MH-104 Sabre Heavy Assault Rifle

The MH-104 Sabre heavy assault rifle is 7.62x45mm, electric operated, magazine fed, heavy assault rifle developed by Shasha Corporation in the 2180s. The MH-104 Sabre is classified as a heavy assault rifle. With a muzzle velocity of 1,040 meters per second, and an average effective firing range from 600 to 900 meters, the MH-104 Sabre is a powerful weapon.

The MH-104 Sabre is most commonly and extensively used and licensed under the Blue Star Federation Armed Forces. The MH-104 Sabre was the direct replacement for most heavy assault rifles, and is used as the primary infantry heavy assault rifle.

Since it's production in 2085, the MH-104 has gone through 72 modifications to improve the weapon's performance and dexterity, as well as 4 variants in production, including the MH-104A, which was the first use of an automatic option on the rifle, and would be used on all other variants.

## History

### Arming the Federation

With tensions beginning to rise between the Blue Star Federation and the Republic of Phoenix, the Blue Star Federation commissioned the Shasha Corporation to begin designing and manufacturing standardizing weapons for the Blue Star Federation Armed Forces. Kirov Palchek, a heavy weapons engineer in the gunsmithing department of the Shasha Corporation, led his group of 12 others in designing a new heavy assault rifle that would replace all others. The final design became the MH-104A1, and upon further testing and showcasing was approved for production by the Blue Star Federation on 25 July 2085.

### Monopoly on the MH-104 Sabre

After the First Solar War, the Blue Star Federation established the Shasha Corporation as the monopoly industry in producing small arms weapons of the Blue Star Federation Armed Forces, refusing to use any other variants or company designs for the rifle, believing in the purpose of keeping a standardization of the weapon throughout the entire armed forces. In 2134 the Shasha Corporation sued 4 businessmen after they had attempted to modify 17 MH-104 Sabres to include a higher ammo capacity. The Shasha Corporation won the settlement of 7 million federation credits.

### Production During The Omegan Civil War

During the occupation of the Phoenix Empire, the Shasha Corporation began secretly producing weapons for the Firebird rebellion. This mass arm up helped fund the Omegan Civil War, and this heavy armament of the rebellion groups caught the Phoenix Empire off guard. This illegal production of weaponry led to the complete annihilation of many Shasha Corporation facilities during the Phoenix Empire Occupation, but thanks to the production efforts of the Shasha Corporation, victory was achieved.

## Design

The MH-104 Sabre and its variants fire 7.62×45mm ammunition, and are electric-operated, magazine-fed, selective fire firearms with fixed H2 heavy stock. The H2 heavy stock features external shock absorbers, which lessen the recoil kick when firing the rifle. The MH-104 Sabre has a built in MCR-4 optic designed for medium to close range engagements. The MCR-4 cannot be replaced, as it is part of the rifle. This scope can be adjusted to reach an aiming distances from 400m to 900m. Due to the amount of force exerted on the gun when firing, original designs experienced issues of magazine ejection without the user ejecting it themselves. To solve this issue from intense energy, a locking mechanism for the magazine was used, this not only fixed the issue, but made all magazines have to be custom made to fit with the locking mechanism. The bottom rail mount can feature a variety of attachments, and is the only interchangeable aspect of the rifle. The MH-104 was built to replace all varieties of heavy assault rifles, in the successful effort to standardize the Blue Star Federation Armed Forces.

### Accessories

The MH-104 Sabre is only interchangeable in the bottom rail mount, with a variety of mounts such as the SI-VG vertical hand grip, SI-HG horizontal hand grip, and the Sykus hand grip, the SI-BI bipod, the SI-FG flashlight hand grip, the SI-LG laser hand grip, the SI-RFG range finder hand grip, and the SI-CG camera hand grip. The MH-104 Sabre feed from 30 round Sabre magazines, Other types of magazines with different capacities such as the 60 rounds Sabre Magazine Drum are also available. The MH-104 Sabre also features a small screen with weapon information and firing diagnostics on the left and right side, just underneath the MCR-4 optic.

