Heavy Rifle

Description
The Heavy Rifle is the largest Rifle in the family. The precursor to the modern Autocannon, the Rifle was based on the main guns used by tanks on pre-spaceflight Terra. The Heavy Rifle used heavier rounds and larger propellant loads to fire its shells. The Rifle was phased out of service with most major powers because it lacked stopping power against most battlefield units. Though it has excellent range and (unlike the Light Rifle) the Heavy Rifle can actually damage a BattleMech, its weight and ammunition capacity are no match for standard autocannon. Another drawback is the Heavy Rifle's inability to use the special munitions available to autocannon.

There are reports of some Periphery powers introducing units equipped with Rifles, but these reports were unconfirmed until the introduction of the Arbiter.

Models
The Heavy Rifle is manufactured on the following planets: