M122 Light Machine Gun

The M122 Light Machine Gun is the UNSC's standard Light Machine Gun, giving squad based units a relatively light and adaptable light support weapon. This allows squad based units to produce triple their normal amount of firepower against infantry targets. The weapon features a light but tough polymer body with heat-resistant metal alloy components and microprocessor driven thermal transfer system, utilising a series of doppler cooling systems. The M122 requires neither mid-battle barrel changes nor maintenance, allowing for rapid, uninterrupted fire. With optional retractable bipod, the M122 is most accurate when fired from the prone position. The weapon is designed for ease of carrying, with a carrying handle on the butt and a flip up carrying handle on the receiver, allowing ease of transport and steady firing from the hip.
==Uses==
The primary function is that of a Light Support Weapon or Squad Automatic Weapon, providing highly accurate covering or automatic fire for a unit, giving them a adaptable and mobile base of fire. The weapon is primarily used amongst the UNSC Infantry Regiments where its light weight and small size compared to the General Purpose Machine Gun make it preferred.
==Operation==
The M122 is gas operated, artificially cooled and magazine fed weapon. The weapon is gas operated, utilizing short-stroke piston gas system, located below the barrel. The barrel is locked using rotary bolt with 7 radial lugs. When fired, the bolt travels down the receiver rather than backwards to absorb recoil and direct it away from the shooter. It fires from an open bolt position, the bolt containing both a spring extractor and a casing ejector. The weapon's non-reciprocating cocking handle is located on the left side of the receiver and moves to the the forward position during firing. The weapon's low recoil stems from the constant recoil principle. The design allows the bolt carrier group to move all the way back without ever impacting the rear, instead stopping gradually along the axis of movement against the resistance of the return springs. It is fed from detachable magazines only, using either a large clear polymer drum magazine or a alternate feed of a MA6A magazine. Drum magazines are made mostly from plastic, with translucent wall which permits easy check of available ammunition. The weapon features a ambidextrous cartridge extractor, being able to eject the empty casings to the left or right via locking the dust flap on one side, though both can be opened. Firing controls include a pistol grip and a conventional rifle-type trigger grouping, with ambidextrous safety and fire selector levers located at either side of receiver, above the pistol grip. The M122 fires from open bolt only, in semi-automatic or full automatic modes. It has fully adjustable and removable day/night iron sights.
The barrel is made from high quality cold hammer forged steel-chrome barrel with a moulded carbon fibre lining, giving it unparalleled heat resistance and corrosion resistance. The free floating fluted rifled barrel, with a one in seven twist requires neither changing or replacement, its only real problem is the chance that the heat inside the barrel could overheat the magazine and cook it off. To help with that, the bolt is also coated in carbon fibre materials and is protected by a lightweight doppler cooling bank. The Doppler cooling bank captures heat coming off the barrel and breech and cools it via the doppler cooling effect, keeping the weapon comfortably close to room temperature. During cold weather this is reversed, stopping it from freezing over.
The magazine uses magnetic plate induction to feed the ammunition gently into the weapon. The magazines is made of lightweight Polymers with a translucent join, allowing off hand checks of ammunition. However, it can be fitted with a soft canvas overall.
The cooling system is made up of three Doppler Shift cooling banks, controlled by a central computer unit. These capture heat coming from the barrel and bolt and cool it via the doppler shift, allowing the gun to stay cool, even under constant operation. There is a cooling bank on each side of the barrel and one on the breech. The Doppler Cooling banks are made up of an array of tiny LASERs that are arranged in opposite directions. As excited atoms and molecules enter the cooling bank, they gain photons from the laser they are moving away from, via the doppler effect. These atoms then slow to a crawl, due to the cancelling effects of the gained photons and are subsequently chilled. As the barrel continues to heat up, due to thermodynamics, the heat will move from a place of high temperature to a place of low temperature, constantly cooling the weapon until equilibrium is made. As the weapon cools down, the opposite becomes true, with the molecules within the bank moving to warm up the weapon as it drifts below equilibrium. The banks are powered by the anti-recoil systems, by thermal absorbing energy circuits and in the case of extreme colds, an external battery pack, about the size of a chatter pad. These cooling systems are controlled by a central CPU, which observes the warmest or coldest elements of the weapon and attempts to regulate this.
==UNSC Comments==
"Four years of fighting the Remnant and Necros and I have never changed the barrel on mine. Never."
"While I was at the Marianus siege I ran outta box rounds during the third day of wave infantry attacks, so I started inserting MA6A magazines. Sure, I was out in a flash but they still did the job. "
"It's not as relentless as the Gimpy, but its certainly a lot more dependable."
Category:UNSC Weapons