During the height of the Second Mishhuvurthyar War the need for more advanced ground-combat weapons rose drastically. As the weapons of the enemy became more powerful and more advanced it required the Star Army of Yamatai to begin developing weapons that could be used for multiple purposes, were light weight, and yet were powerful enough to be useful in combat. The Type 33 AGL serves all of those functions. Being only 70lbs it can be easily transported by one Yamataian or Minkan. Also, it can be loaded with different grenade belts to serve different functions including anti-infantry, anti-armor, and resource/infastructure destruction, all of which can cause high amounts of damage due to the high rate of fire of the AGL. The AGL is also autonomous and will automatically pick out key targets, aiming for the largest targets first, and take into account distance to the target and the target's speed before firing. The target priorities can be changed remotely or through a control panel attached to the weapon. The AGL may also be operated manually through the use of the scope and the trigger. This weapon requires a tripod to operate and may also be mounted to certain types of vehicles. This weapon does not automatically reload and must be manually reloaded after each belt is expired.
Manufacturer: Ketsurui Zaibatsu Name: Type 33 Automatic Grenade Launcher Type: Automatic Grenade Launcher Role: Anti-Infantry and Anti-Armor Length: 6' 2.8“ (1.9 meters) Mass: 70 pounds (31.75 kilograms)* Rate of Fire: 4 rounds per second Payload Small Belt - 480 grenades, Standard Belt - 960 grenades, Large belt - 1700
*One standard sized belt of ammunition weighs an additional 25 pounds. Small and large belts weigh 12.5 pounds and 45 pounds respectively.
The barrel of the gun is 1.1 meters long. Of the remaining .7 meters the firing mechanism and chamber takes up .3 meters while a cylindrical air compressor takes up the remaining .5 meters. The diameter of the barrel is 5 centimeters, the firing mechanism is rectangular with a height and width of 1.5 meters, and the radius of the air compressor is .125 meters. A scope is mounted above the firing mechanism for manual use and a fold-out control panel is attached to the left side of the scope for automated use. Ammo belts feed into the left side of the weapon and feed out of the bottom right. The grip is located underneath the chamber and firing mechanism. The entire weapon is mounted on a tripod that gives the weapon 360 degree turn radius and a maximum arc length of 50 degrees.
Grenades are attached to the grenade belt by the pin. When the grenade is fired the pin is left behind, still attached to the belt. When the pin is removed it connects a circuit within the grenade and thus arming the grenade. Once discharged from the weapon the grenade will detonate once it encounters a significant impact or is detonated by its Airburst Ability. After discharging a grenade the gear system within the AGL moves the grenade belt so the next grenade enters the chamber and feeds the used part of the belt out of the weapon. The belt remains intact after use.
Once a grenade enters the chamber the entrance to the chamber is sealed tightly. Upon locking into the proper position the pin on the grenade is unlocked so that the grenade may be fired without the pin providing too much resistance. An air compressor attached to the rear of the gun is used to provide the force needed for the grenade to be discharged. Through the use of pneumatic technology highly pressurized air is fed to the rear of the chamber which launches the grenade forward and out the barrel, at which point the air-tight seal is broken and the weapon loads the next grenade. To power the air compressor a detachable battery pack is located on the bottom of the air compressor. The battery is good for 3400 discharges before it requires replacement.
When firing grenades the AGL automatically detects enemies near the estimated trajectory of the grenade. When the grenade is within range of a hostile and has a clear line of sight to the hostile a signal is sent from the weapon to the grenade which causes it to remotely detonate. This creates the possibility of hitting and damaging targets that are hidden behind cover because the grenades can detonate mid-air once they are in a position to damage the target. For safety reasons such as a misfire The Airburst Ability may not be used to create timed detonations.
Safety: Pins are locked until the grenade enters the chamber, thus preventing premature explosions. The grenades may not be set with timed fuses. A switch next to the trigger activates or deactivates the trigger safety. Weapon Sight: When operating automatically it uses heat sensors to detect enemies and automatically chooses targets based on programmed priority. When operated manually enemies can be viewed by heat sensor via the fold-out panel on the left side of the scope, or may be viewed through the scope. Attachments:
Energy Source: The source for the weapons energy is a detachable batter pack located on the underside of the air compressor.
Ammunition comes in the three sizes listed at the top of the page. Belts come standardized with one type of grenade, however an ammunition belt may be custom ordered to have multiple types of grenades on a single belt. When custom ordering an ammunition belt the customer may choose any combination or order of 10 grenades and then that 10 grenade pattern will be repeated throughout the belt.
