The Mauser Mk89 is a heavy anti material rifle developed to counter highly armored vehicles. The main design feature is the use of a ramjet missile to achieve the desired results. It consists of a heavy frame supported by a bipod with a full sensing capability.
The main design feature is the missile itself. The missile is a combined ramjet/solid rocket booster allowing the munition to achieve a constant speed of Mach 1 within the space of 100 meters that immediately fires as soon as the trigger is pulled. The solid rocket booster activates, and the missile accelerates out of the tube. The launching tube is designed to contain the blast, thereby eliminating backblast. This however helps evacuate the missile, as the gasses expelled help push out the missile, which quickly accelerates the missile to Mach 1. Upon reaching Mach 1, the solid booster dies and the ramjet engine activates, quickly accelerating the missile to near Mach 3 within the space of 400 meters. This naturally gives the system a minimum range of 500 meters, but the maximum range is a whopping 6 kilometers. Guidance is accomplished by the integral MMW radar built into the overhead pinion above the round. The missile is dual seeking, as a laser designator is used for close in engagements when necessary. It does not require the firer to keep designating the target, thereby allowing the sniper to fire and leave as soon as possible. The warhead of the missile uses pure kinetic energy rather than a shaped charge or tandem charge warhead to achieve it’s effects, but instead uses a depleted uranium tip to do it’s job. This not only simplifies manufacture, but also reduces the risk of warhead malfunction. The round is sealed in a combined transport/launch tube that is loaded into the front of the frame. Upon launch, foldable fins flip out and stabilize the missile as soon as it leaves the tube. It requires two Complex Actions to install/remove a tube to the weapon frame.
To engage these targets, the Mk89 has a full suite of electronics gear to make it’s job easier. As mentioned before, the Mk89 engages it’s targets through the MMW radar built into the frame. It can sense targets out to 6,500 meters, and has a Rating of 6. The system itself can track up to 6 targets, but obviously engage one only. Mated to this is a combined Low-Light/Thermographic sight with built in Flare Compensation to protect the firer from glare or other vision impairing devices. This has a maximum range of 3000 meters, allowing visual engagement if necessary. The round can be fired with the scope, but add a +2 modifier when doing so. It is fully adjustable, allowing a sniper to zero the scope to their own eyes. Additionally, the overhead frame mounts a laser designator for close in shots. Added to this is a combined GPS/FDDM system, allowing the firer to accept data from other sources, or designate the target for other snipers or other assets able to provide fire support. However, due to the profile of the missile, it must have a direct line of sight, as well as the other firer’s. It has a dedicated datalink (Rating 14) to permit data distribution among other units, and has a range of 2 kilometers. It is a microwave link, and the upper frame incorporates an antenna wire with full size antenna emulation to keep down costs as well as space and weight. This may be hooked up to a satellite dish for further distribution. It has a datajack and chip port to allow the user full DNI control, as well as inserting chips for the GPS system. It is equipped with a bipod offering recoil against the heavy recoil of the weapon, as well as a shockpad in the stock of the weapon. Additionally, the frame mounts a cheek rest to allow a full sight picture to be obtained. It also incorporates Smartlink II hardware, and can accept other systems, such as PARGET if needed.
Type
Conceal
Ammo
Mode
Damage
Weight
Availability
Cost
Street Index
Frame
1(m)
-
SS
-
10
24/2 months
500,000¥
4
Round
-
-
-
20D*
10
24/2 months
100,000¥
4
*Yes it’s armor piercing, but Armor is one quarter of total value.
Notes: The weapon has a recoil of +6 per shot and the bipod and shock pads give a total of 3 points of recoil reduction. Also, due the very high speed of the missile, it can travel 3000 meters per Combat turn, rather than 1000 meters.
