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Description

ELx-8 is a lightweight blaster rifle designed by Naboo Star Arms for the New Republic around the time of the Cold War with the First Order. Based in part on the A280 series of rifles, there was high hopes for the blaster to become the standard service rifle of Republic security forces before their destruction.

The New Republic Military's purpose in contracting for this prototype weapon was to provide replacement options for the EL-16 after a previous program ran into problems. The goal was a weapon that was cheaper, lighter, and more effective than the EL-16 series of weapons. The ELx-8 was not just one weapon but a system which could be reconfigured with appropriate parts to be any one of several variants from a short-barreled personal defense weapon to a bipod equipped support weapon. It also included an integrated optical sight and IR module/illuminator.

Development of the ELx-8 started shortly after the Battle of Jakku, with Naboo Star Arms work on a bullpup variant of the A280, a Blastech blaster that company had licensed to build. Naboo Star Arms (at the time, still named Corellian Arms Naboo, a subsidiary of Corellian Engineering Corporation) had hoped enter the new design into an upcoming competition to pick a compact blaster to replace the number of different blasters used in New Republic military, previously the Rebellion's armed faction. Unfortunately for Naboo Star, Blastech's EL-16 was choose instead. Some years later, the need for an updated rifle to replace the aging EL-16 was sensed by certain military leaders and they soon partnered with Naboo Star Arms to develop an ideal blaster rifle. To encourage interest from senior leadership, the decision was made to offer a full series of weapons from a common system. When ELx-8 was presented to a group of Republic senators and officials from the military, reception was very high and an unofficial deal was struck between the New Republic and Naboo Star. However as details of the deal reached the Senate, the whole arrangement was scuttled out of "respect to other manufacturers" and another competition was to be scheduled. Only a few thousand of ELx-8s every reached Republic soldiers' hands, mostly specialists and high alert taskforces like the fleet guarding Hosnian system before it's destruction.

Description

ELx-8 is a lightweight blaster rifle designed by Naboo Star Arms for the New Republic around the time of the Cold War with the First Order. Based in part on the A280 series of rifles, there was high hopes for the blaster to become the standard service rifle of Republic security forces before their destruction.

The New Republic Military's purpose in contracting for this prototype weapon was to provide replacement options for the EL-16 after a previous program ran into problems. The goal was a weapon that was cheaper, lighter, and more effective than the EL-16 series of weapons. The ELx-8 was not just one weapon but a system which could be reconfigured with appropriate parts to be any one of several variants from a short-barreled personal defense weapon to a bipod equipped support weapon. It also included an integrated optical sight and IR module/illuminator.

Development of the ELx-8 started shortly after the Battle of Jakku, with Naboo Star Arms work on a bullpup variant of the A280, a Blastech blaster that company had licensed to build. Naboo Star Arms (at the time, still named Corellian Arms Naboo, a subsidiary of Corellian Engineering Corporation) had hoped enter the new design into an upcoming competition to pick a compact blaster to replace the number of different blasters used in New Republic military, previously the Rebellion's armed faction. Unfortunately for Naboo Star, Blastech's EL-16 was choose instead. Some years later, the need for an updated rifle to replace the aging EL-16 was sensed by certain military leaders and they soon partnered with Naboo Star Arms to develop an ideal blaster rifle. To encourage interest from senior leadership, the decision was made to offer a full series of weapons from a common system. When ELx-8 was presented to a group of Republic senators and officials from the military, reception was very high and an unofficial deal was struck between the New Republic and Naboo Star. However as details of the deal reached the Senate, the whole arrangement was scuttled out of "respect to other manufacturers" and another competition was to be scheduled. Only a few thousand of ELx-8s every reached Republic soldiers' hands, mostly specialists and high alert taskforces like the fleet guarding Hosnian system before it's destruction.