MG556 Grinder

**MG556 Grinder** light machine gun is a component of the Lightweight Weapon Technologies (LWT) program. The purpose of the program was to develop a lighter, yet highly reliable light machine gun (LMG). The program was initiated in 2004, when the Federal Service Small Arms Program (FSSAP) challenged the Panamoan defense industry to develop a lighter small arms and also design lighter ammunition.

## Technical Information

### Weapon Class

Aero Hypersepeed
Light machine gun

### Users

Rubicon Security Service
Panamoan Army
Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps

## Statistics

### Firing Mode

Fully Automatic
Semi automatic

It is a Light machine gun that is has debuted in the events of *Black Pegasus*. The system utilised proprietary caseless ammunition, and a remarkably lightweight chassis for an LMG; Making it a high capacity assault rifle for some to say the least.

## History

Development began with the two types of weight-reducing ammunition, and a light machine gun to serve as a testbed and technology demonstrator. Use of an LMG for this purpose is notable, considering the greater technical complexity than infantry rifles. The use of advanced computer simulations to accelerate development may have mitigated this. For development by Aero Hyperspeed, the use of extensive computer simulation and modelling reduces both time and expenditure for prototyping and testing. The program also uses a 'spiral development' approach, whereby the weapon and ammunition is rolled out in stages or 'spirals', each stage producing a new version that is an improvement on those from previous spirals. A competition down-selected the design concepts of various companies to leave a Lightweight Weapon Technologies team of companies as the developers of the weapon system.

The cohesive team of companies is combined with government support to ensure success. The parallel development of the two ammunition types meant that, if the caseless ammunition effort succeeded, much of the development work gained with the composite cased weapon could be applied to it, and, if it failed, the composite-cased version was likely to succeed on its own. However, the design was shelved and Rubicon Corporation took the design template by 2010; Designing it in their own way to make it a military grade firearm.

### Black Pegasus

The MG556 Grinder is a common sight on the hands of APMC Marines, The Panamoan Navy and Panamoan Army. Though it is nearly unobtainable in most levels. The most prominent role of the MG556 is in the operation codenamed "Dried As a Bone", wherein a large amount of APMC marines and some Panamoan Navy personnel are heavily equipped with the machine gun as a primary weapon.

## Design

The LMG design is a traditionally laid-out machine-gun. It has several features conducive to its use as a light machine gun, such as a quick-change barrel, a vented handguard, a belt feeding mechanism, provisions for the use of an ammunition pouch, and a rate of fire of 888 RPM. Other features include its light weight, an ammunition counter, and a highly stiff and heat resistant barrel achieved with the use of fluting and specialised alloys. When firing, the weapon's chamber swings around a longitudinal pivot; it swings from horizontally parallel with the pivot (the firing position) to vertically parallel (the feed position), and back again. A long-stroke gas-piston is used to operate this action. A round is fed into the chamber at the feed position using a rammer, and the new round also serves to push a spent or dud round out of the far end of the chamber. Such rounds are pushed forward, parallel to the barrel, and they slide into a separate mechanism that ejects them out of one side of the gun. The advantages of this whole action include its simplicity, its isolation of the chamber from barrel heat, and its positive control of round movement from extraction to ejection. In the caseless firing version of the weapon, another mechanism is introduced to seal the chamber during firing, accounting for the slightly increased weight of the caseless version.

The MG556 Grinder is a belt-fed light machine gun. It fires caseless 5.56x45mm SDC ammunition, usually a combination of twenty SS987 Bulwark cartridges and eighty SS878 Striker cartridges and fed from MK27 linked belts, or 20 SS978 Bulwark cartridges and 180 SS878 Striker cartridges on a two hundred round belt/magazine.. Belts are typically held in a hard Polymer or soft canvas box attached to the underside of the weapon.

Rubicon Corporation started releasing information about the XMG556; The First was the weapon weighs 8.6 Pounds Fully Loaded, then 6.7 Pounds Empty (without the magazine). This was proven true, and the APMC was impressed about the weight reduction. Second is that the material of the weapon is Nevium reinforced Carbon Fiber, which makes the weapon's overall weight greatly reduced and durability is further enhanced. Not to mention the Carbon Fiber material acts like a "Sandwich" Composite Armor, in which Nevium is the Sandwich and the Carbon Fiber is the material inserted between it.

The Fire Rate of the weapon was reduced to 916/893 to 888 RPM, As Rubicon Corporation didn't want any huge complaints about intense overheating after sustained suppressive fire, unlike the SAW-74's high 916 RPM. They also don't want a fire rate as high as the MG42's monstrous 1200-1500 Rounds Per Minute.

It similarly featured an adjustable stock like the SAW-74; and the barrel was 22' Inches Long, To further enhance the ballistic performance of the 5.56mm SDC though concealing it is relatively difficult like the MK16A4 though the adjustable stock makes it easier to conceal than the MK16A4.

### Specifications

* Length: 1033mm
* Caliber: **5.56x45mm SDC**
* Effective Range: 800-925 Meters
* Weight: **8.6** Pounds (Fully Loaded), **6.7** Pounds (Empty)

## Attachments

### Rail

* Red Dot Sight
* M2 Reflex Sight
* XM21 Reflex Sight
* C6E Reflex Sight
* Serizawa J7
* RIATech Holographic
* Z9 Scout
* CTS Scope
* ACOG Scope

### Barrel

* Advanced Rifling
* Lightweight Suppressor
* Monolithic Suppressor
* Phantom Suppressor
* Muzzle Brake

### Underbarrel

* MK203 Grenade Launcher
* Angled Foregrip
* Foregrip
* Rubberized Foregrip
* Heavy Duty Foregrip
* Surefire M900 Flashlight Grip
* M910 Flashlight

### Ammunition

* RIA-12 Tracer Rounds
* RIA-7 Incendiary Rounds
* RIA-4 Hollow Points

### Miscellaneous

* Deep Impact/FMJ
* Stopping Power
* High Caliber
* Paragon Striker

## Trivia

### General

* Lightweight Weapon Technologies was a program and the company of the same name who jumpstarted the program to create a truly lightweight LMG. However, they went bankrupt and Rubicon Corporation took credit as the successful corporation who implemented their design, which LWT considered it to be "Rubicon's next generation machine gun".
	+ However, Aero Hyperspeed provided the first prototypes in the program itself.
* Known for caseless ammunition, that vaguely resembles shotgun shells. Upon firing cylindrical "casings" are being ejected not a standard bottlenecked casing.
* Despite being superior to the SAW-308, both are used in military service.
* All attempts of smuggling this design by General Arms has failed.