We kind of need to have portable machine guns if we're going to make decent gains or make SMGs before the Europeans can. We could probably just downsize our current artillery in Revision to make something that can kill armoured cars.
I don't think we need to downsize it even. It's an 80 mm gun with a decent firerate. Update the accuracy and you get an excellent tank gun.
Sure, updating the accuracy and making it direct fire would make an excellent anti-tank gun, but not an excellent anti-car gun. Cars move too quickly for our artillery to get a good shot off. More importantly, the place where they're most dangerous is the Jungle where we simply can't field the artillery due to its size. A smaller version will allow us to mount them on
defensive walls both in the Jungle and in the Mountains and let us field them in general more often.
A biplane with a single engine in push configuration, and two machine guns in front. Mortar tubes can be fitted on the wings, as improvised rockets. The engine configuration eliminates the need for complicated engine synchronization.
No. No way. There are many, many problems with this. First of all, we have absolutely zero experience with flight. None at all. We've developed no engine small enough or efficient enough for this, otherwise we would've put it in the tank. Our current machine guns are too heavy, we don't have any technology that allows them to be remotely fired, and the guns will have nothing to shoot at. Similarly, targeting anything with rockets - much less
improvised rockets - is a bad idea with such early plane technology. Finally, Moskurg infantry bear some powerful rifles which would easily damage and destroy the aircraft.
I vote for
designing a landmine. Anti-personnel but strong enough to damage Struunk
Good luck assaulting our jungle positions when everything is mined to hell. Will secure our positions in plains, too.
A landmine will be useful once we actually capture the Jungle or the Plains. If we deploy them before, we put heavy risk on hurting our own troops.
I think that our small arms are adequate for the current war situation. What we need is to stall enemy advantage in jungles or push further in the plains or both
I can't see much help from LMG in either of this roles. Our army is saturated with current machineguns and have an adequate small arms firepower.
The Moskurgians have proven multiple times that having a portable machine gun is a very advantageous thing to have. I will restate again that having a portable machine gun is very close to an SMG, a thing that if we develop we will be able to sell to the Europeans for a good price.
Glory to Arstotzka.
EDIT:
Usefulness of a semi-automatic battle rifle:
Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S. Patton
Usefulness of an SMG (the first practical one came out in 1918):
The firepower of this new class of weapons made such an impression on the Allies that the Treaty of Versailles specifically banned further study and manufacture of such light automatic firearms by Germany.