Specifications
Weight: 4.0 kg (unloaded), 4.4 kg (unloaded)
Length: 1015mm (41 inches)
Barrel length: 675mm (27 inches)
Cartridge: 6.5 x 45mm JMC Mk5
Action: gas operated, rotating bolt (2 lugs), balanced automatic recoil system
Rate of fire: 700rpm (cyclic)
Muzzle velocity: 880 m/s
Effective range: 600 m
Feed system: 30 rd detachable box (top feeding)
Sights: Aperture rear, hooded post front. Picatinny rails allow alternates.
Background, development and conceptualisation
The LY20 high lethality advanced rifle is the in-service Lyran standard-issue rifle. Brainchild of the Protectorate Research and Development Commission, it was designed as a lightweight, very high lethality, versatile and adaptable weapon system for use against armoured or unarmoured personnel, at all engagement ranges.
As 'Dauntless' ballistic armour made its presence known across the global markets, Executive Command moved to halt the uncontrolled sale. The effectiveness of the offered protection rendered a great number of conventional small arms redundant, and the unrestricted distribution was seen to be a noticeable and growing security threat. While far from impervious to harm when heavier weaponry is considered, personnel wearing 'Dauntless' enjoyed protection against conventional small arms of all standard calibres at all ranges. Because of this, after only a year on the international market, 'Dauntless' was withdrawn from open sale.
The withdrawal of 'Dauntless', however, left a hole in the market into which many other forms of body armour were expected to move. It was expected that the new arrivals would be, at the very least, equivalent to the American 'Interceptor' and 'DragonSkin' armours, and those armour schemes offered protection, at least on a first-round basis, against all existing standard small arms. The Lyran Protectorate moved to counter this, intending to provide its forces, and those of its allies that chose to acquire the system, with a weapon that would enable reliable first-round penetration of most infantry armours across the widest possible portion of its engagement range, without sacrificing lethality or effectiveness against unarmoured targets.
The LY20 HILAR is the result of these requirements. Initial progress was slow, with suggested (and subsequently tested) modifications providing only incremental improvements over the in-service AR44. After collaboration with Yanitarian engineers and scientists on the design of the 6.5 x 45mm JMC Mk5 ammunition bore fruit, a fresh wave of ideas for the development of the LY20 were advanced.
Within ten months, more progress had been made than in the preceding two years, combined. In record time, the LY20 had shifted from concept sketches through the prototype and testing stages, and on to the production lines.
Construction
Ongoing attempts to push the weight of the LY20 down to as low as practical lead to the predominating use of synthetic materials. The vast majority of the weapon is constructed of fibreglass reinforced polyamide, with a variety of finishes available, depending on the preference of the individual, unit or purchasing entity. The weapon's barrel is cold hammer forged steel barrel, as are the minimum parts required to operate the firing mechanisms and gas system. Anything that can be made out of synthetic materials, without compromising the weapon's reliability and performance, has indeed been made thus. The lessons learned from the LY19 prototypes in regards to performance in hot/dry and hot/humid conditions have also been carried over onto the LY20 series, and the same alloy developed for the LY19 has been carried over on to the HILAR.
The weapon is fairly long, and calls for a shorter design led to the implementation of a carbine version of the weapon, which is three inches shorter, for 38 inches in total. Of course, the phrase 'carbine' is relative, as the weapon still has a barrel length longer than that of most full-size rifles, at 24 inches.
Ammunition
Designed for lethality and penetration, the HILAR was concieved utilising the same 6.5mm Mk5 tungsten-lead-tungsten projectile that was designed by a joint Lyro-Yanitarian research team for use by armed forces of the Fedala Accord. The higher-hardness tungsten tip provides a high degree of target penetration, especially at higher velocities. The soft lead core, heavier than the tungsten, both shifts the projectile weight rearward to induce in-target yaw, and also is designed to deform around the tungsten nose so as to widen the primary wound channel still further. A tungsten rear serves to maintain the rounds balance, so as to ensure weight is not so far to the rear as to disrupt aerodynamic efficiency. Attempts to push down recoil would go on to shape the LY20's development in many ways, as Lyran designers sought to keep recoil, particularly in automatic fire, manageable, without making the weapon so heavy as to be impractical or cumbersome for use by personnel under combat conditions.
Operating system and recoil attenuation
The LY20 uses a closed-bolt gas-operated balanced automatic recoil system, of the same general type as that employed on a variety of weapons. The system is based on utilisation of the propellant gases to drive not just the piston which drives the bolt, but also to push a secondary piston and counterweight in the opposite direction. The mechanics are such that as the bolt reaches the furthest rearward part of its recoiling (thus impacting the rubber pads of the interior of the butt plate), the counterforce also reaches the end point of its forward movement. This 'balanced recoil' action noticeably decreases felt recoil and thus improves controllability and accuracy in fully automatic or rapid-semiautomatic modes. Rubber shock-padding at the rear of the bolt, interior of the butt plate and contact points for the forward-moving counterweight, further reduce felt recoil, although their absence will not hinder the weapon's operation. Of particular relevance if a silencer is fitted, this padding also significantly reduces the sound produced by the bolt and piston assemblies impacting their respective stops, circumventing the tell-tale 'click-click-click' sound of an automatic weapon fired with a silencer.
