NationStates Jolt Archive

History

The Royal Ordnance Company is the primary supplier of small arms, artillery, and gunnery systems to the United Kingdom. Our story begins in 1891 during the height of inter-colonial tensions on the Azazian Archipelago. English domination of the eastern islands and in particular the eastern half of New Australia required the supply of rifles and other associated small arms to the garrisons and civilian militias. By royal decree the government in Georgetown was granted permission to found the town of Arsenal, which occupied a defensible position near the iron and coal mines of New Australia where the majority of the nascent industrial capacity was located. Arsenal was designed around a single factory owned and operated by the Crown, its function to produce the necessary small arms and ammunition for the defence of the colony.

By 1912, the year of independence and federation, the factory complex in Arsenal had become one of the largest employers in Bennington, drawing skilled labourers from the nearby cities of St. Brendans, Philadelphia, and Portsmouth. With independence, however, came stability and the witness of a large peace dividend that saw a massive reduction in defence spending. Consolidation became commonplace throughout the industry, and with such consolidation, the Royal Ordnance Company emerged as the dominant player in the domestic market, having purchased assets that allowed it to increase its economy of scale and remain competitive.

Throughout the early decades of the 20th century, Royal Ordnance continued to supply firearms to the government in Georgetown/Imperium. In many designs it received assistance from government subsidies that kept the company afloat during interwar years. By the beginning of the Cold War, however, the government of the Commonwealth of Azazia declared its neutrality and thus cut back even more on defence spending as it retreated into a policy of isolationism. The 1960s-1980s witnessed a period of decline for Royal Ordnance as new startups provided innovative designs.

Nationalisation by the Conservative government, however, breathed fresh life into the company as it became the leading partner of the new small arms industry. The designs of former competitors were adapted to the machining tools of the massive Royal Ordnance factories throughout the Commonwealth. By the time of privatisation in the 1990s under the Democratic Socialist governments of Reginald Baker and Alistair Tetley, the independently owned and operated Royal Ordnance Company plc had resumed its former position as the dominant small arms firm in the newly minted United Kingdom.

Up until the early 21st century, however, the products of the company were restricted to domestic markets through the ban of defence exports by acts of Parliament. Recent acts have begun to roll back some of these restrictions and it is under just such deregulation that the Royal Ordnance Company is proud to make its first forays into the global market.

Export Policy

According to the Defence Export Regulatory Act (DERA) Exceptions Amendment 2006, Royal Ordnance must forward any potential arms sales to the Ministry of Defence for clearance and only then may arms sales be approved between Royal Ordnance and any potential customers. While each sale is reviewed independently by His Majesty’s Government upon the sale’s own merits, currently, the United Kingdom is not inclined to allow Royal Ordnance to sell weaponry to governments or organisations who have expressed intentions or policies contrary to those of HM Government and as such most such sales will be deemed contrary to national security.

Catalogue

Small Arms

L62 Battle Rifle (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11580915&postcount=2)

L75 Evolved Combat Rifle (ECR) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11581706&postcount=3)

Large Calibre Weapons

L52 135mm Tank Gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11586585&postcount=5)

L67 155mm Artillery Gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11584867&postcount=4)

L71 125mm Advanced Tank Gun (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11588204&postcount=6)

L62 Battle Rifle

Calibre: 8.5x70mm
Barrel Length: 530mm
Weight: 4.25kg (empty)
Magazines: 20, 36
Rate of Fire: 500rds/min (safe only for short spans of time)
Modes of Fire: 1, 3 round burst
Effective Range: 800m

Featuring a bullpup configuration, the L62 rifle provides the Royal Army with a modern battle rifle capable of penetrating modern armours and with their blended metal ammunition, causing serious and often fatal injuries to those suffering the wrath of the United Kingdom. Designed after the Novikov War, where the shorter range assault rifles of the Royal Marines proved ineffective at longer range combat in open field, the L62 makes use of the compactness of the bullpup design while still sporting a full rifle length barrel and so is useful in both open field and urban combat scenarios.

