SAGL-25 “Faith Hammer”
Weight: 4.1 kg empty, 6.0 bipod, 11.4 kg loaded (with bipod)
Length: 770mm
Cartridge: 25x40mm Grenade. (Airburst, HEAT, Thermobaric, Flechette, Canister, HEAB,Armor Piercing, etc)
Muzzle Velocity: 290 m/s
Effective Range: 700m for point targets, 900m for area targets.
Maximum Range: 1,400m
Feed System: 4 round drum, 6 round drum, 10 round drum, 50-round belt fed
Background
Grenade launchers at a squad level have been a cornerstone of modern militaries since the inception of the weapon and the increase in effectiveness allowing them to be fielded. Off of the heels of the two shot SAGL-16 “Hoard Fist”, the Marshite army requested a new and advanced automatic grenade launcher. The SAGL-19 and 22 were both test platforms conducting experiments on new technology. The result is the Faith Hammer, a highly lethal and adaptable squad automatic grenade launcher. Paired with BALCOTH, it is able to reach out and touch any opposing force in its combat zone.
Construction
The majority of the weapon’s body is made of high-durability, lightweight, impact-resistant fibreglass-reinforced polyamide. This comes in a high-grip matte finish, with a variety of colours or camouflage patterns available.
The working parts and majority of the gas system are tungsten primarily for its very high heat tolerance, which improves the weapon’s performance and sustained accuracy.
The barrel is cold hammer-forged steel, and is chrome lined, with a 1 in 10 rifling twist.
Internal electrics are composed of Indium Gallium Arsenide, selected despite its higher cost over silicon for its extremely high resistance to electromagnetic pulse attack. Circuitry is further protected by kraton insulation, to further improve electromagnetic resilience. Given the very-short lengths of wiring, however, this was never likely to be a problem, in any case.
Sundries are generally composed of synthetics, to keep the weapon’s weight down as far as practical, given the parameters of performance. This is a marked difference from the otherwise conceptually not-dissimilar XM-25, which made far greater use of metals in its construction, and consequently was of greater weight. Lowering the weight was considered a primary issue. Removing the computer and assisted aiming of the SAGL as it is now down by BALCOH also helped reduce weight.
Not only is the SAGL a mobile automatic grenade launcher system, but it can be used as an emplaced weapons platform to replace the MK-47 Striker on the battlefield. With the aid of a Bipod and a 50-round belt. While this set-up is not common and requires the use of a second individual tasked with ammunition duty, it provides a significant boost in mobility and accuracy with the aid of BALCOTH.
Feed and Ammunition
The SAGL is fed through a commonly known drum system. This was selected over more traditional clip magazine due to the ease of adapting the drum during combat- the drum can be popped out of the feed and the grenade rounds inside changed out to fit circumstances. A trained Marshite operator is capable of popping out a ten round drum magazine and replacing every round before placing the drum back into the weapon in under a minute. While such speed cannot be expected out of most, it still speaks to the modularity of the system in combat operations. The drums are made of high-resistance and impact-resistant polycarbon, lightweight and strong and able to keep the rounds from being harmed by even terrible falls.
The SAGL can use a wide range of ammunition.
Thermobaric Grenades based off of the Hellsbreath are common. Used to great effect against enemy infantry and buildings, the AGLR-34 “Deathcall” is a justly feared weapon of war with a kill radius of 10m, wounding of 20m, and a casualty radius of 50m. This makes it unwise to be used in close-in combat, but such problems persist with all thermobaric weapons.
Flechette rounds are extremely effective against enemy infantry in close combat situations. Launching a brutal barrage of anti-personnel flechettes, a single AGLR-20 “Shredder” is capable of clearing a 90 degree angle centered on the user at a range of 50m by deploying hundreds of brutally effective shaped flechette rounds that tear at flesh.
AGLR-24 HEAT-G (armor piercing, with penetration up to 70mm/3inch of RHA) point-detonating warheads for anti-personnel and anti-vehicle use, allowing a great deal of anti-armor use considering the size of the platform. While no substitute for a dedicated anti-armor weapon, it does give the SAGL-25 the ability to engage and destroy light armor vehicles and allow anti-armor infantry weapons to focus on heavier forces.
