The standard infantry weapon has seen remarkably slow progress since the introduction of the automatic rifle in the 20th century, making incremental changes here and there while often regressing under the arguably flawed adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The N/KR-223, colloquially known as the “Switchback”, was envisioned by MARS Consolidated to push weapon design out of its rut, representing a culmination of years of technological advancements in a single cohesive unit.
The KR-223 is the basis of a line of infantry weapons, ranging in caliber and size from the shorter-barreled UKR-223 close-quarters SMG to the MR-308 sniper rifle. While each has unique characteristics, they share most of the KR-223’s quality-of-life features, as well as its distinctive dual-magazine housing.
The Switchback’s twin magazines are a product of the Nexacor Suppression, one of many radical shifts in design doctrine that arose from the conflict. When facing a horde of nexacors, an infantry unit’s best hope of survival was maintaining a high rate of fire. Every second a soldier spent not firing their weapon put them in more danger.
To that end, the Switchback was originally designed to be reloaded while also being fired. When the rear magazine, which feeds into the firing chamber, was ejected, the forward magazine was automatically pushed into the rear position and a round was chambered. The operator could then load a fresh magazine into the forward magazine well while continuing to lay down fire.
Despite being the key characteristic of the Switchback, this ability required significant training and skill to execute properly, and could not be performed unless the rifle was properly braced so the user’s non-dominant hand could be used to load a magazine rather than stabilize the weapon. This worked well enough during the Suppression, when infantry typically operated from within static fortifications, but the Frontier Disputes required greater mobility that largely negated the function.
Soldiers fighting in the Disputes quickly discovered that the mechanism could be disabled with relative ease to prevent the forward magazine from automatically slotting into the rear well. This allowed them to keep the forward magazine in reserve for a fast reload in emergencies simply by pushing it into place, but otherwise enabled them to reload normally. Soon after, MARS upgraded the weapon’s design to make this hack an intentional feature, separating the actions of ejecting the rear magazine and loading the forward magazine into discrete inputs on the release lever.
While the twin magazines are certainly the Switchback’s most unique identifier, it is loaded to bear with other technology to ensure maximum accuracy, efficacy, and ease of use. The plastic cowling around the barrel and receiver also houses a recoil damping system, integrated suppressor, and a sophisticated targeting suite that communicates ranging and environmental information to the user’s HUD. The rear of the shell displays the number of rounds remaining in the active magazine, and numerous mounting points and rails span the weapon’s length to accommodate straps, scopes, and other attachments. A small battery pack is mounted in the stock to maintain the onboard and attached electronics, and is kept charged by the kinetic energy of the recoil damper.
As the name implies, the KR-223 fires .223-caliber rounds (based on an archaic measurement system the Navy maintains, it seems, purely out of tradition). These rounds, like most Navy ballistic weaponry, are propelled by caseless cartridges. Though the Switchback appears to have ejection ports similar to those found on cartridge-ejecting weapons, these in fact serve to aerate the firing chamber after each shot, and can be locked open using either charging handle in case of a jam. Also rather uniquely, both sides of the weapon have an aeration port, and either can be set as the active port depending on the user’s handedness.
At the height of the Naldim War, the entire Switchback line was upscaled to contend with the Naldim’s natural resistance to small arms fire. While the UKR remained .223 caliber, the KR and MG were upgraded to .308 rounds, the MR sniper rifle to .50 caliber rounds.
Copyright 2022 Richard Patton
Voyager Dawn 