The L62 features a free-floating barrel to help increase marksmanship, especially when used in conjunction with optical sights incorporating a 1x, 2x, and 5x zoom capable of overlaying different sets of data inputs. However, these technological advantages find themselves backed up by nothing short of the tried and true iron sights. Other issues taken into consideration were that of the ejection port for the spent shells, to best compensate for both right-handers and left-handers the weapon can be toggled to eject shells to either the right or left side.

Price: £535 Basic rifle ($1070); £990 Optical Sights ($1980)

Operators: United Kingdom: Royal Army, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force

L75 Evolved Combat Rifle (ECR)

Weight: 4.11kg
Barrel Length: 630mm
Overall Length: 895mm
Calibre: .280 (7x50mm)
Rate of Fire: 600 rd/min
Muzzle Velocity: 792 m/s
Muzzle Energy: 2948J
Max. Effective Range: 750m
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Feed: 24 or 36 round magazine
Mode of Fire: 1,2, Auto

Background

While the L62 rifle proved itself both versatile and lethal, the Ministry of Defence received numerous complaints from the Royal Armed Services concerning the significant recoil exhibited by the L62 and its manifestation in reduced readiness figures for combat units, as many soldiers received injuries from the use of the weapon during rigorous training and exercises. At the same time, the L62 proved in its limited time as a less than capable export model – though capable its heavy recoil served as a major detraction from the design. Consequently, the Royal Ordnance Company issued new directives for a new rifle design that could be successfully marketed as a battle rifle with lessened recoil compared to the earlier L62. Among the other necessary requirements, the ability to operated effectively at ranges close to the maximum effective range of the L62, 800 meters.

Design

The L75 is slightly longer than the L62, however, the L75 design consists of a high proportion usage of advanced, lightweight composites that provide resilience in the stress of combat and in the harsh environments to which the rifle is anticipated on being deployed. For the necessary machined parts, however, the rifle is built with high-grade steel and titanium alloys while the barrel makes use of advances in barrel coating technology and materials, primarily the vapour deposition process that coats the interior of the steel alloy barrel (containing chromium and molybdenum) with chrome for additional barrel life of approximately 12,000 rounds. The barrel is set in such a way to ‘free float’ in order to increase the accuracy of the rifle.


Like its predecessor, the L75 allows its operator to toggle between right and left ejection of spent shell casings. While the firing mechanism is of a conventional gas operated design, the pistol grip of the rifle contains a long-life battery that can supply power to those accessories requiring electrical energy. Such accessories, including imaging scopes, are attached to the rail system surrounding the rifle. Unlike the L72, which mounted only top and bottom rails, Royal Ordnance opted to provide a more modular design for the L75 that would allow its operator to utilise the various accessories (such as bayonets, grenade launchers, and other sensors) available to the Royal Armed Services. To do so, the L75 features rails on either side of the barrel.

Ammunition

In order to reduce the recoil of the L75 a reduction of calibre and muzzle velocity was necessary. After extensive field tests and computer simulations, Royal Ordnance decided upon a .280 round, 7x50mm. Initially hopeful on using a smaller 7x43mm round, the 7x50mm was deemed more powerful with the marginal increase in recoil deemed of negligible effect. However, the increased power of the round allowed the rifle to increase its effective maximum range to 750 meters, still shorter than the previous L62 but still adequate for use on large, open battlefields such as the United Kingdom’s various undeveloped colonies.

Currently, the primary round to be used by the Royal Armed Services will be one of a blended metal design, a system pioneered for Oceanian use by the L62. Its use allows for the infliction of serious and potentially mortal, if not outright fatal, wounds upon the enemy. With the significant power of the round, field tests have shown the rifle capable of penetrating advanced body armour at range. When coupled with the two-round burst, again retained from the L62, the L75 is likely to knockdown its targets if they have not been killed.

Accessories

The most important accessories for the basic rifle are the scopes, which would receive their electricity requirements from a long-life battery stored and thermally insulated by the pistol grip. Currently, Royal Ordnance is developing a series of grenade launchers and other sensor devices to attach to the rifle while also exploring refined bayonet designs for situations where such a fall-back option would be required.

