Sonojector

Uplifted dolphins have resulted in great advances in sonar technology. One product of this is the Sonojector

The Sonojector is a device used by medical orderlies, prison guards and some police. It is used to subdue violent patients or suspects.

The Sonojector resembles a small flashlight in shape. When the muzzle end of the Sonojector is pressed against a body it emits a sonar pulse. The resonance of the pulse through the volume of tissue is used by the device to estimate the size of the target. This data is used to regulate the dose of tranquilizer that is then injected into the target by a needleless jet injector system.

Weapons: Police Armgun.

           We are told very little about the police armgun in the original book (TS3e p.155) or “Changing Times” (p.62). We are told it holds four 15mm micro-missiles and an electolaser. The electrolaser is described as a pistol but its profile suggests something between an electrolaser pistol and rifle. The “Assault Pod” containing a 4mm PDW and four micro-missiles may or may not be a similar device. My impression was that this latter system was more commonly mounted on RATS and battlesuits.

           It could be that the police armgun is also intended for battlesuits and cybershells. I am going to make the assumption that in most neighbourhoods the police do not need to wear battlesuits and that the armgun is a weapon system worn strapped to the forearm.

           The police armgun has a number of advantages. One of these is that the weapon cannot be dropped and would be very difficult to wrest-off an officer. Unlike a pistol in a holster the gun does not need to be drawn to be used. The armgun would also provide some protection for the forearm, acting as a vambrace when parrying or blocking club or knife attacks.

           The electrolaser might include a lower-powered “sting” setting for situations where the officer needs to discourage an aggressor rather than disable them. The four 15mm launchers might be loaded with different forms of micromissile. A typical loadout might be two non-lethal tangler rounds, a homing anti-personnel round and a HEMP. The HEMP is the officer’s last resort and can be used against vehicles, cybershells and heavily armoured targets.

           It is very likely that a police armgun would incorporate some means of illumination, equivalent to a standard/ “heavy” flashlight (HT4e p.52 or UT4e p.74). The flashlight includes an extra bright setting that can be used for signalling in daytime or dazzling a suspect at close range. The flashlight also includes infra-red and ultraviolet LEDS. Ultraviolet light can be used to detect blood and bodily fluids. Some drug residues are visible under UV light and it is also used to detect some forms of counterfeit money or marked stolen property. Infrared light sources can be used to detect blood splatter, fibres and gunshot residue. This will be a useful capability for cops on the beat. Forensic specialists have more sophisticated multi-spectral light systems, of course. TS-era cops will probably have some form of helmet camera and it is likely this will have a near-infra-red capability that can be used to give the officers night vision via their HUD visors. IR output from the armgun flashlight will be useful in places where there is very little light of any kind.

           The electrolaser component of the armgun will include a visible aiming laser. Putting a laser spot on someone can intimidate or deter a potential aggressor and reduce the likelihood of actual violence.

           Another device that an armgun assembly may include is a pen-sized pepperspray projector.

           It occurs to me that firing an armgun would be somewhat different to using a pistol, SMG or rifle. If you point at something with your finger or a toy gun you will notice that the line of your forearm tends to point inward of this. TS-era police doubtless use their HUDs or aiming lasers so this is seldom an issue for them. If these aiming systems fail, or the user is more used to more conventional weapons this may have an effect. A case can be made for making the use of an armgun a new speciality, either Beam Weapons (Armgun) for a police armgun or Guns (Armgun) for an assault pod.

Weapons: Supersonic Tactical Missiles.

A military commander or political leader in 2100 has hitherto unheard of levels of surveillance at his disposal. Surveillance dust and fluff, spybirds, satellites, bumblebots, high-altitude UAVs and many other systems. High level AIs rapidly process vast amounts of raw data into usable information. Accordingly, the strategies of enemies have adapted to deal with such capabilities. Movement is often made in short bursts, travelling just a few kilometres from one camouflaged or protected position to another. Such furtive moves are most commonly made when beyond the range of standard military weapons. The target has gone before artillery or aircraft can be moved into strike range.

To meet such eventualities supersonic tactical ballistic missiles (TBM) see a greater level of deployment and use. In the past such systems were Corps or Army-level assets. They are now often encountered as artillery brigade or even battalion-level weapons. TBMs can be countered by systems such as laser defences but they remain a useful weapon against less well-protected but fleeting targets. The latest TBMs include ablative coatings and other measures to lessen the effectiveness of lasers.
 

 

A variety of systems are in wide use. The smallest are about 6 yards long and designed to fit in the vertical launch system silos that are a standard fitting of many warships and submarines. These silos can launch a variety of missiles including the Cruise-UCAVs described in a previous post. Small TBMs such as these are often based on the airframe of surface-to-air and anti-satellite missiles and the same basic design is also used as an antishipping missile. Typically such missiles have a warhead of around 250lbs and some can achieve speeds of Mach 10+.