AGLR-36 “Sneaky Arrow” is a HEAB (High Explosive Airbursting Round) designed as the weapon's primary cover killer. A high explosive shrapnel frag round, it is specifically designed to shower the area under it's horizontal access with over 97% of its shrapnel. HEAB is designed to detonate over enemy low-hanging walls or other forms of cover, robbing them of that safety.
There are many others. Flash grenades are commonly used while smoke and white phosphorus are also deployed en masse. Chemical gas grenades are used during intense campaigns against unholy enemies while less lethal tear gas and other grenades are used alongside training ammunition.
Electronics
The SAGL-25 follows the trend of the entire Marshite military, which is eliminating weapon-mounted electronics and aiming systems in favor of BALCOTH-SACHERI assisted warfare. The SAGL is connected to the BALCOTH advanced Helmet, which is in turn used as a platform to use the information gathered by SACHERI. SACHERI is a battlespace information network dedicated to the dominance of the information battlefront, primarily by collecting and distributing data to the entire Marshite military. Aided by the Damocles satellite constellation, SACHERI is capable of collecting and delivering information on anything it has been led to follow- from minute atmospheric conditions and the curvature of the Earth to the exact makeup of enemy weapon systems and the creation of firing solutions for over five-hundred million active duty members of the Marshite Military alongside all of the normal functions of BALCOTH.
For the SAGL-25, BALCOTH creates firing solutions and assists aim to a large degree. The weapon can and will send its ammunition to the destination BALCOTH says it will, and while the operator is fully able to ignore BALCOTH firing solutions, it is also capable of creating crippling losses to the enemy through aiding firing solution and acquisition. It allows the user to set airbursting, point detonation, point detonation delay, window, and any combination of the above. It also improves lethality and hit probability thanks to the rage-finding day/night sight, combined with ballistic computer, which automatically pre-set the aiming reticle in the sight for measured range and program the 25mm grenades to explode in air exactly over or next to the target. This is all coordinated by BALCOTH which speeds up the entire process by up to seventy-five percent over the XM-25, allowing operators to send rounds down range swiftly, with great accuracy, and with immense lethality. Indeed, a full ten round drum can be expended before the XM-25 operator can get off a single round. It is also capable of changing which rounds fire at what target by spinning the drum, allowing mixed drum magazines to be deployed widely.
SAGL in Action
The following is an concise after-action report transcript of an interview with Specialist-Sister St. Tabitha Oucklei, a SAGL-25 operator during an engagement in which a fireteam of Marshite peacekeepers found themselves involved in a firefight in a village during a peacekeeping operation in Asturlia.
SAGL-25B, Covenant Arms variant
Covenant Arms sells a slightly more portable version of the SAGL-25, utilizing a better combination of lightweight, durable plastics and titanium. This has dropped weight to 3.5 kg unloaded. The biggest change is the ability to fire a 25x40mm munition that separates into eight smart, self-guiding submunitions that break off and guide themselves to predesignated targets. The Theocracy has long looked for ways to utilize self-guiding munitions, emboldened by the success of the far smaller DARPA of a far away nation. The result was the 25mm Smart Active Munition Kill Field, or SAMKF. The SAMKF takes the targeting information granted by BALCOTH and transmits it to the smaller submunitions, each of which are small guidance projectiles. Before they are fired, each one is assigned a target, with redundancy taken into account if BALCOTH is worried about the submunitions not penetrating armor. Once fired, the submunitions separate and continually track their targets. Within a certain range, generally 7-8 meters, the submunitions will track predesignated targets and follow them, being able to hit moving targets in vulnerable areas.. This is a truly specialist munition used primarily when the need to reduce or eliminate collateral damage is paramount.
Export
The SAGL-25 is an advanced combat platform that offers extreme combat capability. However, it does not come with native range-finding, aiming assist, and other forms of electronic aid as that is handled by BALCOTH. While it is fully capable of hosting a wide range of such aids, the fact that it does not come natural with the SAGL means the cost is lower than some might expect. However, it is still a highly advanced combat platform and is restricted level II.
The SAGL-25 is available at a cost of $44,000, and a DPR of $440 million standard NS Dollars.
The SAGL-25 is available at a cost of $54,000, and a DPR of $540 million standard NS dollars. It is available through Covenant Arms alone.
The SAGL-25 Export comes without BALCOTH or SACHERI aid- capable as it it may be, it is up to the suet to decide what network or aiming software to use.
The SAGL-25 is sold through Covenant Arms andLyran Arms.
