Star Wars Gun Quality Check

By E. Robert Schulman
Imperial Defense Agency

Abstract
This report presents the Imperial Office of Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) operational assessment of the BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifle. Despite IOT&E testing revealing shortfalls in the E-11, Stormtrooper high command has adopted this weapon as the standard sidearm for Imperial Stormtroopers without updating user marksmanship training.

In this paper, we report on the combat effectiveness of the E-11 Blaster Rifle, as demonstrated recently in orbit above Tatooine and on board the Imperial Battle Station DS-1 prior to its destruction by rebel forces. The data show that the E-11 is operationally effective in the hands of trained users, but ineffective when the users lack sufficient training, confirming the conclusions of the IOT&E test report.

Introduction
The E-11 Blaster Rifle, manufactured by BlasTech, is the standard sidearm for Imperial Stormtroopers. The E-11 is 44 centimetres (cm) long, with a 0.25 cm diameter bore, and weighs 2.6 kilograms. The power pack contains enough energy for 100 shots. The E-11 produces laser bolts with 150 kilojoules (kJ) of energy to a maximum effective range of 300 meters, with an optimum range of 100 meters. Bolts of 150 kJ are sufficient to incapacitate most personnel, even through armour.

The E-11 has the potential to be an extremely effective sidearm. It has a low hardware failure rate (i.e. good reliability) and short times to repair (i.e. good maintainability). It can be stored and operated in a variety of environments, from hot desert environments, such as Tatooine, to cold tundra environments, such as Hoth.

However, the effectiveness of the E-11 is limited by the marksmanship of the users. In this report we show that the E-11 is a very valuable weapon when the users are well trained, but can be worthless in the hands of poorly trained users.

Methods
We obtained video and audio data from two recent battles in which Stormtroopers were armed with the E-11 Blaster Rifle. In the first battle, Stormtroopers from the Imperial Star Destroyer (ISD) Devastator captured the rebel consular ship Tantive IV above Tatooine. In the second battle, Stormtroopers on the Imperial Battle Station Death Star One (DS-1) attempted to apprehend four rebels who were armed with captured E-11 Blaster Rifles. We collected data by watching the video and counting the number of shots and the number of hits for each of the three groups (Stormtroopers from the Devastator, Stormtroopers on DS-1 and rebels on DS-1). These numbers are shown in Table 1, along with the probability of hit (P_Hit) and the 80 percent confidence interval for P_Hit.

A hit was recorded when a member of the opposing forces was hit by a laser bolt. Hits on door controls and surveillance devices were also counted (the rebels were the only E-11 users to target these). Note that the rebels had the highest P_Hit of the three groups, even though the door controls and surveillance devices were significantly smaller than opposing forces (approximately 100 cm² in area compared to approximately 10,000 cm² for a typical Stormtrooper). Each hit against personnel resulted in incapacitation and each hit against

devices resulted in destruction, confirming the excellent lethality found during IOT&E testing of the E-11. The probability of hit and 80 percent confidence interval for the probability of hit is shown in Figure 1.

Results
The Stormtroopers aboard the Devastator were highly trained, while the Stormtroopers on DS-1 were more typical. The rebels on DS-1 were also highly trained. Table 1 and Figure 1 show that the E-11 Blaster Rifle is effective when used by well-trained operators. However, in the hands of poorly trained users, such as the Stormtroopers on DS-1, the weapon can be completely useless. In fact, although the Stormtroopers on DS-1 fired four times as many shots as those from the Devastator, the DS-1 troopers had no hits while the Devastator troopers managed nine.

Conclusions
The E-11 Blaster Rifle is the standard sidearm of Imperial Stormtroopers, but typical Stormtroopers lack the training necessary to use the weapon effectively. We strongly recommend that additional training with the E-11 be given to all Stormtroopers. The cost of such training would be negligible compared to the potential damage rebels could cause if the Stormtroopers assigned to stop them lack the necessary marksmanship training.

Eric's other articles can be found right here.