X-Com WeaponsX-Com's foundation was as much an anti-alien task force as it was an organization designed for secret international cooperation between nations. Designed originally largely for hostage rescue situations to allow for rapid reaction without need for political diplomacy by agreeing on it beforehand, or for combating international terrorist attacks between otherwise hostile nations, bypassing what could be weeks of diplomatic negotiations in otherwise time sensitive situations, X-Com was an organization designed for international cooperation, with secret agreements established on how to operate. Like how the Russians worked with the Americans during WWII, secret agreements to work with various countries in the event of an alien attack, hostage situations and other circumstances were established, with X-com serving as the basis of military operations. Many of the best soldiers in the world were naturally stationed at X-com for these purposes, with the elite special forces largely being used for hostage rescue situations. A percentage of DEVGRU, Delta Force, Spetsnaz Alpha, and similiar forces were stationed at the facilities, to provide what was needed for hostage rescue situations. Much of the equipment of the forces focused on close quarters combat, utilizing suppressed weapons for hostage rescue situations, and depending on the precision accuracy of the soldiers involved. The two main cartridges of the unit are the .458 SOCOM and the .45 ACP, both subsonic cartridges, however an additional .65 caliber cartridge is also used, in addition to a shotgun which fires the same .65 caliber cartridge, in addition to a number of specialty cartridges.This has lead to specialized weapons that are unusually large to accommodate these cartridges, and with integrated suppressors. Due to the immense size of these cartridges, the magazines only hold between 3-12 rounds on average, and soldiers carry very limited amounts of ammunition, requiring greater precision to be used correctly.
The same large cartridges, such as the 39-45 gram .458 SOCOM rounds, can be refitted to fire HEIAP, or High Explosive Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds with roughly the same composition as the .50 BMG Rauffus round, which is capable of penetrating over an inch of steel, and has been used extensively against the alien forces, being just over what is necessary to damage their extremely high strength alloy. The high power is countered by it's incredibly short range however, traveling at just 305 m/s, giving it an effective range of only a few hundred yards. The .45 ACP cartridge is roughly half the size, and travels at an even slower velocity, but is also HEIAP in nature. The sniper cartridge, battle rifle cartridge, and heavy machine gun cartridge are specialized .65 caliber, or 16.5mm rounds, originally considered as the main assault rifle round, but later disregarded given it's immense size and the ease of converting existing 5.56mm weapons to .458 SOCOM. While providing exceptionally good ballistics for a sub-sonic cartridge, being a sub-caliber aerodynamic dart, main predominately of depleted uranium to add additional armor penetration capabilities, it's large size and heavy recoil, as well as cost and complexity, meant it was largely disregarded in favor of the .458 SOCOM, largely being brought back during the alien invasion due to it's enormous power. While approximately the same weight as the .458 SOCOM and similiar cartridges, it is more aerodynamic and is better at armor penetration, being a saboted cartridge, and larger variants are available, which are up to 75 grams in weight. Generally most rounds are super sonic for the purposes of fighting aliens, however subsonic rounds were initially used. The shotgun is designed to fire this same .65 caliber round, however it naturally has a much shorter range and is substantially less accurate given that it is fired out of the larger barreled shotgun. Ordinarily inferior than other comparative weapons firing the same rounds, it's primary advantage is it's dual role as a special purpose weapon, used for door breaching, firing rifle grenades, and firing specialty rounds such as tear gas or explosive rounds, however it is generally outclassed by the larger and more powerful variants. It does have less recoil than the similiar battle rifle, making it somewhat easier to use, especially at close range, which provides a marginal advantage. Against the aliens, HEIAP rounds are used almost exclusively, given that the alien alloys are strong enough to generally stop most other human rounds. As firing a full sized .50 caliber round capable of penetrating their armor is implausible for infantry, the rounds are replaced by enormous low velocity bullets, meant for use at close range. This has worked in X-Com's favor, who's primary method of combat has been in close range, where they specialize. Against the higher strength armor of the enemies, even those enormous cartridges fall short, which will eventually necessitate their replacement.
X-Com's body armor is unique and covers most of the body, protecting them from shrapnel, handgun rounds and other threats. Being an incredibly high strength form of dynmeea with a ceramic outer coating, it is heavy, but is just barely able to stop normal rifle rounds, being perforated, or possessing small holes in it smaller than a bullet designed to stop enemy bullets from passing through, but make the armor lighter weight. This armor is far above what most soldier's use, and thus has given them an unusual advantage against the aliens, being able to sustain a few hits before succumbing to major or even lethal injuries. Nonetheless it is largely unable to stop the more powerful enemy's weapons, and thus stealth and skill are still required to defeat the aliens. If it was not for the alien's deliberately underarming the aliens the aliens they enslaved to do battle for them, they most likely would still be sufficient to defeat X-com soldiers. X-com forces are also selective in their combat choices, choosing to engage in battles that can be conceivably won, rather than ordinary open combat. This means picking enemies isolated from the rest of the aliens or that are present in small numbers, or in peculiar areas, thus giving them an advantage. The primary means of defeat of the enemy rests in the defeat in detail of the enemy, or defeating the enemy in small pieces, rather than fighting them head on all at once. The secondary objective rests in the reverse engineering of the alien's technology and it's capture. This is the only practical way to arm's earth forces with weapons sufficient to defeat them, and thus is a primary focus of X-Com.
Body Armor
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