Infantry Customization Idea

As we have come with ideas on how to make our tanks a little more tankier and our ships a little bit more awesome. I think it is time to look at the infantry. This is a draft of what I had in mind that maybe a new infantry system would look like. What do you guys think?

Squad size (maybe this will give more or less slots for support weapons)

Small (2-3 men)
Best suited for special operations or specialized troops. Allow stealth approaches and easier mimetization, but at the same tame requires highly trained troops to use those potentialities, and there is a limit at the support weapons carried.

Medium (5-8 men)
Allows for the squad to carry a number of different weapons, increasing its effectiveness on the battlefield and its firepower. Although still able to carry spec ops, the stelth capabilities are far minor.

Large (10-15 men)
A unit with serious fire power , can carry multiple support weapons and act as a breakthrough shock unit. The drwback is that is virtually impossible to carry covert operations with units of this size, and advanced tactics are troublesome to carry over, due to the command problems of such a large group. However is perfect to organize militia or conscript units, making for lack of training with concentrated firepower.


Main weapon

Submachine gun
A small sized firearm capable of full automatic fire, sturdy, reliable and with an high firepower. The small caliber of the cartridge dictates for its short range and penetrating value, while enabling the soldier to carry large amounts of it and being a deadly combatant in close quarters.

Battle rifle
A weapon using full power ammunitions, such as 7.62x51mm caliber. Packs quite a punch and is reliable and precise on the long range in semiautomatic mode. It is an heavy weapon to carry around, and the ammo provisions are limited. In close quarters, its size makes difficult to effectively defend himself.

Assault rifle
An intermediate weapon, using half sized cartridges. Suitable for both medium and short distance fightings, thanks its controllable recoil. Size, although variable from model to model, is not a great obstacle to the infantryman mobility.


Support weapon

LAW
Shoulder fired antitank missile, is deadly against light armoured vehicles or proptected positions, but useless versus main battle tanks. Its unguided and has a short range, requiring a skilled marksman to succesfuly hit a target at maximum ranges.

ATGM
A guided missile, its long range and deadly warhead make it a menace for even the most armoured vehicles. The wire controlled missile requires a steady hand and eye to control it, meaning also that the round has to be followed during all the flight trajectory. Other drawbacks are the limited round disponibility, and the need to predispose a firing position prior to his utilization.

Recoilless rifle
The recoilless rifle is in all aspects a portable artillery piece, that uses an ingegnous system that cancels the backward thrust of the fired shot by letting some gases escape from the rear of the weapon. Enabling a squad to deliver a powerful explosive or HEAT round at long distances, is a powerful weapon in the right hands. It is however far heavier than other similar role weapons (in fact its usually fired from tripods) and requires extensive maintenance.

Grenade launcher
Enabling the owner to land high explosive shells at quite a large distance, this weapon is a valid instrument during infantry clashes. It can also be used to launch smoke or incendiary rounds. The carrying soldier can't carry other weapons, apart from his personal sidearm, making him somewhat vulnerable in CQC.

Rifle launched grenade (maybe this doesn't occupy a support weapon slot)
The same concept of the grenade launcher, but it doesn't require a specialized weapon. The rifle is fitted with an adapter to enable the use of this round. Range and precisions are smaller than the ones of a grenade launcher, but with an higher ammo capacity.

Flamethrower
A gruesome and deadly weapon, designed to inflict damage to the spirit other than burn the flesh. Extremely effective against bunkers or other protected positions, it might backfire on the users, annihilating the carrying squad if hit.

MANPADS
Shoulder fired heat seeking antiair weapon. Its small size and low accuracy make it almost useless against fast flying planes, but is a deadly weapon against helicopters.


Company deployed weapons (choose one? also maybe enable them only for large sized squads regiments)

Light mortars
Mobile and precise, those weapons can give support fire to squads needing it, and relocate in the turn of minutes to hit another position. Their small caliber and explosive charge make them almost useless against heavily protected positions or armoured vehicles, not to menation their negligible range, but their light weight mean sthat they are well suited for light infantry or heliborne troops. Its indirect fire trajectory makes it useful to dislodge entrenched troops.

