Weapons of Stargate Command

[zebo]

Does anyone know why they introduced the P90 and why the introduced a larger weapon toward the end of both SG1 and Atlantis? I saw no p90's in Universe.

[General Jumper One]

change is good.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

In universe the explanation for the p90 being brought in was because it has better amour piercing qualities as it uses the 5.7mm round, rather than the 9mm of the MP5, hence it was a better weapon to use on the Jaffa and Unas.

From a production standpoint, it was adopted because it was a very scifi looking weapon, and it was liked by the actors and stuntmen, as it is a compact, bullpup weapon, that most notably, unlike most other weapons, ejects spent shell casings downwards, thereby reducing injury to actors and performers. No P90's showed up in Universe probably because they wanted to differentiate the show from what from the precursors, and the p90 became very much associated with SG1 and Atlantis.

As for larger weapons, as the show went on the featured a number of weapons fairly prominently, most notably stuff like G36s, M4s, USAS 12s, Spas 12s, M60s, M249s etc. These weapons were included cause bluntly they make the action scenes look better, and more realistic. Weapons like the G36 create lots of muzzle flash with full power blanks and have shell casings flying out, which looks good on camera. It also, as I said, makes the show more realistic and believable, in real life the military uses machine guns and rifles in combat much more than submachine guns, and frankly it was very unrealistic at the start of the show where they had SG1, the frontline team, and all they had were little 9mm sub guns.

[IcarusAbides]

In SG-1 the P90 replaced the MP5 if memory serves, I can only assume it was thought of to be a better weapon than the MP5. As for why they used the MP5 and later the P90 over weapons such as the M16 again I can only assume that these SMG's were chosen as they are more compact than the larger Assault rifles and so are more fit for the purpose of exploration on unknown planets and environments

[Flyboy]

The FN-P90 is designed for close quarter combat in an indoors environent, so ideal for airport security or such like... but it's not designed as a field combat weapon where there's a requirement to 'win the firefight'.

[Quizziard]

Are SG-1 (or other teams) on primarily investigative teams using the weapons to quell the population or merely for self-defence and self-extraction? I think it's obviously the latter, in which case do they want to be entering potentially "civilised" new planets whilst armed to the teeth?

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

Are SG-1 (or other teams) on primarily investigative teams using the weapons to quell the population or merely for self-defence and self-extraction? I think it's obviously the latter, in which case do they want to be entering potentially "civilised" new planets whilst armed to the teeth?

Well frankly, no, that's nonsense. They clearly aren't just an investigative team that only use there weapons as self defence in a last resort, the number of times they make attacks on Jaffa, Goa'uld or Ori kinda undermines that that.

Further I really doubt that a planet would not want to begin diplomatic relations just because the team was carrying carbines instead of submachine guns. And if size is really that big of an issue, there are plenty of compact weapon options outside a submachine gun. I'd much rather have a short M4, say with a 10.5 inch barrel, than a sub gun. Submachine guns have been fading away freedom military use over the years, because assault rifles are simply better. They are light and compact, but offer much more accuracy and better calibres. The M4 would have been perfect rifle for SG1 to use, it has the versatility that a team heading into the unknown would seek. It is a light weight, easily customizable, accurate, fairly compact, select fire weapon, capable of engaging targets both close in and at longer ranges, something that weapons like the MP5 or the P90 just can't do.

At the end of the day there is no good reason for why SG1 only carried P90s most of the time, and not something heavier, other than the fact that the production crew thought they looked cool. Directors and armourers are often more interested in what looks cool, rather than what might be realistic. The idea that the U.S Airforce would send its top team off into the unknown so under armed is ridiculous, and the idea that O'Neill, a Special Forces Colonel, would go along with this, is equally as ludicrous. Stargate claimed to be fairly authentic when it came to military stuff, but when it comes to weapons, tactics and the fire fights depicted in the series, they are all squarely in the, " looks cool, but in no way realistic," side of things.

[Quizziard]

Well frankly, no, that's nonsense. They clearly aren't just an investigative team that only use there weapons as self defence in a last resort, the number of times they make attacks on Jaffa, Goa'uld or Ori kinda undermines that that.

Fair points all - I blame inadequate breakfast / coffee levels...

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

Fair points all - I blame inadequate breakfast / coffee levels...

A terrible thing. No with Stargate it's best not to think to hard about stuff like weapons or tactics, as they aren't that realistic. If it's any consolation though it's not like most other series or movies are better, many of course are worse. Only a select few movies and series like Band of Brothers, the Pacific, Generation Kill, and some of the stuff by Michael Man like Heat or Collateral really get anywhere close to being realistic. Partly it's just a practicality issue, even the stuff I have been mentioned as being realistic, they aren't 100%. Real world fire fights have been known to go on for 10 hours + so there's no way to even try and put stuff like that on film.

