///From the author: this is intended to be another "living document" series, similar to the Ships of the Line post, and as the name suggests, it will show off bits of lore relating to the uniforms and equipment of the various factions in the Frontier Wars which make up the background of the eponymous segment of the Spacers Saga universe
The Interplanetary Defense Corps
Uniforms:
Notes:
The standard-issue duty uniform of the IDC as of 2389 is the Personnel Combat Utility System (PCUS, pronounced “pieces”), adopted in the early 2350s as part of the modernization program initiated by AEROCOM in the 2340s as a result of lessons learned during the Jovian Civil War (2325-2342). By the start of the Zharan Uprising in 2356, there were three main camouflage varieties in use, each designated SPACEPAT (short for “Spacer Pattern”) with a numeric tag of I, II, or III to delineate the different versions.
One of them was considered the standard camo pattern of FLEETCOM operations and is worn almost exclusively by spacers on operations aboard ships and by those in garrison at groundside fleet facilities, including bases and ports of call. The other two SOCAM varieties are designed for use by spacers of all other Combatant Commands, with a version meant for use in arid environments (i.e. Mars, Titan, etc.) and another meant for use in environments such as Earth and the various “grav balloon” cities of the Main Belt and elsewhere. These two varieties of SOCAM are also worn by INFORCOM spacers in garrison.
The last major detail of note in the PCUS uniform setup is the usage of color-coded berets to distinguish the combatant command of which the spacer in question is a part, a detail that has been transferred from the Old Earth militaries upon which the IDC is based. Examples include navy blue for FLEETCOM, forest green for INFORCOM, and crimson for the Military Police. Members of the elite Special Operations Command (SOCOM) are typically seen wearing the Yellow Beret unless they are of a specialized subcommand that uses a different color. So-called “Mustard Heads” are highly respected by other spacers.
Equipment:
M93A2 Combat Applications Platform (CAP)
Caliber: 5.3 x 37 mm SHREDDER (semi-caseless, optimized for armor piercing capabilities)
Dimensions: 64.1 (L) x 7.1 (W) x 22.5 (H) centimeters (in standard configuration)
Weight: approx. 2.8 kilograms fully loaded (approx. 2.1 kg unloaded)
Barrel length: 27.4 centimeters (1:16 rifling twist, with magnetic coil enhancement)
Feed system: double-stacked horizontally-fed 42-round detachable box magazine
Cyclic rate of fire: 900-1300 rounds per minute (gas cycle control-enabled)
Effective range: approximately 400 meters (maximum range for use - approx. 1 kilometer)
Standard sights: 1x magnification M193A3 holographic battle sight system
Backup sights: built in backup iron sights, adjustable to 200 meters
Additional features: vertical foregrip w/ integral snap-out bipod; built-in data readout
Primary manufacturer: the Rakshak Arms Corporation (based on Mars)
Notes: another entry in the SPACER 300 program (named for its planned completion date of 2354, the 300th anniversary of the IDC) which AEROCOM initiated in the mid-2340s, the M93 was designed over twenty years earlier for entry in the Advanced Combat Weapons Initiative which was intended to replace the aging stockpile of M71 rifles and carbines which had been designed beginning in the 2270s, and designed as far back as the Mars-Titan War (2292-2297). The program, although ultimately shelved by AEROCOM due to concerns arising from the necessities of the Jovian Civil War, ultimately produced at least one worthy design, the XM87, which would be refined over the 25 years that followed the program’s cancellation into the XM93, a flawed but ultimately workable version that was finally fielded as the M93 in 2343. The flaws in this initial design, many of which centered on the rifle’s attempt to marry semi-caseless ammunition with a magnetically accelerated firing system, were gradually worked out through extensive trial and error. By the introduction of the A2 variation in 2364, the weapon was considered a worthy tool for use by any spacer in the Corps
The Armada of the Free Worlds / Zharan Armed Forces
Uniforms:
Notes:
First fielded in 2343 as part of the Alliance of Free Worlds’ emergency military activation program of 2342-2347 (the first “five-year plan” the Alliance executed), the ARMADAPAT system is three-tiered. The basic "Fleet Grays" are worn usually on jumpsuits, much like Fleet duty uniforms in the IDC and ZAF. These jumpsuits are designed to be worn as a primary layer beneath an EVA suit and are therefore optimized for thermal protection and defense against air leakage and other threats to life and limb in the vacuum.
