So, I've noticed that the 'Proposed Equipment' section on the wiki includes civilian weapons. I figure that, if they were compiling data on how to deal with an alien threat, PHALANX would also try to collect information on the equipment that other humans might use when engaging in combat with aliens, and put together a basic assessment of their effectiveness, so I've decided to put together some very basic example UFOpaedia entries in an attempt to show what that might look like. Note that literally none of this is set in stone, as the weapons I'm writing about do not yet exist in-game, and might never exist in-game. Let me know what you think - if there are any improvements you think can be made please suggest them.
First, the proposed Hunting Rifle.
CLASSIFIED LEVEL YELLOW
PHALANX Extraterrestrial Response Unit
Technical Document, Delta Clearance
Filed: <DATE> 2084
By: Cdr. <NAME PENDING>, R&D: <SOMETHING> Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
Overview
The alien attack on Mumbai made our situation painfully clear. Their technology is far more advanced than ours. The complete inability of Commonwealth troops to make a dent in the Mumbai offensive revealed critical weaknesses in current military training and equipment. They lost three battalions just bringing the aliens to a standstill without inflicting significant casualties. PHALANX has to overcome these odds, and to do that we need the very best human technology has to offer.
The Excalibur Program was created to find the most effective weapons on Earth by reviewing their manufacturing standards, durability, operational record, and their combat performance in the situations where we've managed to bring the aliens to battle. A sub-project of this program, dubbed 'Excalibur-B', has been assigned the sole duty of examining weapons currently in widespread use among civilians, law enforcement, and military units worldwide and assessing their effectiveness in combat with our newfound foe.
Hunting rifles are extremely common in civilian hands in most nations. They exist in a variety of sizes, weights, designs, calibers, and magazine sizes. Although bolt and lever-action rifles can still be found in rural areas or in the hands of collectors (or in nations where semi-automatic firearms are outlawed), most modern hunting rifles are semi-automatic single-shot weapons firing simple smokeless-powder centerfire ammunition in mid-sized calibers, the most popular being the venerable Russian 7.62x39mm and American .308 Winchester (also known as 7.62x51mm NATO) cartridges. Although these rounds have long been obsolete for military purposes, they are as effective against unarmored targets (such as wildlife) as ever, and remain popular among civilian marksmen.
Generally designed for engaging targets at medium to long ranges, and never intended for sustained combat operations, hunting rifles are of little use in urban combat or home defense scenarios, and in close quarters the long barrel and relatively slow fire rate may serve to render the weapon almost completely ineffective. In wide-open areas, however, rifles of this type come into their own; they can be terrifyingly accurate in the hands of a skilled marksman, and usually possess more than sufficient power to bring down their intended targets. However, it is important to remember that an armed and trained alien enemy is a far more significant threat than a deer or boar.
Recommended Doctrine
There is absolutely no reason for any PHALANX operative to ever make use of one of these weapons, and as such there are no plans to make them available in our arsenal. However, it is reasonable to assume that, at some point in the future, we may encounter firearms of this type in the hands of armed civilians in the field. Friendlies equipped with these weapons will, as with most armed civilians, usually be little more than a liability to both themselves and PHALANX, but sufficiently skilled individuals armed with hunting rifles and stationed in good positions will likely be able to easily hold their own against a small number of unarmored aliens at medium to long range. As most hunting rifles are ineffective against human body armor, it is reasonable to assume that they will be ineffective against alien body armor as well, and in a CQB situation they will be worse than useless even against unarmored targets.
Addenda
None.
