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Weapon Name- Moritta Assault Rifle
Round Type- 6mm x 39mm SAW
Over-all length- 30 inches, 26 inches, 22 inches
Barrel length- 24 inches, 20 inches, 16 inches
Weight- 5.5 pounds, 10 pounds (underslung shotgun), 12 pounds fully loaded
Rate of Fire- 540 RPM
Feed Mechanism- Detachable box magazine, Belt Fed
Round Capacity- 32, 100+
Effective Range- 600 meters
Range- 1200 meters
Accuracy- 1 MOA, 1.25 MOA
Accessories- Rail collimotor sights, underslug shotgun
Quick switch firing mechanism- Secondary Trigger
Scope/Sights- Rail sights, Collimotr Sights
Muzzle Velocity- 2600 joules (850 m/s, 7.15 grams), 2300 joules (800 m/s, 7.15 grams), 2200 joules (785 m/s, 7.15 grams)
Firing System- Long stroke gas piston
Miscellaneous/electronic information- Essentially a bullpup mini-14, sporting a fiber reinforced polymer frame, and chambered in the 6mm SAW cartridge. The firearm is also designed to be used with an underslung pump action shotgun, which is a development stemming from the SPIW program, utilizing flechette and explosive rounds.




The weapon is essentially a bullpup mini-14, sporting a fiber reinforced polymer frame, and chambered in the 6mm SAW cartridge. The firearm is also designed to be used with an underslung pump action shotgun, which is a development stemming from the SPIW program, utilizing flechette and explosive rounds. The mini-14 action is derived from the M-14's action, but is chambered in a smaller, lighter weight and lower recoil 6mm round, which is much stronger than the 5.56mm, and designed to produce penetration and stopping power capabilities similar to the Ak-47, to defeat dense foliage and concrete, offsetting a disadvantage of american cartridges, while maintaining the same accuracy and range of the 7.62mm NATO. The weapon is in part a result of a number of lessons in Vietnam, utilizing a more powerful and lighter weight cartridge, with similiar capabilities to the 7.62mm x 39mm (the main weapon used by the enemy) in terms of barrier penetration, but similiar accuracy to the 5.56mm, and utilizes a more reliable long stroke gas piston that is better suited for jungle environments. The Round is approximately the same weight as the 5.56mm it replaces, and half the weight of the 7.62mm NATO, in part due to the fact it uses an aluminum case, which is three times lighter weight than traditional brass cases, reducing the overall weight when the powder and bullet are added. The ballistics of the round allow for super sonic velocity out to 1200 yards or more, superior penetration against most common barriers such as trees, concrete, and dirt, better stopping power given the higher power of the round, and easier use in a shorter barrel as it is less velocity dependent and using a faster burning powder. The round is very similiar to the 7.62mm x 39mm in this respect, but is more accurate and has a substantially longer range with better aerodynamics. At 600 yards and more, the round has greater energy than the 7.62mm NATO, giving it a longer range despite the lighter weight. This is fundamental to the design of the weapon, as it allows the weapon to still maintain the same long range feature of the 7.62mm NATO, while having the low weight and recoil of the 5.56mm and other intermediate cartridges. The weapon is often paired with an underslung 12 gauge shotgun, which typically holds 5 rounds, and is only 4.5 pounds, increasing the combined weight of the gun to 10 pounds with this accessory; alternatively, a 40mm grenade launcher can be added instead, which only adds an additional 3.5 pounds.. As a development of the SPIW program, it was determined that while effective in specific niche scenarios, the 12 gauge shotgun was simply insufficient to replace a standard rifle round, and thus would only be good as a secondary weapon in addition the primary rifle round. While effectively cancelled, the utility of the rounds can still be maintained in similiar weapons, and by removing the autoloading features of the gun, the mechanism could be much smaller and lighter, and thus allow for a smaller addition to the weapon, without sacrificing much firepower, as it was found the repeating SALVO weapons were not more effective than the slower firing variants. The extra features, such as flechettes and explosive rounds can be maintained with relative ease, and without compromising the capabilities of the main rifle, making the rounds far more effective when used in addition to, rather than in replace of, a standard rifle round.