Muzzle brake
One of very few rifles to utilise a genuine muzzle brake, the HILAR implements this feature as standard to mitigate the felt recoil generated by its 6.5 x 45mm ammunition. Propellant gases are redirected towards the rear by notches in the muzzle, which thusly work to force the rifle forward, a process which thereby counteracts, to some degree, the rearward motion generated by the rifle's firing. The muzzle brake, which also functions as a flash suppressor, comes (by default) with ten such notches. None of the notches vent downwards, which not only assists in minimising muzzle climb during rapid or automatic fire, but also serves to avoid kicking up dust when firing from the prone position. This means that the firer is not given away by clouds of dust, nor does the firer obscure his own line of sight. The flash suppressor is internally threaded, making the weapon compatible with silencers and blank firing attachments.
Trigger/safety mechanism
The LY20 uses a dual-pressure trigger system. Pulling the trigger to the first pressure (2.1 kg) fires semi-automatically, but pulling the trigger to the second trigger pressure (4.5kg) produces automatic fire. This system, similar to that featured on certain Yanitarian weapons, and also the Austrian Steyr AUG, enables the operator to employ either semi-automatic or automatic fire without adjusting the weapon in any way, or breaking the firing position. A single-shot lockout stud, located below the trigger, can be pulled out to prevent the trigger being pulled rearward to the second pressure, and thus will prevent accidental employment of automatic fire. The stud can be pushed back into the trigger, thus re-allowing automatic fire, by a split-second movement of the index or middle finger of the master hand.
The safety is located immediately above the weapon's pistol grip, and is a simple thumb or index-finger operated push-action trigger-lock safety. The safety portrudes 1cm from the weapon's right, just above a right hander's index finger, when in safe mode, and displays a white dot to the operator.
When switched to “instant” condition, the safety is taken offline by the index finger pushing it into the weapon. The safety will then portrude 1cm out the opposite (left hand) side of the weapon, and display a red dot to the operator, indicating the weapon's state of readiness visually, as well as to physical inspection. This safety system, identical to that featured on the AUG, was selected for its ability to be engaged or disengaged without the operator taking his hands from the weapon's foregrip or trigger, and yet being able to check the readiness status of the weapon without visual inspection.
Sighting system
The HILAR uses an aperture rear, and hooded post front sight, as the default iron sights, although the rear section of the dorsal picatinny rail is usually expected to carry a sighting system of some description. Standard options include a reflex sight, high-magnification telescopic sight, or something more sophisticated, possibly including the TGTM-4 multi-function battlesight. The TGTM-4 combines a default reflex sight (with adjustable brightness, as per M68) with a night weapon sight function, night aiming device (boresighted at 100 metres), manually operated optical zoom with autofocus, adjustable reticle selection, and firing-position-safe grenade launcher sight toggle. A bullet-drop compensator is also available as an overlay to any fire mode, accessed by toggle switch that does not require the firing hand to be moved from the pistol grip. The sight is water-tight down to 50 metres, and is free of parallax error at ranges outside 30 metres.
Problems suffered by the TGTM-2 and -3 regarding the requirement for regular battery resupply were recified in the -4 (first featured on the LY19 LMG) by linking the gunsight to the battery included in the LY20's handgrip, which also operates the electronic bullet counter. The battery provides the gunsight with 60,000 hours of constant operation in normal combat conditions, and is rechargable from the AC outlet featured on most Lyran-designed vehicles, or a regular 240 volt power outlet.
Electronic bullet counter
An electronic bullet counter, located above and to the left of the trigger, tracks the number of rounds fired and the date and time of each fire. The display does not show unless the firer activates it, so as not to reveal his position. In addition to it being far easier to check number of rounds remaining by looking at a display than trying to count rounds, the data can be accessed and uploaded to third party systems. The tracking will greatly improve the ability to keep tabs on weapon wear and tear, and make it easier to identify weapons that are in need of overhaul or new components. The battery life is a few years, thanks to an ultra-low power, high-resilience gallium arsenide circuit and a comparatively large battery, held in the hand grip.
Magazine feed system
Borrowing from the ingenious magazine and feed system developed for Fabrique Nationale's world-renowned P90-series, the LY20 is fed by a top-feeding double-stacked 30 round transparent magazine. Given the notably larger size of the 6.5 x 45mm round compared to the P90's 5.8 x 27mm round, the magazine, when loaded, clears the sides of the LY20 on both left and right. Initial concerns that this may have disrupted the ergonomics of the weapon proved to be unfounded, as all of the weapon's operations are situated below the level of the magazine by a significant margin. Unusual for a 30 round magazine, but a feature made necessary by the manner in which the rounds are fed, LY20 magazines are straight, rather than curved, a feature which makes the magazine somewhat longer overall.
The magazines are translucent, allowing the number of rounds to be checked without use of the electronic counter. Further, a bolt-catch prevents the bolt from fully closing once the last round is expended from a magazine, the sound of which is audible to the (attentive) operator, and signals an empty magazine.
LY20 magazines are constructed of the same polymer as that used in the 100-round magazines designed for the LY19 series, and are optimised for the smooth delivery of ammunition up the magazine body and into the weapon's chamber.
Coupled with the modest but ever present factor that is not having to fight against gravity and lift rounds into the chamber, the feed system of the LY20 is considered to be very reliable, with prototypes putting out 24,000 MRTF (mean rounds to failure).
Export
The LY20 is designed primarily for use by the Lyran Protectorate, however Executive Command has authorised the weapon's export to allied states ONLY. The weapon is available at NS$4000 each, and comes with cleaning kit, reflex sight, TGTM-4 sight, foregrip, carbine-length barrels and housings, bipod, silencer, blank firing attachment and twelve magazines. As part of purchase, permission is granted to produce 6.5 x 45mm JMC Mk5 ammunition, for domestic use only. On-sale of the LY20, or its component parts, is expressly prohibited, save upon receipt of permission from the Lyran Governmental Trade Department.
Purchases via the Lyran Governmental Trade Department at NS$2500 a piece.
