Weapon type: Submachine gun Manufacturer: Various, under license to Rugan Industries Operation: Blowback, full-auto or burst fire Weight (w/o magazine): 2.5 kg Weight (50-round magazine): 1.5 kg Length: 65 cm Caliber: 12 mm caseless Type of Fire: 3-round burst or full-auto Rate of Fire: 1000 rpm Magazine: 80-round box magazine Reload Time: 10 seconds Effective Ranges (burst/full-auto): Short: 25/30 m. Medium: 40/50 m. Long: 60/100 m. Weapon Reliability: Varies with manufacturer; 85-99% Base Cost: Cb 70 Reload Cost (80-round magazine): Cb 20 Notes The Rugan SMG is a commonly-encountered SMG on worlds of the periphery, and on backwater planets more or less isolated from thewell-travelled commerce lanes of the Inner Sphere. It fires large (12 mm), slow (250 mps) rounds which cause considerable damage when they hit. Rugans are simple and rugged weapons which are easily manufactured and maintained. Many are built by local industrial facilities under license to Rugan Enterprises of New Earth. Many more are manufactured from pirated blueprints and die patterns without the technicality of license fees or royalties. For this reason, Rugan SMGs (or identical copies) are manufactured on tens of planets across the Human Sphere, on worlds as diverse as Stewart (House Marik), Exeter (House Davion), Trell I (House Steiner periphery), Unity (House Kurita), and Butte Hold (independent). An important feature of the Rugan is its use of caseless rounds. Each bullet is imbedded in a block of solid propellant which is detonated electrically. This reduces the weight of the magazine considerably, as well as allowing more rounds to be fitted into a standard-sized magazine. Since the propellant is completely stable (it can be fired only by its electrically-fired detonator), the weapon is not prone to "cook off s" when the weapon overheats. The lack of an ejection port reduces problems due to dirt or jams caused by spent casings. Because of the diverse origins of many Rugan SMGs, reliability may vary from weapon to weapon. Those manufactured under license (or at least with faithful adherence to the original blueprint specifications) are reliable under the most adverse of conditions and are virtually impossible to jam. Some weapons, however, are cheaply made and are prone to jamming or overheating. A weak point in the weapon is the difficulty in obtaining caseless 12 mm ammo. It is readily available through Rugan-licensed manufacturers, though it is more expensive than standard cartridge SMG rounds. Molds and kits are available which allow techs to cast rounds from readi ly-avai [able industrial chemicals. Rounds which are not obtained through regular, licensed Rugan facilities, however, may be of substandard quality. These may burn incompletely and foul the weapons firing chamber, causing feed jams, misfires, and a reduction of the weapon's punch. Sound suppressors are available which partially silence the Rugan's report, at the cost of a slight reduction in damage to the target. More Submachine Guns Introduction Bereiter M 14 Imperator Submachine Gun Rugan Submachine Gun Rorynex Submachine Gun Kogyo-Khorsakov Special Purpose Weapon, M-920 Thorvald & Koch Submachine Gun Back to BattleTechnology 2 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com