Larger missiles offer the potential of greater warhead capacity. Many designs carry a number of smart or dumb submunitions, each capable of taking out a military vehicle. Missiles such as this come with a number of attack options. A missile fired at a staging area or camp would release all of its submunitions at one, while one attacking a convoy would follow the course of a road, releasing munitions at intervals.
 

 

The considerable firepower that some forces can bring to bear can often be countered by tunnelling, constructing bunkers and other military entrenchments. Digging deep has become a little easier for TS combatants. Even relatively simple robots such as the TNs make effective miners that will dig tirelessly and are not bothered by underground conditions. If a tunnel caves-in the robots can simply be dug out again and put back to work! Specialist cyberswarms can be used to break down soil and rock to make them easier for larger systems to move and shape. Deep underground structures have little to fear if fired upon by conventional field artillery. Many designs of TBM have a deep-penetration variant with a reinforced nose and intended to dive into a target at supersonic speeds and detonate a few seconds later.  

Other variants of TBM can use thermobaric, tactical nuclear, EMP, cyberswarm and chemical warheads. At least one model does not impact a target but uses its altitude advantage to fire down on ground and airborne targets with its own laser.
 

 

Like many other TS-era weapon systems many TBM systems are designed to resemble and be handled as 20ft and 40ft ISO shipping containers. This makes the deployment of such systems more discrete and provides a number of additional launch options. The following video will give some idea on the potential of this, although the Club-K is actually a cruise missile rather than a TBM. The Israeli LORA gives us an example of a quad TBM launcher resembling a 20ft ISO.

            The RIM-161 Standard-3 missile can be used as a model for a small, VLS-compatible TBM. This is a surface to air missile with anti-ballistic missile and anti-satellite capability. The earlier RIM-67 Standard-2 could be used as an anti-shipping missile so it is no great stretch of the imagination to see the Standard-3 being the basis of a family of weapons that includes land attack variants. The main differences would be in the warheads and guidance systems. Note that the current and near future SAM versions are listed as having a range of up to 1,350 miles, ceiling of 933 miles and speed of Mach 10-15.
 

 

            For a larger missile system the 9K720 Russian Iskander is a good choice, having a 700kg warhead, range of 310 miles and travelling at Mach 6-7. Despite being called a ballistic missile I can make in-flight manoeuvres and corrections, which is likely to be a common capability of TS-era TBMs. The Israeli LORA and MGM-140 ATACMS can be uses as models for a more modestly-ranged TBM intermediate between the Standard-3 and Iskander.

Weapons: M249 Booster.

            I encountered the idea of cut-down M249s on a cyberpunk website. It is a fun idea for TS if you want to give criminals or the low-strata of society an unanticipated offensive capability!

M249 Booster

Booster is one of the street names for a weapon that has become increasingly available in certain urban areas. Initially seen in the United States these weapons have also been encountered to a lesser degree in other continents. It seems likely that the first weapons were from a large number of old M249 Squad Automatics pre-dating the US military's switch to caseless ammo. An alternate theory is that the weapons originated from copies of the Minimi produced by an Asian nation. The booster variant has had its stock removed and barrel cut down to the minimum possible length, allowing it to be hidden under a coat. These modifications do have an effect on the accuracy and reliability of the weapons. The user may carry a bag with 300 to 600 rounds of belted ammo and/or have an accomplice carrying additional belts. “New” examples created by minifacturing have been encountered for several years now and it is probable that the compatible ammunition in use is produced in the same way.

GUNS (LMG) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -2)

Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Malf	Notes
Minimi Booster 5.56x45mm	4d pi	3	420/2,600	17/3.4	12!	100(5)	11B†	-4	1	16	[1,2,3]
				20/6.4		200(5)

[1] Can use either a 200-round disintegrating belt (6.4 lbs.) held in a 0.6-lb. plastic can (which rattles: -1 to Stealth) or a 100-round belt (3.2 lbs.) in a 0.2-lb. soft pouch. Requires metal-cased ammunition. Cannot use 5.6mm caseless rounds.

[2] Can use M16 rifle magazines increasing RoF to 15! and reducing Malf. to 15. Such magazines are no longer common and if desired would need to be especially minifactured or 3D printed.

[3] The short barrel results in excessive muzzle blast (+2 to Hearing and Vision rolls to locate the weapon firing in the dark).

Structure Hits

Structure Hit is a term used in Bruce Sterling’s book “Heavy Weather”. It is a concept and terminology that could readily lend itself to TS.

“Structure Hit” was originally a military term for the policy of targeting an enemy’s constructions rather than their population. By the mid-21^st century the term had entered civilian parlance and was used for various destructive acts against property. Explosives are commonly used but some hits involve cyberswarms, supercaustics, corrosives or embrittlement chemicals.

     While the majority of structure hits were simple vandalism some were politically motivated. Some radical factions considered a well-publicised structure hit to be more effective than more traditional terrorist actions that resulted in casualties.