Price: £620 Basic rifle

Operators: Currently none

L67 155mm Artillery Gun

Developed for the Royal Armed Services’ envisioned light-weight airmobile self-propelled howitzer, the L67 artillery gun provides an intermediate range weapon for rapid deployment with airmobile infantry units. With standard ammunition, the range of the gun currently sits at 36km – while not as long as heavier and longer gun systems, it is considered adequate for its intended function. The barrel is constructed of titanium alloys to conserve weight while the interior is coated with chromium through an electro-plating process.

Calibre: 155mm
Barrel Length: 42 calibres
Weight: 4.6t
Range: 36km (unassisted, maximum)
Rate of Fire: 8 rds/min (sustained); 10 rds/min (maximum, simultaneous impact)

Price: £0.965 million

Operators: United Kingdom: Royal Army

L52 135mm Tank Gun

At one time the standard primary armament onboard the Kvassen Kv.5 main battle tank, the L52 fires a power charge conventionally, not through electro-thermal chemical means. Designed before the prevalence of ETC guns in arms markets, the L52 provides defence companies seeking cheaper alternatives to much more expensive and resource/maintenance intensive ETC guns of similar calibre. The system entails an autoloader with most designs, providing gun crews with more protection – not having to be necessarily present to load the weapon – while also increasing the amount of firepower per time unit the L52 can provide as the heavier shells are more easily loaded by machine than man.

Calibre: 135mm smoothbore
Length: 57 calibres
Weight: 6.56t
Range: 7km (unassisted, maximum)
Rate of Fire: 7 rds/min (autoloader); 1-2 rds/min (manual)

Price: £0.635 million

Operators: United Kingdom: Home Guard, Colonial Defence Forces

L71 125mm Advanced Tank Gun

The L71 gun utilises an innovative design that vents the propellant gases within the breech to the vehicle exterior before the round has fully exited the barrel. While requiring slightly more complex machinery in order to time the release so as not to interfere with the exiting projectile. Consequently, the muzzle velocity of the projectile is not impacted while the recoil stroke of the gun is lessened by 75%. Similarly, the rate of fire for the gun can be increased by 60% while reducing, on the whole, the weight of the machinery and decreasing the temperatures within the barrel for increased longevity.

Additionally, to further increase barrel life, the production and manufacture of the L71 incorporates the latest in the application of next-generation materials to line the interior of the barrel. Specifically, the L71 replaces chromium with tantalum – a more expensive material, but one providing better results. Instead of electro-plating the material to the barrel, the L71 is coated through vapour deposition, a more even and uniform means of depositing the material along the barrel to provide increased longevity.

Calibre: 125mm smoothbore
Length: 50 calibres
Weight: 2.45t
Range: 5.7km (unassisted, maximum)
Rate of Fire: 19 rds/min (autoloader)

Price: £1.288 million ($2.576 million)

Operators: United Kingdom: Royal Army, Royal Marines

*bump*

*bump*

[OOC: Oceania, TG response please. And just for the record on what I think of this - your storefront has potential, so I may take some interest in and purchase. What I suggest for your benefit in the market, is that you try and organize it a bit more....]

*replied to the TG, thanks for the feedback, and a bump... an integrated response*

I would buy those rifles as I like them, except I just bought all that I need from IMW, but again, I like them nonetheless

*thanks, it is nice to know that at least I know my hard work pays off; I appreciate the comment*

*thanks, it is nice to know that at least I know my hard work pays off; I appreciate the comment*

Least I can do, as I know the feeling of everyone looking, yet no comments... I get that treatment with almost every design I've posted on the Draftroom

*I suppose, however, that one could look at a lack of comments in the Draftroom as a broad and implied seal of approval for a solid piece of work. Perhaps not revolutionary, but still quite good - as from what I can tell most people are quite willing to say when something has significant flaws and/or problems.

I have the same problem if you couldn't tell... I just like to try and put a half-positive spin on it.

And a bump for good measure.*

*I suppose, however, that one could look at a lack of comments in the Draftroom as a broad and implied seal of approval for a solid piece of work. Perhaps not revolutionary, but still quite good - as from what I can tell most people are quite willing to say when something has significant flaws and/or problems.