Heavy mortars
Medium range, hard hitting and fast firing artillery pieces that can deal some damage to a large area. Capable of disabling a light tank with a direct hit to his upper armor, or to rain fire over obstacles and buildings. Not exactly precise, they need a costant ammo supply to carry on their duty, and have mobility issues.

HMG squad
A big, fast firing and powerful long range machine gun. Able to provide support fire from the distance, pinning down whole squads if used correctly in the right conditions. Light vehicles and helicopter are also easy prey of this bad boy. It's extremely vulnerable to close range attacks, and almost useless in urban environments.


Transports

Jeep
Fast and nimble, it permits the fast movement of troops over a number of different terrains. Somehow stealty, is well suited for small squads conducting harassing missions behind enemy lines. It can't carry large numbers of infantrymen, or heavy weapons.

Truck
Large and cumbersome, is a cheap way to move large numbers of men in a fast way from a place to another with their support weapons. In case of attack, the best thing the passengers can do is bail out and run to some cover, since the protection is virtually unexistant.

Armoured personnel carrier
Lightly armored, offers the passengers protection from small arms fire. Antitank weapons or mines can turn it into a death trap, though.

Transport helicopter
The modern day light cavalry. Fast and long ranged, it's well suited for surprise attacks, fast response or long range raids, giving the regiment a never reached deployement flexibility. It has its drawbacks, though: is vulnerable to small arms fire, not to mention MANPADS; its carried loads are insufficent to transport the heavier support weapons; needs suitable landing zones; its small numbers means that several trips are needed to carry a whole regiment. Nonetheless, used the right way in the right circumstances is a micidial tool.

Specialization

Different specializations, each one enbling the troops to bring different weapons, so to avoid having paratrropers launching with heavy mortars slinged on their backs.

I agree with all but squad size. Good work!

Lets go trough this again, the current systems were created with simplification in mind, if we now have to design every ship, plane, tank AND infantry squad we might as well return to the old systems

What a spiffy system! (No actual idea what spiffy means. Squire used it for Earl Grey Tea, so it must mean something good, I guess.)

May I suggest:
DMR`s
Sniper rifles
Land mines
c4
Miniguns
shotguns
Grenades?

No squad would be equipped with a minigun, and grenades are pretty much bog-standard kit. Other ideas are pretty good though.

I guess that shotguns and SMG fall under the same role. And yes, a sniper rifle and a general purpose demolition equipment will do good.

I think support weapons are fine. Maybe some more snipers.

Id say you get 1 main and 1 support and a truck as your standard equipment. Want more/ a different transport? Pay up.

Also, transport helicopters should require you to research Helicopters first.

Indeed

Yuriski wrote:No squad would be equipped with a minigun, and grenades are pretty much bog-standard kit. Other ideas are pretty good though.

Depends on the squads purpose, Some American soldiers carried miniguns back in num

Nam*

Vietnam**

Maybe we can remove the squad size problem and add unit size.

A highly elite unit such as paratroopers, marines, mountain rangers etc would have to be 500 kerbs per unit. A standard unit would be 2000 and a massive conscript unit would be maybe around 3000-4000.

The 3000-4000 kerb units would be faster to train but have a much worse standard than normal units. They are only really good in very large numbers and as reserves in a war. Their advantage is to overwhelm enemy defenders but at heavy casualties. They are not good at defending at all since they lack any sufficient training.

The 2000 kerb units. Your standard every day unit, it has a medium level training.

The 500 kerb units. Highly elite units that can carry out infiltration in other nations with high success. They also excell as marines, mountain troops and paratroopers. This would replace the special forces unit in the sense that you can specialise their loadouts to your liking. However if you put too much weight on let's say a paratrooper, he will do worse at his mission due to the fact that they are designed as light infantry.

Maybe every tier downwards means you can have another support weapon?

Yeah that could work

That way youd automatically get special forces too, which is good