Remington Model 150 Railgun

By far the oldest surviving and still operational weapon is the Remington Model 150. Dubbed "Old Thud" by its users because of the distinctive report given when fired it is perhaps one of the most legendary firearms due simply to the fact that it is the only one in use that was created prior to the AI Wars. Although Remington was merged into Terra-Corp at the end of the AI Wars and that company quickly fell apart due to the lack of buyers following the end of the conflict and ensuing economic unrest, the name is still one that is well known throughout Terran space.

The Model 150 can be described as the first successful railgun design to be used in battle. It proved its worth through the entirety of the AI Wars against the common troopers of the machines. It did suffer from being underpowered when it came up against the heavier machines developed to break through human lines and when the switch of AI tactics headed in that direction it spelled a large decline in the use of the 150. By this time, however, some 40 million of the weapons had been produced and put into service, with production still carrying on at a reduced rate. By the end of the wars an estimated total of 65 million Model 150s had been produced and enough parts to make nearly 8 million more existed in warehousing.

While archaic in design compared to later variations of railgun designs it set the stage for future development. The 150 was the first to explore the use of 'penetrator' style ammunition. While earlier weapons had used a similar concept of a metal dart fired at high speed they had a major drawback which was stabilizing the round. The long, thin rounds would tumble after a certain distance, mainly the result of microscopic defects, causing them to lose most of the penetrating power against hardened targets. Fins were used to stabilize them but in doing so added higher drag on the round as well as increased recoil.

Remington solved this problem by creating the equivalent to rifling in a railgun. Eddy currents were used in the design of the rails to induce a spin on the projectile as it left he barrel. The result was a range of lethality far beyond what anyone had expected. The addition of chemical super cells to power the weapon instead of large battery packs also gave the 150 an edge over everything else. Powering the weapon became easy and a trip to a base or supply truck was no longer needed to replace the cumbersome power packs of previous designs.

Even after what has been over 5 millennia after its creation, the 150 continues to be found throughout the Terran systems. The purchase of the design of the Remington 150 designs by Sullivan Interplanetary, and the use of new improved materials in the remake of the design have resulted in a resurgence in the popularity of this weapon, especially as a high power sniper class weapon. The new model of the Remington 150 is referred to as the Remington 150 Mark II. All Mark II parts are able to be fitted to the original weapons as well, allowing for the older rifles to be replaced piece by piece by the newer model.

Class: Squad Designated Marksman
Caliber: 1.5mm x 32mm rail slug
Energy Source: CE-10 (obsolete), CE-20 (obsolete), CE-30; 1.5mm slugs loaded in 50 round magazines
Capacity: CE-3: 50
Rate of Fire: 30 RPM
Max Range: 25000m (round burnout)
Effective Range: 1000m
Armor Penetration: high
Shield Penetration: medium
Damage per round: high
Velocity: 18,000 m/s

Remington Model 150 Mk II

In the year 2780 TSC there was a major update given to a portion of the 150 to make a more powerful and accurate version that would be useful for a squad designated marksman. Modern rails were the first step and the addition of higher powered optics added operating range that the average soldier could take advantage of. While the listed range of optics for most railguns is 4000 meters, most infantry cannot handle firing the weapon at targets exceeding 1000m. The Mark II was designed to change this and it is now the current sniper rifle used by most Terran forces.

Class: Sniper
Caliber: 1.5mm x 44mm rail slug
Energy Source: CE-80; 1.5mm slugs loaded in 30 round magazines
Capacity: CE-4: 30
Rate of Fire: 30 RPM
Max Range: 28000m (round burnout)
Effective Range: 4000m (visually limited by optics)
Armor Penetration: Very High
Shield Penetration: High
Damage per round: Very High
Velocity: 25,000 m/s