ARMADAPAT 2 and 3, the Arid and Temperate camo patterns, are worn on garrison uniforms or combat suits issued for deployments to various biomes. It is worth noting that the Temperate version of ARMADAPAT has a reputation for denoting Special Forces status, as most Alliance ops that would take their troops to Earth or the Belt orbitals are plausibly deniable, and therefore involve the Special Forces.
Unlike the Spacer Corps, however, the Armada does not delineate uniforms between different combatant commands and eschews the IDC’s use of color-coded berets to identify members of these different groups. As an organization built upon the notion of equity and brotherhood between all of its citizens, the Alliance sees these distinctions between members of its military as a basic affront to their sensibilities, and as a result, its military leadership chooses to avoid even specialized patches for different units.
Notes:
First fielded beginning in the early 2360s, only a few years after the Zharan Collective successfully split off from the rest of human society, the Zharan Armed Forces based its standard uniform system largely upon the Armada's camouflage system. Also a three-tiered camouflage system, with the IDC camo reporting names of Alpha, Beta, and DeltaPat, this system is typically printed on duty uniforms, coveralls, or as standard day-to-day service uniforms, or the external surface of combat armor and/or EVA suits.
It is worth noting that the example of AlphaPat shown here was obtained by SOCOM operatives working behind the lines in the mid- to late 2360s, as part of operations intended to establish a base of knowledge about the new Zharan Armed Forces’ strength and disposition. The other two examples you see were obtained after the Collective entered the Frontier Wars on the side of the Alliance, which allowed SOCOM to recover them in regular combat operations. The Spacer demonstrating the three examples wears contact lenses and face paint to simulate zharan facial distinctions.
On that note, another important fact about the zharans (and one vital to identifying a zharan’s background) is their predilection for facial markings, which usually denote social delineation. In this case, the red eye stripes and chin chevron denote the warrior caste, with unsubstantiated rumors suggesting that this is meant to be symbolic of zharan warriors being "up to the eyes" in the blood of their enemies.
Equipment:
Stg49 Standard-issue Armada Battle Rifle (SABR)
Caliber: 6.8 x 54 mm Thunderclap (optimized for anti-personnel capabilities)
Dimensions: 68.6 (L) x 6.6 (W) x 28.2 (H) centimeters (in standard configuration)
Weight: approx. 3.7 kilograms fully loaded (approx. 2.6 kg unloaded)
Barrel length: 45.9 centimeters (1:14 rifling twist, with magnetic rail built in)
Feed system: double-stacked vertical 30-round detachable feed system
Cyclic rate of fire: 700-800 rounds per minute (comes standard with 3-round burst)
Effective rate of fire: approximately 600 meters (maximum range for use - 1200 meters)
Standard sights: 1-7.5x magnification Type 34M2 Enhanced Combat Optic
Backup sights: built in backup iron sights, adjustable to half a kilometer
Additional features: removable handguard to allow underbarrel attachments
Primary manufacturer: Steyr-Tekiyo Military Arms Corporation (based on Titan)
Notes: the design that would ultimately become the Stg49 entered its research phase as early as the 2310s, and languished in development limbo for over twenty years due to the instability of the Jovian and Titan Civil Wars. When the Alliance of Free Worlds was incorporated from a union of secessionist republics in the outer system in 2341, the first thing they did was initiate a massive program of military spending which was intended to bring the new Armada of the Free Worlds up to a position more on par with the Spacer Corps. One of the programs that cropped up as part of this first five-year plan was the development of a new standard-issue weapons system, which settled on a Steyr-Tekiyo Corporation design that had been shelved for over two decades. The finalized design was adopted and first produced in 2349, hence the designation of Stg49, and has seen use across the tension of the mid-24th century, including the Draconist Wars (2325-2362) and the Frontier War (2371-2381). As of 2389, the Stg49 has been in use for nearly forty standard years, and owing to its exemplary service record and good reputation could be in use for another forty before requiring a replacement
More to come, when it's ready...
These are so great. You should do one just on the Zaharans!
Some notes on this post:
The content above would not be possible without templates sourced from three artists on DeviantArt: TheGrandAdmiralJoey, whose was work was the basis for the Alliance uniforms; EmperorGrieferus, whose uniform designs were the template for the Alliance uniforms; and DontForgetJeff, whose work provided a template for the Zharan uniforms