DC-15A blaster rifle

The DC-15A blaster rifle was the weapon of choice for the Galactic Republic's clone troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic. A version with a wooden stock was the standard weapon of the Senate Commandos. It was a larger and more powerful long-range alternative to the DC-15S blaster.

Description
The DC-15A blaster rifle was one of the standard issue weapons for clone troopers. While the use of blasters allowed a clone trooper to carry significantly more ammunition than a projectile weapon, the DC-15A was a heavy 9.5 pounds, and despite the weapon's size it is not a true dedicated repeating blaster rifle; the inherent instability of plasma gas in blasters reduced the weapon's accuracy under sustained fire. Even so, the DC-15A was very powerful and deadly in the hands of the skilled clone troopers that received extensive training in its use.

The weapon's tibanna gas cartridge carried enough gas for up to 500 shots, depending on the power settings of the weapon, while the charge pack lasted about 50 shots To replace a charge pack, the user hit the release button located directly behind the pack, slid it out, and put in a new one. To replace the Tibanna cartridge was more difficult. The wielder snapped open the blaster and removed the old cartridge from the buttstock, and then snapped it back in place. Like its smaller cousin, holding the trigger down produced sustained fire, with the drawback of decreased accuracy. On the top of the blaster was a triangular object that encased circuitry, with a wiry switch on it that controlled the power settings to the weapon. 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. The octagonal-like barrel would compress the plasma into a thin bolt. On the high setting, the large rifle's powerful blue plasma bolts are more than capable of penetrating the armor of most infantry personnel, and because of the hyper-ionization, they were exceptionally effective against both droids and living targets.

In addition to standard iron sights on the rifle's upper surface, the DC-15A could interface with the helmets of clones to project a graphical gun-sight on the clone trooper's Heads Up Display. It also included a sniper scope that could double as a handhold in storage position. Mounted on a tripod, the maximum effective range of a DC-15A was 10 kilometers. On maximum power, a shot from a DC-15A 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 low power setting a DC-15A gas cartridge would last for 500 shots (300 shots on high power). The blaster could be outfitted with ascension cable projectors to climb up walls or cliffs as seen during the Battle of Teth. Despite the superior power of the DC-15A, many clone units preferred to use the lighter, more compact DC-15S rifle. The DC-15A was preferred when fighting against larger and more heavily-armored droids such as the super battle droid and the dwarf spider droid on open battlefields, whereas the DC-15S was less bulky and easier to maneuver when engaging in close combat in the cramped confines of indoor structures or star ship corridors. The DC-15A also proved to be a good weapon to have on hand if a clone unit confronted large biological threats, one such encounter being the Battle of Felucia, where the 501st used it to great effect in an unexpected confrontation against several wild acklay beasts. It also has a stun setting.

History
Manufactured by BlasTech Industries, the DC-15-series was a range of plasma weapons used during the Clone Wars. Later, eight years into the reign of the Galactic Empire, anti-troopers bred on Kamino would use these weapons to fight against the Empire. Some clone stormtroopers also utilized this weapon. Additionally, it was the standard weapon amongst the non-clone Senate Commandos, who further separated themselves from the regular Senate Guards by using this instead of the standard issue weapon. The Advanced Recon Commandos, (mostly in a modified version) also used this weapon. On Boz Pity, a IG-100 MagnaGuard nearly killed Asajj Ventress with a DC-15, although she managed to survive. These weapons were also used by Dark novatroopers in the Imperial special forces. These were heavily modified, bulked up and equipped with extra firepower.

While on Rugosa, Yoda used his lightsaber to cut a DC-15A rifle into a crutch for use by the injured Clone Lieutenant Thire.

Captain Judder Page also used this weapon on Caluula during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Behind the scenes
The DC-15A blaster rifle that the majority of the clone troopers carry in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith is based on parts from the German Maschinengewehr MG34 from World War II (the same gun was used as the basis for the DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle in the original trilogy), making up the rear half, as well as much of the BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle (carried by the Imperial stormtroopers from the original trilogy) turned upside-down for the front.

In Star Wars: Battlefront II, the DC-15A blaster rifle is used by the Clone Trooper, Clone Engineer and Clone Marine units. While it is properly used by the the Trooper and Marine as a blaster rifle it is used by the engineer as a shotgun.

In the Star Wars Miniatures line of miniatures, the DC-15A was used as placeholder weapons for Old Republic Soldiers and Sith Troopers, despite the DC-15A being invented much later.