The Gradeo Subcompact Machine Pistol is a sleek and small pistol even by Neshaten standards. It was designed and developed by the Shukara Volunteer Navy though mass-produced by Shukara Armaments and Manufacturing beginning in EE005 (YE 42) as a successor of the older Sharp - Needler Pistol.

The Gradeo SMSP is simply the evolution and refinement of Neshaten firearms technology. It is a much more ergonomic design than its predecessor and is often described as a “delight to hold”. It is easily concealable even for the diminutive frames of the Kingdom’s enlisted personnel.

The weapon initially began its life as the pet project of one retired combat technician by the name of Bogdan DePolanskaya before a member of KoN intelligence quietly asked for a word with him. Under their watchful eye, Bogdan would continue to refine and hone the design through its various prototypes until it was deemed ready to begin production in early EE005.

Initially, the weapon saw use primarily by more elite branches of the Kingdom’s various branches, such as Division 5 Operatives and the occasional Neshaten Agent, before it began appearing in the hands of Neshaten Marine and the like. While understandably less abundant than the weapon it intends to replace, with each growing day the number of Gradeo SMSPs in use grows steadily.

Information pertaining to manufacturer information and the weapon’s physical size/weight.

• Designer: Shukara Volunteer Navy, Bogdan DePolanskaya
• Manufacturer: Shukara Armaments and Manufacturing
• Name: Gradeo Subcompact Machine Service-Pistol, Gradeo SMSP
• Nomenclature: NE-W4-2B
• Type: Piston-assisted coilgun
• Role: Anti-personnel sidearm
• Length: 13cm/5.1”
• Weight: 4.5kg/10lbs

The Gradeo is an extremely slim, two-tone pistol with a grey Durandium Alloy slide and a black lower Helio'namashe fibre-reinforced polymer composite section. Its grip is wrapped in a rubber-like material, with deep serrations machined into the back of the slide to ensure a firm grip in the unlikely event the user needs to clear a jam. Seated into the left side of the grip is a small, interchangeable, nickel-alloy badge depicting the intended department the pistol was designed for. Other some components such as the piston, trigger and barrel¹⁾ are made from nasu'ase²⁾ for increased longevity of these parts. Finally, the gun has been given a Diacry finish to further increase corrosion resistance and even improve the pistol’s performance to all but eliminate the possibility of a malfunction.

Information detailing what happens each time a round is fired from this weapon.

• Muzzle Flash: A small puff of atmospheric gasses that is heavily dissipated by the vent holes cut into the weapon’s compensator.
• Retort: A quiet click and hiss with each round fired, borderline inaudible for someone with human-level hearing.
• Effective Range: 100 meters
• Rate of Fire: As fast as the user can squeeze the trigger³⁾ or 1,200 rpm⁴⁾
• Recoil: Extremely minimal and easily negligible.

Information about what projectile the weapon uses.

• Ammunition: 3 mm AP Needle
• Purpose: Tier 1, Light Anti-Personnel
• Round Capacity: 200

Information detailing how the weapon functions.

• Firing Mechanism: The Gradeo SMSP uses a rather simple, though effective, firing mechanism that lacks a traditional chamber holding the next-to-be-fired round. Instead, each pull of the trigger actuates a small piston that pushes the top-most needle out of the spring-loaded magazine with a small bit of momentum as it is fed directly into the electromagnetic-coil-lined barrel, which rapidly pulses forwards to pass the needle through a durable rubber barrel-protector as it fires. The weapon’s electronics are powered by a small array of Lunebaren Crystals and capacitors beneath the barrel.
• Loading: The only external button besides the trigger is the weapon’s twin magazine releases, each being a small, round button built into the bottom of the trigger guard – depressing this causes the magazine to fall free from the mag-well, allowing it to be easily replaced with a fresh magazine.
• Mode Selector: The pistol’s progressive/dual-stage trigger acts as its fire mode selector. Depressing the trigger half way will cause it to fire a single shot each time, while depressing it fully will cause the weapon to fire repeatedly until the trigger is released or the weapon runs out of ammo.
• Firing Modes: Semi-Automatic, Fully Automatic
• Safety Mechanism: A grip safety paddle is built into the back of the pistol, hidden beneath the rubber grip, with strong enough springs that the tension of the rubbery grip itself will not deactivate it - it requires the user firmly grips the weapon to disengage its safety before allowing the trigger to move.
• Weapon Sight: The pistol’s top rail has a clean divot cut down its length that allows the user to easily line up two rear sight-posts with the front sight prong, both the front and rear sight elements contain a small luminescent dot for improved visibility. These dots change from green to red when the safety is depressed, and vice-versa when it is released.
• Attachment Hard Points: A rail along both the underside of the pistol and along the top for attaching accessories as the user sees fit.

The Gradeo SMSP uses a lot of the same machinery and dies the Kingdom of Neshaten’s military already used to manufacture some of their other weapons, so most of the factories and production lines they have available could begin manufacturing the new pistol with minimal disruption to their already ongoing projects.

The Gradeo SMSP is not publicly available and, as such, no price is listed.

Generally any replacements parts that are needed can be ordered down the Kingdom’s supply chain, with it being heavily recommended that more in-depth maintenance procedures than replacing the top slide, barrel, or sights be done by a fully-trained armourer.

A list of the most commonly fielded aftermarket attachments for the Gradeo SMSP:

• 350 round extended magazine
• Replacement laser-grips⁵⁾
• low-profile red dot sight
• Red-tinted, compact flashlight

Due to their small nature, simplicity, and low cost, 3mm needles are typically sold in boxes of 300 rather than the traditional 100 round box other nations use for small-arms calibers.

SirSkully created this article on 2020/05/13 21:23.

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