I have the same problem if you couldn't tell... I just like to try and put a half-positive spin on it.*
[OOC: Most people on the Draftroom are there to get their designs reviewed. And the reason why storefronts are used a lot on NS instead of domestic arms production (which occurs a lot IRL) - the majority of the NS role-playing community's people are either too lazy to design or ignorant. And also, people tend to comment on design flaws/problems that are more prominent to the common Draftroom Joe with a basic knowledge in the military. Usually the more tier designers will comment on the more subtle flaws.

Oh, and Azazia, TG response please.]

I understand that first point, hence why I post things on the Draftroom; I am trying to say however that at times it is frustrating when nobody posts any feedback but that I have come to realise such a lack of comments as a lack of serious or significant design flaws.

As for domestic arms production, I am not entirely sure that it would be safe to say it happens 'a lot' in RL. True, most industrialised and modern powers have the capacity to design and manufacture weapons systems - but many other nations depend upon defence companies from abroad to provide them with weapon systems. Or, more commonly, through its private companies a nation excels at one area of defence technology and prefers to specialise there and leave the procurment of technologies for other sectors to foreign-built products.

I think in NS, however, most nations could have significant defence industries. You, for example SEA, seem to try to frequently get me to purchase from other companies. The UK has over seven billion people and a thriving economy, and I think it unrealistic that Oceanian defence companies cannot produce top tier designs as those in storefronts just because I as the player behind the company cannot. But that there is when I start to agree with you to a point. I do think that most people in NS do not design their own weapons systems but not because most people are ignorant or lazy; I just believe they do not have the time to thoroughly research weapons technology given other commitments, in my case work and school. Not that that is a bad thing, mind you as I think most people agree this is but a game and a form of diversionary entertainment seconded to other commitments.

Anyways, consider that a long-winded response before I head out to work today.

I think in NS, however, most nations could have significant defence industries. You, for example SEA, seem to try to frequently get me to purchase from other companies. The UK has over seven billion people and a thriving economy, and I think it unrealistic that Oceanian defence companies cannot produce top tier designs as those in storefronts just because I as the player behind the company cannot. But that there is when I start to agree with you to a point. I do think that most people in NS do not design their own weapons systems but not because most people are ignorant or lazy; I just believe they do not have the time to thoroughly research weapons technology given other commitments, in my case work and school. Not that that is a bad thing, mind you as I think most people agree this is but a game and a form of diversionary entertainment seconded to other commitments.
[OOC: *face-palm* When I meant by the phrase 'a lot', was much more domestic production in real life, compared to the amount of procurement and exporting going around heavily to and fro. And not enough time? Oh please. Most of the NS role-players you see here are often somewhere in their teens, there still is sufficient time for liberty. Now with regards to the game, of course it's secondary-commitment, do you think I spend all my days on this non-natural amalgamation of electronics, metal, wiring, and plastic, to name among the few materials it consists of?

Now, onto the issue of recommedation of cooperating with foreign companies, the most recent of being the not-too-long-ago-privatized Imperial Praetonian Shipyards (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=469451) of......well, Praetonia (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Praetonia), as I'd figured that if Oceania had to partner Vickers with a foreign military company whether it liked it or not, it'd most likely go for IPS thanks to the incumbent political party (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Liberal-Tory_Party) (but the previous one (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Liberal_Imperialist_Party) anyway would have also appealed to His Majesty's Government and the Oceanian Parliament) of the government of the Praetonian Imperium's nigh-identical views of Lord Salisbury and his party, (i.e. liberal imperialism, laissez-faire capitalist economics, parliamentary democracy, to name a few) along with Praetonia's cultural resemblences, it'd be the best option. And also because I would like to see Oceania and Praetonia become close friends. Why do I keep recommending IPS for cooperation with Vickers and why do I wish for strong Praetonian-Oceanian ties like the Oceanian relations with the DCRP and GAURHE? For I ICly like consolidating all my interests into the same circle and make sure that the countries I associate myself with don't bicker with one another.]

It is seriously annoying at the lack of comments that most of my designs get, which is like one on a tiny detail problem, which I don't mind, but it'd be nice if people came through and said "Hey, looks good" so you at least know conciously that your design is sound. I personally try to do that where I can, and where I have some expertise (mainly aircraft) and hope my efforts get others to do it, but thus far, I've had limited success.