Some variations include:

Hard Cyber/ Hardware Hit: Physical action against computers or databanks.

Soft Cyber/ Software Hit: Malicious hacking or computer virus attack.

Comms/ Signal Hit: Disruption of communications.

Broadcast/ Media Hit: Interruption or insertions in TV broadcasts, webpages etc.

Wet Hit: Assassination, bombing or berserking.

Tag/ Graffiti Hit: Use of paint against personnel or property.

Meme Hit: Attack on reputation or use of propaganda.

Weapons: Tecs and Black-market Shotguns.

Tecs

            Tecs (aka Tex, Teks etc) are simple sub-machineguns designed for very easy production. Not surprisingly, perhaps, they resemble sten-guns with a vertical magazine. Tecs use the 9mm MAX cartridge, widely available on the black-market. Tecs vary considerably with respect to details such as stocks, barrel shrouds, sights and other fittings. The chief division is by barrel length. Long-barrelled tecs will often have some form of stock fitted, which may be folding. Shorter-barrelled “machine pistol” tecs are often stockless, although this is not a defining feature. Tecs fire from an open bolt but the low power of the 9mm MAX cartridge allows for a relatively light bolt so bolt movement does not disrupt aim as much as one would find in 20^th century SMGs. Tec users are usually more concerned with volume of fire and intimidation effect rather than pinpoint accuracy.

Weapon		Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Notes
Tec machine pistol 9mm MAX		2d pi	2	120/1,300	3.25/1.4	12	30(3)	10	-3	2	[1,2]
Tec SMG 9mm MAX		2d pi	3	120/1,300	6.5/1.4	9	30(3)	8†	-4*	2	[1]

[1] Also used with more compact 14 round magazine, Wt 0.65.

[2] Profile given for a stockless model.

 

Black-market Shotguns.

            Shotgun ammunition is particularly easy to minifacture or even to hand-make. As well as being used in legal and illegal firearms they are also used in devices such as Boomsticks. Illegally produced shotguns will probably resemble legal models other than their lack of serial numbers. More concealable “sawn-offs” are popular with some criminals for robbery or executions. p.HT(4e)106 for sawn-off rules.

            Below is a selection of weapons suitable for illegally produced shotguns. For the double-barrelled guns entries are given for full length, sawn-off and sawn-off stockless models. The Whippet 20 gauge is a very compact weapon. The tube-magazine shotguns represent repurposed hunting designs that have changed little since the 20^th century. While slow to reload their shape makes them easier to conceal. Entries for both pump-action and autoloader versions are given. The “Auto-stakeout” is a compact autoloader that is also available in a model about the size of a large pistol. The Police riot guns represent illegal, untraceable copies of modern box-magazine loading weapons. Illegal copies may lack features such as HUD and laser sights.

Guns (Shotgun) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -2)

Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Notes
Double Barrel 12 gauge.	1d+1 pi	3	40/800	6.7/0.3	2 x 9	2(4i)	10†	-6	1/5
Dbl-Brl Sawn-Off 12 gauge.	1d+1 pi	3	40/800	4.7/0.3	2 x 9	2(4i)	10†	-4	1/5	[1]
Stockless Sawn-off 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	2	40/800	3.7/0.4	2 x 9	2(4i)	12†	-3	1/6	[1]
Whippet 20 gauge	1d pi	2	40/800	3.8/0.2	2 x 7	2(3i)	9†	-3	1/5	[1, 2]
Sawn-off Pump gun 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	3	40/800	6.25/0.8	2 x 9	7+1 (2i)	10†	-5	1/5	[3]
Stockless Sawn-off Pump gun 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	2	40/800	5.25/0.8	2 x 9	7+1 (2i)	12†	-3	1/6	[3]
Sawn-off Auto 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	3	40/800	6.25/0.8	3 x 9	7+1(2i)	10†	-5	1/5	[3]
Stockless Sawn-off Auto 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	2	40/800	5.25/0.8	3 x 9	7+1 (2i)	12†	-3	1/6	[3]
“Auto-stakeout” 20 gauge	1d pi	2	40/800	4/0.35	3 x 7	4+1(2i)	11†	-3	1/6	[1, 2, 3]
“Supershort Auto-stakeout” 20 gauge	1d pi	2	40/800	3/0.2	3 x 7	2+1(2i)	12†	-2	1/6	[1, 2 ,3]
Police Riot gun 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	3	40/800	6/0.8	3 x 9	10(3)	10†	-5*	1/5
Compact Riot gun 12 gauge	1d+1 pi	2	40/800	5.25/0.8	3 x9	10(3)	12†	-4*	1/6	[1]

[1] Increased muzzle blast. +1 to Hearing and Vision to locate firer in the dark.

[2] ST+2 if fired one handed.

[3] Tube magazine.

[4] Rof =2 when operated as a pump action.