6.45×42mm WA CTA
The 6.45×42mm WA CTA ('Faerber') is a proprietary cased telescoped ammunition cartridge developed by Wolf Armaments for the TECT Armed Forces. The Faerber is a derivative of the 6.5mm Grendel cartridge, which had been the primary rifle cartridge up until being phased out officially starting in 1995. Since the original inception of the 6.45 mm Faerber, Wolf Armaments has launched a series of ammunition based off the original Faerber concept. This project, known as the "Faerber Project," includes the 6.45 mm, 6.48 mm, the 7.58 mm, 8.20 mm, and 14.5 mm ammunition; other large caliber ammunition (20-80 mm) were also developed with or under the Faerber Project. The Project uses two design types for its ammunition; pistol and rifle cartridges (6.45-8.20 mm) are telescoped cartridges that use a new biodegradable polymer that replaces the majority of the casing and removes most traditional metal components. Larger cartridges (14.5-80 mm) use a fully cased telescoped cartridge design that encases just the bullet itself rather than a traditional cartridge design. Technically both deisgn styles would work if swapped with the other, but currently this is how Wolf Armaments produces ammunition other than its tank ammunition. Faerber is the primary rifle cartridge family used by the TECT Armed Forces, TECT police forces, and is popular among TECT civilians; Faerber is popular among other customers worldwide, both military and civilian. The goal of the Faerber line of ammunition is to reduce weight and size of ammunition while improving its capabilities further - reducing needed propellant, overall cartridge weight, and overall cartridge size are the key areas. This in turn increases the amount of ammunition that can be stored/carried, cheapens the cost of production and recycling, and revolutionizes the military ammunition industry. This newer technology has also improved the performance of the munitions by making them more efficient, better to store (more can stored due to size and weight reduction), and are safer to use.
In order to achieve these results, Faerber cartridges feature two unique improvements over traditionally older cartridge designs. The first is the casing design; it's a redesigned telescoped ammunition featuring a new polymer build that replaces metals in all but the casing's rim. Fully enclosed casings are built of a similar, but lighter, polymer that protects the larger bullet from outside forces; the end is a mesh of weaker polymer that breaks apart when ignited so that the bullet passes through without any resistance. The second feature is a new propellant that is a blended LOVA propellant. A RDX LOVA propellant reduces the amount of propellant needed to achieve maximum force, is stronger, producing improved performance, and has low sensitivity and vulnerability, making it safer to handle, store, and use. Additional features of Faerber cartridges are biodegradable polymer casings (recycling is streamlined and easy, so retrieval is suggested) that reduce harm to the environment if retrieved, easy markings to identify the cartridge type, and the use of blue glowing pyrotechnics for tracers. Simulation cartridges (simunition) are available in all calibers in marker, silent, and loud models.
The standard bullet used in Faerber cartridges (6.48-8.20 mm) is the "Standard Penetrator Bullet", or "SPB" for short. SPB's are steel cored with a zinc jacket enveloping the core.
Related Designs
6.45×42 mm
The 6.45×42, or the original Faerber design, is the 6.5 millimeter cartridge design used with numerous rifle designs. It was designed with weight and size management above all; at its time, it was a leap in ammunition technology in Commoner munitions manufacturing. The construction is similar to traditional modern firearms casings; it is a telescoped ammunition casing made out of a strong heat/weather/environment resistant polymer that replaces about ninety percent of the cartridge's metal. The polymer replaces the brass casing, other metal such as the rim and actual ball remain of traditional construction. Another leap in ammunition technology is the incorporation of low sensitivity, low vulnerability, and improved quality propellant, or otherwise known as LOVA propellant. The LOVA propellant, a RDX mix to be specific, is shown to increase the munition's velocity, have lower vulnerability, and overall improved operation characteristics; its more condensed construction means the cartridge requires less propellant to perform its mission. Because of the WA CTA's propellant and construction, the 6.5 mm (and other telescoped rounds of the series) are approximately 45%-50% lighter then their traditional brass counterparts. They are also about five percent smaller in volume as well, further increasing its slim characteristics. Tests have shown that velocity and discharge are significantly improved compared to more traditional cartridges - increasing their range and power.
