A Melta Rifle of the Salamanders Chapter
A Melta Rifle is a Melta Weapon employed primarily by Primaris Space Marine Eradicators. Eradicator Squads serve in a close range fire support role and are especially tasked to combat enemy heavy armour and static defensive fortifications with these potent thermal ray weapons. Melta Rifles differ from standard Meltaguns in that they possess twice the effective range.
Imperial thermal ray technology, used in weapons such as the Melta Rifle, employs sub-molecular thermal agitation, melting or evaporating matter in moments. Living tissue is horribly and explosively vaporised, while plasteel and even solid rock run like glittering wax.
Melta Weapons have a short range but are very powerful and their thermal blast's intensity increases as the distance to the target decreases. A Melta Weapon works by inducing a minute, sub-molecular reaction within a highly-pressurised pyrum-petrol fuel mix located within an ammunition canister, and then projecting the resulting plasma through the canister and from the weapon's barrel as a blast of incredible heat.
Melta usage is accompanied by a distinctive hissing sound as the beam boils away the water in the air, then a roaring blast as the beam reduces the target to charred scraps or molten slag. Meltas are the premier anti-armour weapons, and few if any armoured vehicles can withstand their power. Meltas are also a useful alternative to Plasma Weapons for this anti-armour role, as though they generally possess a shorter range, they are a more reliable technology than most Imperial Plasma Weapons, which often injure their users.
Heavy Melta Rifle[]
An Ultramarines Eradicator armed with a Heavy Melta Rifle.
A Heavy Melta Rifle is a heavier, larger and more powerful version of the Melta Rifle that is capable of doing even more damage. It is also used primarily by Primaris Space Marine Eradicators to tackle even more heavily armoured or fortified targets.
Unlike its smaller counterpart, the Heavy Melta Rifle has a much greater power requirement. As such, it is directly linked to the power source of its wielder's Mark X Gravis Power Armour by a cable.
Sources[]
- Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pp. 63, 175, 197-198
- Warhammer Community - The Codex Show (12 September 2020)