The proudest formation within the Martian Technate was, without question, its Defence Forces Artillery Brigade. Born barely a month after the declaration of the Martian Republic, during the turbulent march toward independence, the brigade became both symbol and backbone of Martian resolve. It was placed under the Special Defence Forces Corpuse, a designation reserved only for formations deemed essential to planetary survival.
While other brigades maintained limited artillery elements—most often restricted to mortars—the Artillery Brigade stood apart. It was trained and equipped for heavy artillery support across both ground and space. Where others maneuvered and held ground, the Artillery Brigade shaped the battlefield.
By the 24th century and beyond, space-adapted artillery had undergone evolution, hardened by the realities of interplanetary warfare. Weapons were redesigned to function amid vacuum, extreme temperatures, and fluctuating gravity. Out of this transformation emerged a clear division of purpose: ship-mounted railguns and ground-based howitzers. Each served a distinct role, each mastered by dedicated crews. Railguns dominated long-range orbital and deep-space engagements, while ground howitzers delivered overwhelming firepower in planetary conflicts, anchoring advances and breaking enemy formations with calculated precision.
Ship-Mounted Railguns
Magnetic propulsing shells were often non-explosive by design, intended instead for direct attack and deep penetration. Shipborne railguns relied on electromagnetic forces to impart extreme kinetic energy to their projectiles, needle-like rounds known as dart munitions. The dart itself, often referred to as a cumulative round, served as the primary ammunition of railgun systems. Its lethality lay not only in velocity, but in its chemical composition: upon impact, the material triggered an intense melting and boiling reaction, flooding the target’s interior with superheated, magma-like matter. Critical systems were reduced to slag in moments, ensuring catastrophic failure.
Railguns first entered widespread service in 2198 as ground-based direct-fire artillery, but by 2276 they had found their true calling in space warfare. In vacuum, their advantages became undeniable. Without atmospheric drag or friction, railgun projectiles required no aerodynamic stabilization, and their achievable velocities far exceeded anything conventional ground howitzers could deliver.
Because of their immense power requirements and physical scale, railguns were typically mounted on large combat vessels. The most widely deployed variant was the 70-millimeter class, which offered the optimal balance between compact design and devastating firepower. These weapons were commonly mounted along the frontal axis of a warship or beneath its ventral hull, allowing either direct forward strikes aligned with the ship’s vector or near-total freedom of fire. As with their ground-based counterparts, ship railguns were rarely frontline dogfighters; instead, they operated from the third line, supporting multi-cannon assault ships by delivering decisive, long-range blows.
The most prominent model of this class was the EMP-M70, mass-produced by the Martian Technate for its battle fleets. Originally conceived by engineers of the Martian docks during the Cold War with United LunaTerra, the EMP-M70 was designed as a dedicated fire-support weapon. Its first full combat deployment came within the Asteroid Belt, near asteroid (324) Bamberga, where it would earn lasting historical significance.
During an engagement involving the United LunaTerra sabotage vessel ULT–Song of Dynasty, which had launched an attack on a Martian Technate cargo ship, an EMP-M70 round struck the ship’s engine bay. The impact instantly paralyzed the vessel and violently altered its trajectory, sending it spiraling toward Bamberga. The Song of Dynasty crashed into the asteroid’s surface, carving a vast crater that would later be officially named Dynasty’s Fall—a silent monument to the arrival of railguns as the ultimate arbiters of space combat.
Railguns were, by their very nature, almost fully automated systems. Ammunition was loaded, transported, and chambered entirely by mechanical conveyors and internal transport belts that ran through the ship’s armored spine. From storage to firing rails, the shells never required direct human handling.
A single artillery officer was typically assigned to each system, not as a gunner, but as an overseer. Stationed within a sealed safe room, they monitored the railgun’s operation through camera feeds, diagnostic displays, and automated alerts, intervening only if the system detected abnormal behavior. In combat, the weapon itself calculated firing solutions, managed thermal loads, and regulated power flow, leaving the human presence as a final safeguard rather than an active hand on the trigger.
A more compact variant of the railgun, often classified as a mortar, is the EMP-M8.6, commonly mounted on bombardment ships. Unlike the EMP-M70, it employs a dedicated class of munitions closer in concept to ground-based howitzer shells, incorporating high-explosive chemical payloads rather than purely kinetic darts.
These mortar-railguns are designed primarily for atmospheric warfare rather than direct ship-to-ship engagements. Bombardment vessels remain high above the planet’s surface, beyond the reach of most conventional defenses, and use the EMP-M8.6 to deliver sustained air-to-ground strikes with precision and overwhelming force.
While the EMP-M8.6 systems are largely automated in loading, targeting assistance, and power regulation, they differ from their larger counterparts in one key aspect: firing authority. Unlike the fully autonomous EMP-M70, mortar-railguns require manual authorization and triggering by an officer, ensuring direct oversight over planetary bombardment operations.
Railgun Characteristics
EMP-M70 Electromagnetically Propelled Railgun
- Caliber (Diameter): D_{\text{railgun}} = 70\,\mathrm{mm}
- Elevation: -3^{\circ} to +75^{\circ}
- Rate of Fire: 2 per minute
- Projectilve Velocity: 1700 km/h to 2780 km/h (Depends on power)
Railgun Production
As stated above, the railguns are widely produced by the Martian Technate's officially licensed engineering corps, both EMP-M70 and EMP-M8.6 are licensed under "Kapitan Weaponship CO"
WIP