A caseless design was first conceived as the replacement to traditional munitions, as would be the 6.5 mm. Commoner tests however eventually went with its polymer design based on results of tests that were conducted with prototype caseless cartridges. Issues included casing damage, malfunctions, misfires, and a variety of other ignition failures. Instead of hammering out the design further, Wolf Armaments designers went back to the idea of its polymer telescope case. The Faerber is the primary small arms cartridge used by soldiers in the TECT Armed Forces, as well as being heavily used by police forces on a national and local stage. Private citizens, hunters, and other entities also enjoy the use of the Faerber. Foreign governments have also bought into the Faerber - governments such as Ossoria purchasing large amounts of the ammunition for its armed forces and police units. The Faerber fits into standard magazines like traditional ammunition and can be fitted on belt systems.
6.48×28 mm
The 6.48×89 millimeter is a small caliber, high velocity, pistol and personal defense weapon (PDW) cartridge. Like the rifle version it is based on, the construction is similar to traditional modern firearms casings; it is a telescoped ammunition casing made out of a strong heat/weather/environment resistant polymer that replaces about ninety percent of the cartridge's metal. The polymer replaces the brass casing, other metal such as the rim and actual ball remain of traditional construction. Another leap in ammunition technology is the incorporation of low sensitivity, low vulnerability, and improved quality propellant, or otherwise known as LOVA propellant. The LOVA propellant, a RDX mix to be specific, is shown to increase the munition's velocity, have lower vulnerability, and overall improved operation characteristics; its more condensed construction means the cartridge requires less propellant to perform its mission.
The change begins with casing and ball size; the casing is shorter and the ball larger then most traditional balls. The heightened velocity is a change from more common nine millimeter ammunition, which both lack penetration and uselessly slugs energy at targets. Focusing on penetration, the 6.45 is designed to travel at high velocity in order to penetrate body armor; the base military standard version is capable of penetrating level IIIA body armor at about two-hundred and fifty meters. The armor piercing version is capable of penetration of stronger armor at similar ranges. 6.45 are also designed for safety and the decreasing of collateral damage; the lightweight projectile limits over penetration and ricochets - it loses much of its kinetic energy pass four-hundred and fifty meters, lessening more the potential collateral damage the bullet can produce at such ranges. The maximum range is one-thousand and eight-hundred meters while the effective range is around two-hundred meters. Multiple variants of the cartridge exist including mentioned above variants, hollow point, civilian/sport, tracer, and subsonic variants.
The 6.45 is very popular among police, security, and civilian shooters. Military and multiple police forces around TECT use the cartridge in standard pistols, CQW's, and rifles that fire such cartridges. 6.45 cartridges are very popular on the civilian, military, and foreign markets.
7.58×54 mm
7.58×54 mm is a 7.6 mm Faerber; it is identical in almost all fashions to the 6.5 mm version and is often called the 'Faerber Mk. 2 (or just '2')'. The 7.6 mm is designed to be used in larger rifle weapons, such as machine guns and sniper rifles - therefore, Wolf Armaments created 7.6 mm with the exact same technology behind the 6.5 mm. Its improved qualities for weight and size follow over from the 6.5 mm - its improved propellent performance also the same. The Faerber II is the standard cartridge for DMRs and sniper rifles, light machine guns, and other rifle systems. It is used most often in the [TECT Armed Forces] as a medium machine gun cartridge for the LSW MareV2 and similar systems. The Faerber II fits into standard magazines like traditional ammunition and can be fitted on belt systems.
8.20×60 mm
8.20×60 mm is an eight millimeter heavy assault rifle cartridge part of the Faerber line of assault rifle cartridges. It is identical in most fashion to the earlier 7.58 and 6.45 in its construction; the difference begin in the shaping of the cartridge, which has a larger base to accustom more propellant. The .30-06 Springfield was the initial inspiration for the 8.20, considering its long history of effectiveness. 9.68 was designed initially as a possible replacement to earlier seven millimeter cartridges; the conversion never came, leaving designers to design cartridge for the Nashorn CAR, which serves as a "heavy automatic assault rifle". As a large caliber round, the 8.20 draws its design heavily from the .30-06; key features include a thicker base, larger rifle bullet, and additional propellant. 9.68 wasn't designed for use in general infantry, but rather for supporting forces using stationary arms such as marksmen rifles and machine guns; it now serves as a machine gun round for medium machine guns, marksmen rifles, and sniper rifles. Wolf Armaments claims the 8.20 is "shy from a heavy machine gun cartridge", meaning it has improved range, penetration, and stomping power compared to its 7.58 round, but it doesn't match up compared to 12.7mm rounds.
