Ultra Autocannon

The Ultra Autocannon is an advanced variation of the standard Autocannon with the ability to fire at twice the normal rate.

Overview

The Ultra Autocannon technology was originally developed in 2640 by Kawabata Weapons Inc, in response to Defiance Industries's request for a specialized autocannon/5 for their Sentinel BattleMech design. The result was a weapon that resembled the standard model only in the general damage that each round can inflict, as the KWI Ultra Autocannon 5 boasted a shorter smooth-bore barrel, modified breech mechanism, rapid-feed ammo reloader and specially designed ammunition.

While these enhancements gave the weapon an effective range exceeding that of LRMs and standard AC/5s, it most notably allowed the weapon to fire at twice rate of the standard model. Unfortunately, besides generating twice as much heat and burning through ammunition supplies twice as quickly, the extremely high rate of fire causes ultra autocannons to vibrate violently, leading to higher incidence of weapon jams. Though giving the weapon and equivalent volume of fire, because of these vibrations ultra autocannon fire is not as accurate as would be a pair of standard weapons.

Like many piece of advanced Star League technology, Kawabata and their unique weapon disappeared during the maelstrom of the Succession Wars, though the Clans retained and refined the technology, eventually producing variants in all autocannon classes. Thanks to the Helm Memory Core the Successor States regained the ability to produce the original Ultra AC/5 in 3035, and using this weapon and Clan-tech salvage were able to introduce Ultra versions of the AC/2 and AC/10 in 3057, finally the AC/20 in 3060.

For specifics about a particular type, click on one of the links below:

• Ultra AC/2
• Ultra AC/5
• Ultra AC/10
• Ultra AC/20

References

• Technical Readout: 2750, pp 7, 26
• Technical Readout: 3050, pp 215
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League, pp 138-139