NationStates

Designer: IFAM/Arsenal Karonin IECpl
Designed: 2010
Manufacturer : IFAM
Unit cost: 1600 NSD
Produced: 2011-present
Number built: ~9,000,000

Weight: 3.9 kg unloaded, 4.6 kg loaded
Length: 832 mm
Barrel length: 600 mm (23.62 in)
Cartridge: 12-gauge (metal casings)
Action: Gas-operated (short-stroke gas piston), rotating bolt
Rate of fire: Semi-automatic
Effective range: 36 m (118 ft)
Feed system: 8-round detachable box magazine
Sights: Dual-mode accessory diopter sight and front post, flip up, Deimos interface system for optics.

Background

Despite the wave of updated weaponry sweeping across the Anemonian Armed Forces in the 2005-2011 period, very little attention was given to the niche filled by the combat shotgun on the modern battlefield. It was widely believed that, between underslung grenade launchers, door breaching rifle grenades, close quarters combat carbines and various explosives, the battlefield utility of employing a 12 gauge shotgun was highly limited. Consequently, the adoption of such a weapon was stalled even further, making Anemos Major one of the few existing nations with a modern armed forces which had a stockpile of absolutely no 12-gauge (or similar shells) rounds for usage if necessary.

In the vast majority of cases, the wide beliefs held by staff officers concerning the utility of the combat shotgun were validated. However, as combat in the war torn nation of Asakura further intensified, it was found that the one round capacity of the 40mm launcher made its shotgun shells near-useless in close combat, while Fleet Security's exposure to foreign troops' utilisation of combat shotguns incited them to put forward a request to Arsenal Karonin concerning the experimental development of an indigenous shotgun model. The costs of creating what was widely considered to be a niche weapon led the Anemonian General Staff to turn down procurement orders from both Fleet Security and Crown Army personnel deployed in Asakura; however, the concept was intriguing enough to warrant intervention by the First Marshal, who authorised state funded initial development. Recognising that a wholly new design would be difficult to sell to the Crown Army, the single largest prospective buyer of the weapon, IFAM opted towards a modification of the AR9 frame instead, making use of the weapon's modularity to modify the weapon's internals without modifying too much of the frame, submitting a final design in late 2010 with some input from Arsenal Karonin concerning the forward ejection port of the weapon.

Due to the design's low production costs thanks to its frame commonality with the AR9, and increasingly frequent requests from the Asakuran front, the Holy Office of War permitted an initial limited production run of 50,000 models of the weapon for distribution to Fleet Security and the Karonin Guard, and field testing in Asakura where its performance will decide its future with the Armed Forces. 10,000 models of the weapon have also been obtained in an initial purchase by the Holy Office of Internal Affairs due to its excellent performance in close quarters combat.

Role and Design

Though its outward appearance is reminiscent of the AR9, as is to be expected, the modification of the weapon to utilise the 12-gauge shell created some noticeable problems at the development stage for the weapon, while other potential problems were found to have been solved naturally by the AR9's original design.

The two problems that initially plagued IFAM before their adoption of the AR9 platform were the creation of a weapon suited to close quarters, and one capable of handling the recoil of the 12 gauge in a semi-automatic platform. However, two aspects of the AR9's design solved these problems satisfactorily; the bullpup layout of the AR9 meant that the semi-automatic SF2 was as space efficient as possible, making it highly accurate and yet compact for a close quarters weapon. The recoil was solved by the hydraulic recoil buffer stock incorporated into the AR9 frame; originally introduced in an attempt to control the 6.7mm cartridge in full auto, it was found that it satisfactorily dealt with the 12 gauge shell's recoil as well.

However, the main problem with the rechambering of the weapon was the utilisation of the forward ejection system. The close quarters combat value of the system made it invaluable for such a combat shotgun, but the potential for jamming posed by the plastic shell casings was equally devastating, necessitating a review of the weapon's design. However, this problem was eventually solved in a twofold manner; by replacing these plastic casings with metal, the potential for jamming was almost entirely removed (alongside the increase in the ejection tube's size) whilst increasing the longevity and durability of 12-gauge rounds in Anemonian service. Problems with the increased shock of the 12 gauge's recoil damaging the receiver were remedied by strengthening the weapon's action. Overall, the SG2 is a highly effective shotgun system; with a modified forward ejection system and a bullpup layout, it is optimised for combat in the close quarters environment where it excels, while other innovations like the hydraulic recoil buffer stock of the AR9 further increase its utility and precision as a weapon. Magazine-fed, the weapon is far faster to reload than a tube-fed design with similar capabilities; despite its limited use within Anemonian doctrine, the SG2 is a highly effective combat shotgun, one suited to its natural combat environmental with some significant advantages over its competitors.