## Variants

### MH-104A

The MH-104A Sabre is the standard heavy assault rifle for the Blue Star Federation Armed Forces, featuring a forward horizontal hand grip with flashlight attachment. The MH-104A Sabre began production in 2087, and are the largest produced variant of the MH-104 Sabre. The MH-104A can fit the 60 rounds Sabre Magazine Drum.

### MH-104H Super Sabre

The MH-104H Super Sabre is the heavy variant of the MH-104, with a 120 rounds Sabre Twin Magazine Drum, the Super Sabre can be classified as a light machine gun. The MH-104H Super Sabre is equipped with a bipod with a flashlight attachment. The MH-104H Super Sabre is the second largest produced variant of the MH-104 Sabre. The MH-104H began production in 2088.

### MH-104S Silent Sabre

The MH-104S Silent Sabre is a quieter variant of the MH-104 Sabre, adding a built in silencer to the barrel of the rifle. The MH-104S Silent Sabre can only use the 30 round Standard Sabre Magazine. The MH-104S Silent Sabre is most commonly used by the Red Mare Project when silenced missions are needed. The MH-104S is the least produced variant of the MH-104 Sabre. The MH-104S began production in 2107

### MH-104T Renegade Sabre

The MH-104T Renegade Sabre is a variant of the MH-104 Sabre that features a prominent grenade launcher on the underside rail mount, this variant is most commonly used in the Blue Star Armed Forces in the engineering and demolition regions. The MH-104T is the third most produced variant of the MH-104 Sabre. The MH-104T began production in 2090.

## Performance

The MH-104 Sabre has been used for medium range operations. The standardization of the heavy assault rifle has made ammunition and supplies much easier to manage, as there was a single unit of ammunition type used. The MH-104 Sabre is a somewhat light and fairly accurate weapon. Like other firearms, failure to properly maintain the MH-104 Sabre's electronic systems can result in malfunctions, as the electronics can repel dust and sand particles from the internal systems. Despite this, in post-combat surveys, 84% of soldiers rated the MH-104 Sabre as an effective weapons system.

### Early Feedback and Further Testing

By late 2089, 78% of BSF troops reported they were confident with the MH-104 Sabre, but they had a range of problems. 38 percent of users were dissatisfied with the built in optic, as it made it harder to engage in longer ranges. 20 percent of users carried extra batteries due to the weapon system's original low battery life. 55 percent of users were dissatisfied with the low diversity of the weapon attachments. Soldiers also asked for larger ammo types for more deadly results. The Shasha Corporation responded by expanding the battery lives of the MH-104 Sabres by over 750 percent.

In 2122 the Blue Star Federation began a massive testing of the capabilities of the weapon and its effects on troops. In the study, The Blue Star Federation Armed Forces conducted surveys on 15,546 troops returning from combat from the First Solar War. Only troops who fired their weapons at enemy targets were allowed to participate. 80 percent of MH-104 Sabre users reported they were satisfied with the weapon. 77 percent of users were satisfied with handling qualities such as handguards, size, and weight. MH-104 Sabre users had a high level of satisfaction with weapon performance, including 89 percent with accuracy, 91 percent with range, and 93 percent with rate of fire. Only 7 percent of MH-104 Sabre users reported a stoppage, and 81 percent of those that experienced a stoppage said it had little impact on their ability to clear the stoppage and re-engage their target. 72 percent of users never experienced failures of their magazines to feed. 89 percent of users did not need their rifles repaired while in theater. And 80 percent of users were confident in the MH-104 Sabre's reliability, defined as confidence their weapon will fire without malfunction, and 93 percent of users were confident in its durability, defined as confidence their weapon will not break or need repair. Both factors were attributed to high levels of soldiers performing their own maintenance. 51 percent of MH-104 Sabre users offered recommendations for improvements. 20 percent of requests were for greater bullet lethality, and 30 percent were for improving the magazine lock mechanism for easier ejection, as well as other minor recommendations.