled by assurances of Imperial zealotry and numbers winning the day, with most funds and resources being diverted to the Emperor's mysterious and vague energy program.

This changed after the failed Atrisia campaign, where the Galactic Empire was defeated and suffered heavy casualties across all fronts against its numerous and technologically advanced foes. Furthermore, the Emperor's superweapon, the Death Star III suffered notable damage and had its vulnerabilities made known to its creators and enemies during the battle. Faith and waves of Stormtroopers allowed the Empire to take the Core Worlds by surprise, but they would not conquer the galaxy alone. As such, the political capital needed to ratify a weapon modernisation initiative was found.

The Department of Advanced Weapons Research was given adequate funds and resources needed to begin its HALLAM (High-Adaptive Logistics, Lethality, and Armament Modernisation) Program in full. One of the priorities of the program was to modernise the Stormtrooper Corps and Imperial Army kit. The E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster was re-examined and it was decided that a new Heavy Repeating Blaster would be designed from scratch with specific emphasis on the new weapon being suited for Imperial combat doctrine and to remove the flaws of prior designs. Furthermore, the parameters of the weapons project dictated that the new Heavy Repeating Blaster had to be streamlined and adaptable for infantry, vehicle and static roles to ease logistics and production.

Doctrinally, the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster was given to an infantry battalion to supplement their firepower, stationed as static defences or attached to light airships for aerial support. The same recommendation was made for the new HRB-12 weapon series as the new prototype was considered superior in all roles compared to the E-Web with some specific exceptions to short-ranged base security roles.

The Heavy Repeating Blaster-12 or HRB-12 is often referred to as the 'H-12' for shorthand in both frontline and administrative environments, however both friendly and foe alike have nicknamed the weapon as 'Pinkfire' due to the distinctive hot pink plasma bolts that it fires.

The lightest variant of the HRB-12 series is the Imperial Heavy Repeating Blaster Single Barrel Infantry Weapon or the HRB-S12 for short. The HRB-S12 was downweighted so that it could be transported by infantry crews for combat operations. The Imperial Heavy Repeating Blaster Quad-Barrelled Platform or the HRB-Q12 for short was created as an armament specifically for starships and permanent fortifications in mind, the quad-barrel variant is given four spaced barrels positioned in a square formation which significantly augments it firepower.

In order for the HRB-Q12 to reach the weapon's ideal maximum effective range, the weapon needs at least six power generators to supply it alongside a custom high-quality tibanna gas composition to super-charge the plasma bolts, which gives the bolts their hot pink hue.

Due to the powerful plasma of the weapon, the HRB-Q12 base rate of fire is mediocre compared to other heavy repeating blasters and plasma cannons which leads to the possibility of it being outsuppressed by faster heavy blasters. Increasing the HRB-12's rate of fire would have required costly sacrifices to the weapon's performance or to radically re-design the heavy repeating blaster due to the limitations of its simplified and streamlined design. To circumvent this, the project engineers at the Department of Advanced Weapons Research decided to make HRB-12 variants with increased barrel counts. If the HRB-Q12 could not outgun rival weapon platforms with a faster fire rate, then it would do so with overwhelming volume of fire down range thanks to its four barrels.

Prior variants of the HRB-12 have to clock their firing chambers and the power generators to be at reduced power levels when in a fully repeating automatic mode of fire to prevent their power generators from short-circuiting. However, the HRB-Q12 project was able to solve this problem by having 6 to 8 power generators attached to the weapon thus allowing the HRB-Q12 platform to evenly distribute its energy. This was possible due to the lax requirements on the HRB-Q12's weight class compared to earlier HRB-12 models which had to be light enough for infantry or vehicle roles.

While the HRB-12 had promising results in field tests in regards to its damage and penetration potential against both soft and hard targets, it was recommended that the weapon be given the capability to penetrate critical areas of heavily-armoured targets at range that it normally wouldn't be able to given its reduced clocked firepower when in repeating automatic fire mode. As such, operators of the HRB-Q12 are able to charge a singular shot with the full power of the generators to fire down range. However, this charging takes critical time to complete with the charging time being exponential to each individual barrel being charged.

The HRB-Q12 has been applauded for its incredible firepower, overwhelming volume of fire and long-range capability, making it a favourite armament choice for starships and permanent fortification defences. Furthermore, the simplified design of the weapon was the deciding factor in the Galactic Empire deciding to produce the Imperial heavy repeating blaster domestically rather than outsourcing the manufacturing to a private contract bid. The Office of Imperial Sciences received political favour for the completion of the project and the HRB-12 variants have been tauted as a critical and textbook success of the HALLAM Program since its approval.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Under Review.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Doctor Afic Otker

Looks good. Enjoy! Approved.