



By creating weapon-related art, I don't promote wars, murder or violence. Weapons are, and have always been, an important part of human evolution and they are interesting from the technological point of view, same as for example cars or electronics are. And remember: It's never the weapon itself who is responsible for crimes and murders committed with it, it's the person who pulled the trigger. When used responsibly, weapons don't have to be feared, shunned upon, or censored.

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R4E is a cutting-edge assault rifle designed by Estaran company Staris to be used by Estaran bio-engineered troopers. R4E is in fact an "electromagnetically assisted (EM) weapon," a hybrid between a conventional rifle and a railgun: The weapon fires sub-caliber sabot rounds using a conventional propellant (the rounds are in fact caseless, as the thin cartridge is perfectly combustible, so it isn't ejected from the weapon after firing) and the rounds are further accelerated by electromagnets to give them even more speed and penetration. This makes the weapon extremely deadly, with penetration comparable to real-life .50 caliber rounds, but fired from a weapon which is as light and compact as a standard assault rifle.The weapon is usually fired in a semi-automatic mode, as one round is more than enough to take down even armored troopers or light vehicles, plus the weapon itself is very accurate and the projecties travel faster than standard bullets, which makes hitting distant targets easier. Fully automatic mode with fairly low rate of fire is also available, but it's used only rarely, as this would be considered a waste of valuable (and fairly expensive) ammunition - this weapon is all about precision and the power of a single shot.Standard magazines hold 20 rounds, although longer, 30-round mags are also available. The rifle also holds a massive power cell in its stock, which powers the electromagnets and any power-requiring attachments attached to one of its rails.A small built-in display provides quick information about ammunition and energy cell status. The buttons next to the display allow the user to adjust power setting of the electromagnets, to disengage the lock holding the power cell in place in order to change it and to shut down the weapon energy systems completely when it's not being used.As mentioned above, the weapon doesn't eject empty shells fhen firing, however, there is an access port to the firing chamber which allows for some quick cleaning if necessary. The weapon can of course be disassembled for complete maintenance.The recoil is fairly significant, especially in fully automatic mode. That's why there is a series of recoil dampeners built into the stock, which negate a significant part of it, making the weapon comfortable to shoot and easier to control.This particular example is equipped with a hybrid sight consisting of a magnifying scope and a holo-sight, both of which are also made by Staris. Of course, many more attachments are available, in order to customize the weapon for various needs and combat situations. Attachments that require power (such as flashlights or holo-sights) don't require an internal battery, as they are powered by the power cell itself, if they are compatible with the powering system built into the rails.This is an "evolution" of my older design, the R2 Blaster Rifle.Some elements of it are inspired by real-life weapons, such as Steyr AUG A3 or MTAR. Unlike R2, this isn't a "directed energy weapon", but it's closer to conventional firearms, while still being somewhat futuristic and unique. I want to include this weapon in my sci-fi story "The Lost Sun" and I felt such weapon would fit the tech level of its intended users better than a directed energy weapon.This design also also sounds a bit more more believeable and achieveable in real life, although still purely speculational.