Militech RRCR "Archer" Machine-Rifle

In order to design a super-lightweight highly portable squad support weapon for its special forces troops, Militech's engineers unearthed an old concept: Russell Robinson's "constant reaction" system. using a complex arrangement of super-strong, precisely fitted springs, the constant-reaction system could compress a .50-caliber machinegun into a four-foot-long, shoulder-fired weapon—and this was in 1943! Although ingenious, Robinson's theories faded into obscurity due to reliability problems—the springs in the weapon took the force of the recoil directly, and nearly every part of the gun moved in concert during firing. One misalignment would cause a jam or misfire.

Using computerized precision machining techniques, the "Archer" is as soldier-proof as possible, given the quirky design: Its belt-fed 7.62mm rounds have special thermoplastic cases to help minimize heat build-up (they also cost 2x normal), and the unreliable springs have been replaced with super-durable memory-plastic coils which are guaranteed to outlive the all-ceramic barrel. Still, no matter how good the machine is, a soldier in the field will find some way of breaking it so there's a good deal of reservation among troops about this thing. However, the RRCR is attractive in that it weighs a mere 4kg and is only as long as an assault rifle.

Because the firing chamber and feed assembly mechanisms preclude putting a butt-stock on the weapon, the "Archer" must be fired from the hip. Therefore the weapon comes from the factory with smartchipping as a standard feature, so that it can be used effectively with a gyro-mount harness (which negates the -2 penalty for firing from the hip, as well as penalties for firing while moving). The RRCR accepts 100-round ammo boxes, but its belt-fed nature allows it to feed from a 200-round buttpack or even a 1000-round backpack ammo hopper (EV-1 ).