I believe attempting to do complicated stuff like making our operatives nigh invisible in IR is destined to fail as it'd be Very Hard in difficulty, so I propose the later, which should provide the same, if not superior, protection; similar stealth performance without assuming we can integrate heat sinks into our armor easily and a more detailed approach overall. Let's get a basis going before moving anywhere.
I propose the following two designs for the rest of our turn, so as to complement each other:
Mondragon Special Forces Operational Suit (SFOS) Type IV Protection, Flex (TIVF)As it is imperative that the Mondragon Collective safeguard it's interests, a protective suit is necessary for our operatives so as to increase survivability on special operations. This design proposes the SFOS Type IV Body Armor so as to achieve that:
The SFOS is a composite full-body protective suit composed of a black uniform with a multitude of pockets at strategic places (pouches on the waist, pockets on the thighs, upper arms, upper torso; a pistol holster etc.), body armor for the torso, crotch, sides and back; a ballistic face mask and helmet, carbon fiber braces on the arms, hands, and lower legs as well as thick strap-on ballistic pads on the shoulders, elbows, crotch and knees (12.7 - 8.89 mm (Shoulders - Other); Spectra fiber).
The body armor is designed to withstand rugged usage while not compromising the ballistic integrity of the plate, while also providing NIJ Type IV protection against multiple hits from the 166 gr .30-06 M2AP cartridge at 878 m/s tested by an NIJ certified laboratory, of which it should defeat between 5-7 M2AP rounds. It is to be composed of two layers of 12.7 mm thick Boron-Carbide plates, comprised of 5 hexagonal and 2 pentagonal plates protecting the torso - forming a line that runs up to the end of the ribcage, on top of which rests multiple layers of Kevlar fiber rated to defeat 9mm Parabellum at a velocity of 373 m/s alone, without further protection, and two layers of Spectra fiber, one between the plate layers (thinner), and one behind (thicker), serving to stop fragments or spalling from the plates. To each side rest 3 pentagonal plates in the form of strips sitting in pockets whose edges match the frontal protective plates on the sides, and which is strapped to the back portion of the body armor - featuring a single 25 mm thick Boron-Carbide plate. Below the frontal plate sits a crotch extension, housing a 8.89 mm plate of the aforementioned protective material. Collectively, the armor is estimated to weight around 4 kilograms. On top of the armor lies webbing made from UHMWPE fiber and nylon yarn, allowing operatives to carry various items with them. To further increase carrying capacity, a rugged, light backpack is provided.
In terms of head protection, the SFOS comes equipped with a Twaron-Kevlar combat helmet. The topology of the helmet is such that the brim to the sides is raised, with a flexible circular plate on the straps holding it to the soldier's head. Integrated with these is a balaclava, radio headset and a sliding 7.62 mm thick boron carbyde faceplate with two sets of cameras (one pair for optical and one for IR observation), above which lie lights in the afforementioned wavelengths for illumination, powered by a battery pack installed on the back of the helmet, towards the neck, providing further protection. To remove the helmet, the operative simply raises the plate away from his face and moves it backwards, back onto the helmet where it doesn't obstruct his vision in the case of battery failure or the need to simply directly observe the situation out of preference, or so as to take the helmet off. The IR cameras are to possess IR-corrected zoom lenses paired with a 1/2.8" sensor which renders a 80° field-of-view, without compromising optical resolution or size, weight, and power consumption.
Mondragon Collective Standard Operative Firearm (SOFIA M1983)Superficially, SOFIA resembles the M1911 handgun in shape and in that it features a short recoil locked-breech tilting-barrel system which only diverges from said pistol due to it's use of a linkless cam, since the unlocking movement begins can be achieved by a slightly loose link which is carried over centre during lock-up, allowing chamber pressure and therefore pressure on the locking surfaces to dissipate somewhat before the surfaces are dragged over each other, and enabling a lighter slide to be used, as well as simplifying the mechanism and increasing wear resistance due to the early dissipation of exhaust gases. It features a safety lever that simultaneously decocks and blocks the hammer from contacting the firing pin and returns the weapon to the long-trigger-pull mode of double action when that safety is engaged. The pistol makes use of a sturdy polymer-frame to reduce weight, while interior parts are made out of stainless steel. The usage of an additional locking lug also increases high-pressure cartridge performance, as the chamber can tolerate higher pressures due to a firmer lock. The pistols dimensions are 192 mm x 50 mm x 134 mm (Length - Width - Height), with a 131 mm long barrel with a twist rate of 1/11" and a 100 mm long staggered box magazine, housing 12 cartridges. Unloaded, the pistol should weight 880 grams, while when loaded it is projected to weight 1035 grams, should the estimation above prove true. The magazine features 0.7 mm thick, stainless steel walls (offering great impact resistance) with a fiber-fill nylon self-lubricating follower to further facilitate smooth round feeding, in addition to the cartridge's inherent longer tapper, and with a 8.89 mm thick plastic base pad, for easy maintenance and versatility when reloading. To allow for easier aiming, the pistol comes with fixed, adjustable, reflex and tritium-illuminated handgun night sights.
The pistol itself fires the custom made
7.62×28mm SOFIA Standard Operative Cartridge (SOC-1983-01 FMJ), a high velocity centerfire cartridge with a very flat ballistic trajectory and excellent performance against lighter ballistic vests (NIJ level I and IIA) as well as kevlar helmets. SOC-1983-01 has a total cartridge length of 39.37 mm, of which 27.56 mm belongs to the case, and the bullet juts out 11.81 mm with a seating depth of 16.18 mm. The cartridge's base rim and case head have an identical width of 12.2 mm, while the rim and extension amount to around 3 mm. From 12.2 mm at the base, the cartridge has a long taper down to around 10.3 mm at the shoulder and then, again, tapers down to 8.48 mm within 2.1 mm, which is the shoulder-neck length. With a seating depth of 16.18 mm, the tapered boat tail bullet is seated within the main case, with the powder reaching a front-burning pattern upon firing, leading to less exhaust gases and a less intense muzzle flash, as well as a quicker dissipation of chamber pressure. The casing is estimated to weight 1.166 grams, while the entire cartridge weights around 8.822 grams (136 gr). Due to the relatively thick casing walls, the cartridge is rated with a CIP of 362 MPa (52504 psi), while pressure is generally kept at 85% of this value, close to the 125% safety margin established for commercial firearms (117%). The 95 gr bullet, with a casing capacity of 24.43 gr H2O (of which only 23.15 gr is needed for the standard powder load) and the 131 mm long barrel used by SOFIA, can reach a velocity of 585 m/s (Mach 1.7), resulting in a muzzle energy of 1053 J with a drop of 1 meter occurring at a range of 300 meters, and retaining an energy of 352.8 J (with a ballistic coefficient mostly equal to 0.23, optimal above and below Mach 0.7). The gun is rated for 100 meters, but is expected to perform in close quarters - closer to 50 or 75 meters. The momentum of the recoiling mass is around 9.14 J, or 6.74 ft lb, which is comparable to a light push when directed directly into the shoulder and thus allowing for incredibly accurate sustained fire, but degrading accuracy when fired in quick succession due to the tilting-barrel system used - increasing MOA dispersion. Performance in different weather is reliable, given that the bullet's ballistic performance doesn't change significantly between laminar, semi-turbulent and turbulent flows in the atmosphere (positive increase for laminar flows (Up to 0.29 for Mach 0.5!!!), while marginal decrease for turbulent flows compared to the semi-turbulent model used).