Translation:Pistol2 txt/en
Technical Specifications: MP-699 Machine Pistol
CLASSIFIED LEVEL YELLOW
PHALANX Extraterrestrial Response Unit
Technical Document, Delta Clearance
Filed: 20 March 2084
By: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering 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.
With the return of armour to the battlefield, starting with steel helmets in World War 1 and fragmentation vests in Vietnam, pistols have had a harder and harder time keeping up. Due to their far lower muzzle velocity compared to longer-barreled and/or fully automatic weapons, they've had increasing trouble penetrating the new, ever-higher standards of human armour -- much less advanced alien composites. The very concept of the pistol in military use came under fire at one point in the 21st century, and was saved only by the advent of super-high-velocity powder.
The major drawback of super-high-velocity powder is that it cannot be used in fully-automatic weapons, since no firearms action on this Earth can survive that much violence for long without breaking. The British APMP pistol ignores these concerns by using more ordinary smokeless powder and a longer, almost SMG-length barrel to achieve higher velocities and greater kinetic power. It is a true machine pistol, fully automatic and capable of firing 600 rounds per minute from its surprisingly slim-lined 30-round detachable box magazine. It has three firing modes: semi-automatic, 3-round burst, and full-automatic.
Whenever we need an automatic weapon no larger than our own P-12, this is the weapon that fills the gap.
For PHALANX use, we have given this machine pistol the classification MP-699.
Recommended Doctrine
The MP-699 is primarily a backup weapon. It is a significant step up from the combat knife as a weapon of last resort, and it lets a soldier respond to new close-range threats if the primary weapon is rendered ineffective at such ranges or has run out of ammo. It is a good alternative for soldiers who have trouble hitting anything with the P-12, but the MP-699 is low-powered in comparison with the P-12. Furthermore, its magazines are large enough to preclude hanging them from a soldier's belt and far fewer of them can be carried conveniently.
A single MP-699 should rarely be considered as a primary weapon, as it is outclassed in this role by nearly every other weapon in our arsenal. Its advantages are the advantages of a sidearm -- small size and weight. Still, it may find a use as a primary weapon with field medics and technicians who do not have room for larger weapons.
Addenda
None.