The weapon is based on the Mini-14, which is similiar to the earlier American M14, but is much smaller, originally using the 5.56mm x 45mm NATO cartridge. This weapon in it's standard configuration was a mere 6.25 pounds, and had fairly light recoil for it's size, using a slower rate of fire and smoother action to produce only moderate recoil despite it's weight. The weapon, while small and ergonomic, suffered from the same power, range and penetration issues of the 5.56mm, and thus the slightly larger but far more aerodynamic 6mm SAW was used instead, designed as a part of the american light machine gun program. In addition, the wooden frame was replaced with a very lightweight fiberglass reinforced polymer, which is substantially stronger and lighter than wood, and in part due to it's bullpup configuration, was reduced to a mere 5.5 pounds, slightly lighter than the previous mini-14. The fiberglass reinforced polymer is very strong, but also minimalist in construction, and thus is very flexible and thin, giving rise to a cheap feeling and somewhat lower durability. Despite this it is stronger than it may initially appear, and thus the weight of the rifle can be reduced in part given the stronger materials. As a bullpup weapon, the weapon removes the stock, which removes nearly a pound of weight from the gun, and shortens the length of the firearm by 12 inches. At 22-30 inches, the weapon is is as short as a submachine gun and well balanced, giving it similiar ergonomics to the thommy gun, grease gun and similiar heavy submachine guns. This makes the weapon work well in close quarters and jungle environments, making it easier to move in confined spaces, particularly vehicles and doorways as well as densely forested areas. The long stroke gas piston has higher reliability and greater environmental resistance than the direct impingement system of the AR-15, and is closer in reliability to the Ak-47, which is more adept in environments such as the jungle and desert, and is more resistant to debri in general.

A large amount of the firearm's features are based on the 6mm SAW program and bullet, which uses both a very lightweight and long range cartridge, being more accurate, long range, and lighter weight than it's power would otherwise suggest, and an aluminum case which reduces the weight. The round is based around a very aerodynamic 6mm round, utilizing a 110 grain (7.15 gram) bullet, and it utilizes a faster burning, more powerful gunpowder, taking lessons from the Russian 7.62mm x 39mm. While the same case length, or 39mm, the case is actually not the same as the russian case, although it is very similiar. The very long bullet makes the cartridge longer than many other intermediate cartridges such as the .223 or 7.62mm x 39mm, being 2.5 inches long instead of 2.25 inches long, requiring a slightly longer magazine in order for the rounds to fit, and a slightly different action. This is in part due to the very long bullet, which has an extremely high BC for it's weight, or a G1 BC of .62, giving it very good aerodynamics. The cartridge has more power than a 7.62mm NATO at 600 yards, and is still super sonic out to 1200 yards, giving it approximately the same or better range as a GPMG or full sized rifle cartridge, despite having a little over half the power at the muzzle. The case is made of high strength aluminum, which three times lighter weight than comparative steel or brass cases, holding the same amount of powder, but is much lighter. All combined, the cartridge is a mere 11.5 grams in weight, combining the 7.15 gram bullet, 2.2 grams of powder, and 2.15 grams for the case, slightly lighter than the 5.56mm at 12.5 grams, and half the weight of the 7.62mm NATO at 25.5 grams. This allows for more ammunition to be carried, but to still meet the criteria needed to meet the range and barrier penetration capabilities of the larger intermediate rifle rounds. Such a loading would be near the weight and minimal recoil of the lightweight 5.56 while nearer the terminal performance of the heavier 7.62, thereby permitting a single caliber to serve in general-purpose machine guns, sniper rifles, and infantry carbines. There is a notion that the Americans "stole" elements of the design of the round from the Russians and the Vietnamese firearm, the ak-47, however the weapon development reflects the lessons learned in the environment in part from the enemy's weapons, while maintaining the advantages the Americans previously had, such as higher accuracy and a lower weight firearm.

As part of the SALVO tests, 12 gauge shotgun rounds were developed to try and provide an area of effect cartridge which would make it easier to hit enemies at long range by increasing the field of effect, and launch specialized cartridges such as explosives and flechettes to achieve this. Despite intense research and focus on the weapon projects, automatic weapon designs never came to fruition, and were considered too heavy and unwieldy as a primary firearm (frequently over 15 pounds), and to lack little effectiveness over a slower firing shotgun. With the initial program, the Navy became sufficiently interested in the concept to provide the military with some development funding from the Office of Naval Research, resulting in a 12 gauge shotgun shell firing 32 flechettes. The Army later added funding as well, and the AAI company was invited to SALVO. In SALVO testing they were found to be able to penetrate one side of a standard steel helmet at 500 yards (460 m)—excellent given their light weight—but the dispersion of the darts was so great as to make them only marginally useful. Further development continued by adapting a Winchester Model 70 rifle with new XM110 5.6×53 mm rounds firing a single dart, that deviated from but later improved upon the 12 gauge program. The result was a weapon with somewhat less accuracy than the 7.62×51mm NATO rounds, but with equal penetration and a trajectory so flat it could be fired with no sight adjustment out to 400 yards (370 m). The rounds were very light, and had almost no recoil in comparison to even the 0.22-inch (5.6 mm) caliber weapons under development. This meant they could be fired at extremely high rates of fire, from a very lightweight weapon. Project SALVO began soon after WWII in 1951, and was based on the largely false assumption that firing as many projectiles as possible would increase the probability of hitting the target or the effectiveness of the gun, regardless of the accuracy of the soldier or type of projectile.