If they stuck rigidly to what was realistic it simply at times wouldn't be fun to watch.

[morrismike]

They need much heavier weapons to one shot wraith in SGA. Jaffa and Unas are pretty soft targets in comparison. We were fortunate that Jaffa training doesn't involve how to win firefights.

[IcarusAbides]

They need much heavier weapons to one shot wraith in SGA. Jaffa and Unas are pretty soft targets in comparison. We were fortunate that Jaffa training doesn't involve how to win firefights.

A possible explanation of that is that the Jaffa weren't really soldiers as they were mainly used as objects of fear on already conquered planets.

[zbuffin]

Frankly, as I understand it, the P90 was adopted in production because they had heard the Air Force was considering it as a duty weapon. At the time this was true, until it failed quality assurance testing. I would imagine the combination of being able to cheaply obtain these weapons in contract due to the underwhelming sale of them worldwide made them desirable especially due to their look.

If you look closely throughout the show Air Force teams are really the only ones to use it. Marines are often shown with heavier or more standardized weapon systems. I have often wondered at the choice to use sub-machine guns as primary weapons for SG teams.

These weapons have little to no appreciable weight, power, ammunition capacity advantages for their size and while I have seen the argument made that they look less "threatening" than a full sized or carbine rifle I disagree. No civilization has been fooled into thinking these are anything other than offensive weapons. Even primitive groups have quickly and accurately gauged the P90 to be weapons so saying that they are some how less threatening is silly.

In fact seeing as how these team rely heavily on bursts of heavy, concentrated and devastating (much the same as current special forces teams) it is baffling to me that and sub machine gun would be issued outside of special missions. The old tried and true M4 carbine would be standard rifleman issue, weapon sergeants would carry either the M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) for ammo commonality (as it shoots the NATO 5.56) or the M240B Light Machine Gun. Then the SDM (Squad Designated Marksman) would carry either the M16A4 DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) variant again for round commonality or the M14 Mod 0. This setup would allow for Close or Mid range engagement in which these units would be engaging. In this manner SG teams would be able to set up ambushes or execute military maneuvers like the "peel" in such a way that enemy units would be overwhelmed by direct fire and unable to organize a counter offensive. These techniques, weapon systems and individual training would provide the time to withdraw, regroup or assault any ground based enemy unit effectively.

What I want to know is why was there not a team of engineers/scientists out there taking recovered alien weaponry and redesigning it to be more military user friendly. Why in the show did we never develop a rifle that shot energy like the staff weapons or a pistol that fired zat blasts? That seems like some day one **** to me and would have been a primary focus rather early on in the series.

[Gen. Chris]

What I want to know is why was there not a team of engineers/scientists out there taking recovered alien weaponry and redesigning it to be more military user friendly. Why in the show did we never develop a rifle that shot energy like the staff weapons or a pistol that fired zat blasts? That seems like some day one **** to me and would have been a primary focus rather early on in the series.

Most of the energy based weapons were too slow to be used effectively. Even Teal'c eventually started using P-90's, though he would dual wield. The best energy weapon that I can recall was the wrist blasters used by the Kulls, but those didn't seem very accurate.

Plus, why develop a weapon similar to a zat weapon when they already have them? Unless you mean a quicker firing weapon, or one they could mass produce.

[zbuffin]

Well again I go to the non-lethal weapons used by the guys in "rules of engagement" these were energy bases weapons of comparable power to the zat that look and function similarly to the beretta 92FS. The rate of fire is the same as a pistol and they had MP5s of these weapons as well. If these weapons can function at higher rates of fire using energy then it is not too much of a stretch to say the lethality of the weapons could be upped with little or no loss of rate of fire.

Why develop a different zat? have you see the zat? Obviously you have, what I am getting at here is it is ungainly at best. The thing opens up with a very audible noise and extends up while you are force to hold the weapon awkwardly. Human beings developed weapons to look and feel like they do because that is the best ergonomic form for use. The zat breaks nearly every one of those functions of form. As a member of the military if someone offered me a zat in exchange for my pistol I would tell them to **** off. I know my weapons because I have used them thousands of times, I have disassembled, reassembled, handled, trained with and depended on it. Personal opinion is just that, I am simply speaking from a stand point of a guy who has used weapons in combat. I would NEVER trust or take a zat into combat.