The magnetic pulse canon (MPC), are more accurately, the tuned magnetic pulse rapid fire cannon, is a variant of the magnetic accelerator cannon, or MAC gun which uses a series of electrometric coils to accelerate a ferromagnetic body down a tube.  While MAC guns were designed for defense of large fortifications or space platforms, MPCs were designed for mobile use.  The major difference, however, is how the MPC accelerates the projectile.  The MAC gun sends a large pulse of current through a series of coils and the magnetic force created by each coil pulls the projectile forward.  The pulse at each coil must be timed perfectly, with the first coil turning off and the second coil turning on so that the projectile is pulled and accelerated down the tube.  Coils take time to reach full power after the pulse is sent, so the pulse must start before the projectile has reached a particular coil. After the projective has reached the opposite side of the coil, the pulse must dissipate quickly and the next coil in the sequence must power up to continue the process. 

     Dr. Henryk Savaard developed a process in 2160 where the projectile is constructed of sectioned ferrous materials where each section has a certain magnetic frequency.  As it is fired down the tube, all of the coils are on, and as the projectile passes the each coil, the coil is turned off by the frequency of the section of the projectile it is tuned for.  No time or energy is wasted waiting for the successive coils in sequence to power up.  Where the MAC guns had projectiles that weighted some 1500 tons and a rate of fire on 1 round every 6 minutes, the MPC projectile is only 1.23 kilos with a rate of fire of 100 to 120 rounds per minute.  The actual number of magnetically tuned sections in each projectile is classified, but MPCs have 22 coils down the length of a 72 centimeter barrel, which has a 650,000 round lifespan.  The standard 30mm lead projectile is outclassed by the MPC projectile in many regards, the most important of which is the amount of energy the MPC projectile delivers to the target.  One MPC projectile is as effective as 6 to 8 standard 30mm rounds due to its 4688 m/s muzzle velocity.  The MPC may be set for single round fire or two round burst mode; while full automatic mode is available, it is rarely used.  The MPC is designed for encounters with armored vehicles, aircraft, and hardened structures.  The MPC-P-S-TF projectile has armor penetration of 1614mm at 1000 meters and 802mm at 3750 meters.  Maximum range is over 8000 meters and accuracy is 90% of rounds fired at 3200 meters hit within a 1.8 meter radius.  The accuracy of the MPC-P-S-FS projectile is 85% of rounds fired at 3000 meters hit within a 200 mm radius. 

Projectiles

The tuned projectiles are all 30mm x 250 mm and are available as follows:

MPC-P-S-TF       Slug-type, tungsten ferrosodium

MPC-P-S-FS       Slug-type, tungsten ferrosodium, fin stabilized

MPC-P-X-TP       Slug type, tungsten ferrosodium, target practice

MPC-P-R-HE       Sabot rings of tungsten ferrosodium, inner core of HE

MPC-P-R-VX      Sabot rings of tungsten ferrosodium, inner core of Malaoxon VX Agent

MPC-P-R-MI       Sabot rings of tungsten ferrosodium, inner core of Magnesium Incendiary

MPC-P-S-TP       Slug type, tungsten ferrosodium, target practice

      The Malaoxon VX rounds were developed in response to the chitin-shelled lizard hybrid threat in Malaysia of 2168 but are no longer produced; stockpiles still exist however.  The MPC-S-TF rounds are currently being phased out for the fin stabilized upgrade, but much of the remaining stockpile has been transferred to Ventures Beyond (VB) security forces.

 Mounting Variants & Feed Mechanisms

MPCs come in a variety on feed and mount configurations.  Left and right hand feeds, single and twin mounting, line-of-sight, automatic, remote, and helmet controlled firing, are all available.  Models are as follows:

MPC-M-S-LH-xx  Single mount, left hand feed, xx = Firing Mechanism

MPC-M-S-RH-xx Single mount, left hand feed, xx = Firing Mechanism

MPC-M-T-Naval  Twin Mount, left & right hand feeds, remote controlled firing

xx is defined as:

LS – Line of Sight (Iron Sight) firing mechanism

AS – Automatic firing mechanism (Deployed at unmanned locations)

LS – Remote firing mechanism (Controlled from LHD panel)

HC – Helmet controlled firing mechanism (Deployed in mobile configurations)

 Feed Mechanism

     The unique feed mechanism was developed by Ardath Bay of Cairo Munitions in 2169.  Depending on the variant, 250 or 500 projectiles are loaded into a cylinder canister with an attachment to the feed chamber which is self lubricating.  Canisters can be replaced manually or automatically while the MPC is firing.  The projectiles are actually pulled into the feed chamber by the first coils magnetic pulse. 

                                                                                     - David C. Gann, Senior Archivist / Cook