During World War II, an infantryman with a rifle at an average engagement distance of 300 yards (270 m) under combat stress expended 10,000 rounds for one hit, and so it was considered that a soldier would need a much larger volume of lighter ammunition or to spray rounds in the general direction of the target in order to hope to hit them (while true, the failure was in misunderstanding this largely applied to machine guns with suppressive fire, and ignored that most casualties occurred at close range after infantry moved in to firing positions). Consideration to lighter ammunition types and rifle/grenade launcher combinations was given, naturally to this program. Despite the ambitious nature of the program, over time Flechettes were found to be inaccurate and expelled fiberglass fragments with each round fired, making them unwieldy. Furthermore, SALVO mainly studied weapons and ammunition as opposed to developing them, themselves, leading to underdeveloped weapons despite the military's focus on them. It determined that higher velocity projectiles, smaller than 7.62 mm, had equal or greater lethality with less weight. It was also found that fully automatic fire did not greatly increase hit probability with the SALVO program, further limiting the usefulness such cartridges with the much larger weapons being developed at the time. Because of many extenuating factors with the program, it showed great promise, but was eventually shut down, given that many of the fundamental assumptions and methods for solution within the program did not bear out as expected in real world combat. The 12 gauge single shot variant showed some promise in limited circumstances, due to the fact that a slow firing weapon was considered to have roughly the same effectiveness as a semiautomatic or automatic one, given the propensity for the soldier to miss in extended bursts with the SALVO rounds. Salvaging this slower firing part of the program, to be used as a secondary rather than primary weapon, and it was incorporated in to the Moritta Assault rifle, providing either an area of effect at long range, good close range stopping power, or the ability to launch an explosive cartridge, which achieves a similarly wide area of effect, via the Frag-12 cartridge. A key advantage of the shotgun is that it can fire specialty cartridges such as tear gas, rubber rounds, or door breaching rounds, which can be useful for non-lethal purposes and provides utility to the user, beyond raw firepower. The lower weight of each 12 gauge round is still far lighter than a rifle grenade (allowing more rounds to be carried), which is still the primary anti-tank and infantry weapon, and gives a mild area of effect for targeting enemies behind cover or at long range, increasing incapacitation probability by allowing a soldier to shoot around cover or in the enemy's general area. Another useful feature is the ability to fire flares, which when used at night blind the enemy while revealing their position, thus making it easier to target them while providing a form of concealment for the men.

The weapon utilizes a stellite coated barrel, which is very heat resistant, and thus allows the weapon to maintain a higher rate of fire. With a quick detachable barrel, barrels can be replaced when they over heat, thus increasing it's heat resistance even further, and barrels of different length can be used, to improve close quarters combat abilities when being used in close quarters, and longer barrels when used in long range combat. This allows the weapon to be used in both an assault rifle, submachine gun and SAW like configuration, and with a sufficiently sized magazine or if reloaded quickly enough, can lay down large volumes of suppressive fire. The weapon can be belt fed as well, however the belt feeding mechanism is more complex than a normal machine gun, utilizing a "spoon" feeding mechanism, and thus harder to use, requiring switching between the different mechanisms to work, although it can be done in a matter of seconds. The weapon is generally designed to incorporate iron sights and a very sophisticated scope mechanism, which was considered novel for the time period. The scope and iron sight combination gives the soldier the ability to track moving targets at close range, and then transition to the larger scope for long range use. The bottom scope is a 5.2x zoom, 32mm apperture scope, while the rail sight on top is a buckhorn sight, designed for quick target engagement and easy transitioning between targets at close range, but not as a long range sight. It also generally considered durable, and usable even if the scope is damaged, dirty or fogged up, given the advancements of scope technology at the time, particularly after WWII. On top of the scope is a flippable magnifying glass which offers a collimeter 2.1x magnification sight, which can be used instead of or in conjunction with the flip up iron sights. This sight is unpowered, and relies on sunlight to illuminate it, like fiberglass sights. It is sensitive enough to be activated by a very bright moon, but otherwise does not work well at night or in dark places. The weapon is generally designed to fitted with a lightweight underbarrel shortened shotgun, which holds up to 5 rounds, in addition to 1 in the chamber, giving a total of 6 potential rounds. This is based on the mossberg 500, which in trials was shown to be the most reliable of the various shotguns tested (jamming only once every 30,000 rounds), and is only 4.5 pounds, shaving off a large amount of weight by being attached to the primary rifle. Often times this weapon is removed, and is only used on some versions of the rifle, which are designed to incorporate provide the extra features it offers. For close quarters combat missions, it is often removed, or used by only one soldier. The shotgun has several modes of fire, and can be fired by the secondary trigger, or when the slide is racked and a round is loaded, automatically firing the round as soon as it is loaded, effectively making it an open bolt shotgun. Rifle grenades can be fired off of the weapon due to the rifle grenade adapter, and all firearms possess the rifle grenade plunger designed to make it safe to fire rifle grenades. This is much larger than the 12 gauge shotgun rounds, which are typically 28-56 grams, and the grenade is generally 450 grams or heavier, meaning it is substantially more powerful, but also has a lower velocity, and typically must be fired up on an arc, giving it a range of 600 meters if rocket assisted.