BR8-A1 Blaster Rifle

The Decuu BR8-A1 "Wolverine" Blaster Rifle was the standard issue blaster rifle for the ground forces of the Black Star Confederacy from mid-18 ABY.

The BR8-A3 was a result of a long design process, during which the designers examined blaster carbines and rifles from across the galaxy, taking the best concepts and combining them into one rifle.

The basic BR8-A1 was 66 cm long, and weighed 4.0 kilograms. All moving and/or metal parts were fitted with a corrosion-proof, vacuum-rated, dry lubricant, and the rifle utilized advanced galven circuitry to compress the energy beam to reduce energy loss, and sophisticated cooling units prevented overheating even in automatic mode. Additional collimating rings and the longer conduits of advanced galven circuitry provided the BR8 with improved consistency in their shots. It also featured an adjustable folding stock. The blaster rifle could be calibrated to fire in semi-automatic, automatic, and burst-fire modes, and featured a power setting going from stun to anti-material, with ranges going from 800 metres to 2 kilometres.

It used sig gas as propellant, increasing its lethality immensely.

The cartridge was located above the trigger-guard, being slid into place there, giving the BR8-A1 a very low profile (useful when shooting prone or from a barricade). The weapon's sig gas cartridge carried enough gas for up to 500 shots, depending on the power settings of the weapon. The lowest setting managed 500 rounds per cartridge, and these bolts were equal in power to the E-11 blaster. The settings then went up to a rifle-power shot that had longer range, but used more energy. The anti-material shot ate up a clip in 20 shots, with a range of 2 kilometres, but could not be fired repeatedly, or used in the automatic setting. The length of the trigger pull determined the firing setting, while a knob controlled power settings. Its power-charge magazines ionized the gas into charged plasma within its ignition chamber. These bolts would then be accelerated out of the rifle electromagnetically. On higher settings, the rifle's powerful blue plasma bolts were more than capable of penetrating the armour of most infantry droids, and because of the hyper-ionization, they were exceptionally effective against droid targets. On maximum power, a shot from a BR8 could leave a 0.5 meter hole in any ferroconcrete wall; however, firing at maximum power demanded a higher rate of power consumption; while on the lowest power setting a BR8 cartridge would last for 500 shots, just twenty maximum power shots would deplete the cartridge.

The top of the receiver had a universal, quick detach sight rail, which came from the factory with an electronic sight, that offered an adjustable x4 to x10 power magnification. In addition, the sight could interface with the helmets of Confederate troops to project a graphical gunsight on the clone trooper's helmet display, complete with a rangefinder and automatic calculation of windage- and elevation-adjustments.

The blaster could be outfitted with ascension cable projectors to climb up walls or cliffs. It also featured a a barrel mount that could be fitted with either a glowrod or a vibro-bayonet, and an integral under-barrel grenade launcher that used various types of proprietary grenades; these included high-explosive, anti-tank, EMP, stun, concussion and thermal grenades.

Despite its size, it did just as well on open battlefields as in close combat in the cramped confines of indoor structures or starship corridors.

The "Wolverine" began to replace the BR7-A3 "Vampire" blaster rifle from mid-18 ABY, but the "Vampire" remained in use for years after that.