14.5×114mm (WA 14.5 mm)
The 14.5×114mm (WA 14.5 mm) is a heavy machine gun/anti-material cartridge designed as the first tier of fully cased telescoped rounds. It is very similar to the Russian 14.5×114 mm (.57 Cal) cartridge for which it is based on. 14.5 mm WA is used by the TECT Armed Forces for its heavy machine gun systems, anti-material weapons, and other heavy weapons. It is often called the 'Faerber Mk. 3 (or just '3', as in 'Faerber III')'. The Faerber III uses a cased telescoped ammunition design that surrounds the ball projectile instead of traditionally being attached in a brass like configuration (as with smaller Faerber cartridges). The polymer case protects the internal components, which are the bullet, the same configuration of LOVA propellant, and smaller propellant cups adding additional propellant force. It features a primer cap instead of a traditional metal rim; its operation is not changed though as it is designed to work with rotary bolts (like the traditional Russian KPV and the Commoner SMJ. The Faerber III shares many statistical boosts that previous Faerber cartridges have; it is 45% smaller then its traditional Russian design, as well as 5% smaller in volume - it has improved velocity and propellant safety as well. There are currently three variants of the Faerber Mk. 3:
AP14: The AP14 is an armor-piercing full metal jacket round with a tungsten-carbide (Tungsten-Cobalt alloy) core. It weighs about sixty-three grams and has a muzzle velocity of one-thousand and three meters per-second. Armor penetration at five-hundred meters is up to thirty-five millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) at zero degrees. Similar to the Soviet B-32 standard AP round - the AP14 differs by excluding the incendiary aspects for added performance capabilities, choosing to penetrate over any additional damage done possibly after penetration. A tracer variant of the AP14 allows for a two-thousand five-hundred meter burn.
AP14-B: An incendiary variant to the AP14 - the AP14-B offers an incendiary high explosive compartment that is off-timed to explode mere milliseconds on contact rather then directly on contact. This slight delay allows for the bullet to begin digging into a target before exploding - if the bullet fractures to the point of hitting the explosive compartment before the trigger receives the signal to detonate, the explosion will happen at that moment rather then later. Although usually unnoticed, this change in design can cause serious damage to armor by exploding while still penetrating the armor, causing major damage to it. If the round penetrates fully without the explosion happening yet, it will directly explode inside the target. The affect on ground is almost exactly the same as normal explosive tips, as well as heavier armor, which will often explode even faster as penetrations is very little to minimal. AP14-B's weigh about sixty-three grams and have a muzzle velocity of nine-hundred and eighty-two meters per-second. Armor penetration at five-hundred meters is up to thirty-two millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) at zero degrees. The tracer variant for the AP14-B can burn for two-thousand five-hundred meters.
HE14: The HE14 is a high-explosive full metal jacket incendiary bullet that uses an instant action detonation tip. The intention of the bullet is to explode on impact, rather then to penetrate, causing shrapnel and force damage. Although not very capable of penetrating most hard armors - HE14 rounds can easily tear apart flesh, light skinned vehicles, and many aircraft build materials. The goal of this round is to explode upon impact, causing an explosion which sends shrapnel along with explosive force to anything nearby. For ground targets, HE14's blow apart people on direct hits or explode on surrounding surfaces, sending shrapnel and broken debris onto intended targets - they essentially maim their targets to death using shrapnel and explosive force in order to destroy targets, rather then an instant penetration of one projectile. Against aircraft they often penetrate just before exploding depending on the type of aircraft targeted; aircraft are especially at risk of HE14's as exploding incendiary shrapnel can be deadly as shrapnel could shred the air frame or kill pilots or the very possibility of actually blowing holes into air frames. HE14's weigh about fifty-nine grams and has a muzzle velocity of one-thousand and fourteen meters per-second. A tracer variant of allows for a two-thousand five-hundred meter burn.