Since I did a bit of an Area Brief for Kill Yuan, I thought I’d give a little run-down of most of the weapons used in the novel. Since this isn’t a Praetorian novel, things are going to be a little different.
Graphics heavy post ahead, because who doesn’t like a little gun porn?
MMPR, the company that employs the mercenaries, issues all the same equipment, for ease of logistics and commonality of both cartridges and magazines. The primary rifle is the Sig Sauer SG 553, a commando variant of the SG 550. It’s a 5.56×45 NATO rifle, in use by the Swiss as well as numerous armed forces in Southeast Asia (which is a large part of why it was chosen). Designated Marksmen use the SG 553 LB.
In keeping with the rifle, the chosen sidearm is the P226, Sig Sauer’s classic 9mm Parabellum service pistol.
For light fire support, they’ve gotten their hands on a handful of Ultimax 100s, Singaporean light machine guns in 5.56 NATO.
Yuan’s pirates use a large variety of weapons, though most are Chinese in origin. There are a lot of Type 56 Chinese AKM clones in use.
There are also more than a few Type 63 SKS rifles floating around.
Since the core of the pirates are Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy defectors, there are a few QBZ-95 service rifles among them. The QBZ-95 is a Chinese-developed bullpup firing the 5.8x42mm cartridge.
A few, including Nong Song in the first chapter, have pistols, mostly the QSZ-92, another Chinese development. The 92 chambers either the 5.8x21mm or the 9x19mm Parabellum.
The pirates have several different machine guns at their disposal, including Chinese Type 67s, Russian PKP Pechenegs and DShKs, and Singaporean CIS .50s.
(Seen above: a Singaporean CIS 50)
Shang Wei Feng Kung’s Jiaolong commandos use a combination of weapons. Trying to maintain a relatively low, somewhat deniable profile, they use Singaporean 5.56 NATO bullpup SAR 21 rifles, though they are all well trained on the QBZ-95 as well.
Most of Feng’s commandos continue to use their QSZ-92s as their sidearms, though they have a few South African Vektor SP1s for more deniable operations. The SP1 is a 9mm in use by the Singaporean Commando Formation, making them common enough and not overtly Chinese to the casual observer.
So, there’s a quick rundown of the more prominent firearms that will be featured in Kill Yuan. Though there might be some new ones cropping up; after all, the first draft isn’t quite done yet.