M56 Smartgun Explained: Specs, Types & Operators

The M56 Smartgun is a heavy automatic support weapon used by the United States Colonial Marine Corps in the Alien franchise. Designed for high-volume suppressive fire, the Smartgun combined a powerful caseless ammunition system with an automated targeting interface linked to the operator's helmet. The weapon became closely associated with Colonial Marine smartgunners and remains one of the most recognizable firearms in the Alien universe (beside the Pulse Rifle). This article provides an overview of the M56 Smartgun's design, technical characteristics, known variants, and the individuals who operated it across films, games, and expanded universe material.

The M56 Smartgun Of The USCM

The M56 Smartgun was developed as a squad-level support weapon intended to counter fast-moving and heavily armored threats, particularly Xenomorphs. Unlike standard infantry weapons, it was not meant to be shoulder-fired. Instead, the Smartgun is mounted on a powered harness worn by the operator, with the weapon attached to an articulated arm that allowed independent movement. This configuration allows the Smartgun to remain stabilized while tracking targets automatically. The system is linked to a head-mounted sight, enabling the weapon to follow the operator's line of vision and lock onto moving targets. As a result, the Smartgun is most effective when used for suppressive fire, corridor defense, and area denial, rather than precision marksmanship.

The M56 Smartgun Specifications

The M56 Smartgun fires 10×28mm caseless ammunition and operated using an electronically driven pulse-action system with a rotating breech. It has a very high rate of fire, estimated at approximately 1,200 rounds per minute, allowing it to overwhelm targets through sustained fire. Under ideal conditions, the weapon has an effective range of up to 1,500 meters. Rather than being held directly, the Smartgun is mounted on an articulated arm connected to a powered harness. This system absorbs recoil and allows the weapon to track targets automatically through its helmet-linked targeting interface. When fully equipped with harness, weapon, and ammunition, the complete Smartgun system weighs close to 18 kilograms, requiring significant strength and training to operate effectively.

Smartgun Types

Several Smartgun variants and related systems appeared across the Alien expanded universe. The most commonly referenced model was the M56A2 Smartgun, which represented the standard infantry version used by Colonial Marine units. Later sources mentioned successor platforms such as the M57 and the M59/B Smartgun (from AvP 2010), indicating continued development of the system. Some depictions featured Smartgun technology adapted for stationary or semi-automated use, including tripod-mounted configurations intended for defensive positions (similar to the Sentry Gun). These variants retained the Smartgun's core concept of automated tracking combined with high-volume fire, but were optimized for fixed emplacements rather than mobile infantry use.

The "Electrolaser"

In addition to conventional ballistic Smartguns, some Colonial Marine units were shown using experimental heavy support weapons based on Smartgun-style targeting systems. One such weapon was the so-called "Electrolaser", which appeared in Aliens: Defiance. Rather than firing conventional ammunition, this weapon emitted powerful energy-based discharges intended to incapacitate or damage Xenomorph targets by exploiting their weakness. While not a standard-issue Smartgun, the Electrolaser followed the same general design philosophy, combining heavy firepower with advanced targeting assistance.

Smartgun Operators

Private Peter O'Neal

Private Peter O'Neal was a somewhat annoying sidekick to Corporal Winter in the ill-fated Aliens: Colonial Marines video game. He tagged along with the protagonist through most of the missions and often got in the way of the player. Early on, he gained access to his trusty smartgun and provided fire support, which was often low-damage so kept shooting the same Xenomorphs over and over. In the end, he did survive his mission, managed to avenge his girlfriend Bella, and escaped with his fellow marines from LV-426 on a Weyland-Yutani FTL ship.

Private Phil Sandberg

Private Phil Sandberg was one of the few Colonial Marines whose perspective we see on Earth during the Earth-Alien war that started in Aliens: Outbreak. Smartgunner Sandberg and two other fellow marines were stranded in an abandoned police station in New York. First, they tried to find answers to the cause of the invasion from a nearby bio-research company. Unfortunately for them, a dying employee sets off a nuclear bomb, mirroring the title of the story - Aliens: Countdown. Fighting through Xenomorphs and hostile marines, they try to reach a ship but are eventually overwhelmed.

Private Rucker

Rucker was one of the two Smartgunners from the USS Hasdrubal as depicted in the epic Life and Death comic series. He was one of the few Colonial Marines who fought against the Yautja, fighting over the ownership of a Derelict Ship on LV-797. Rucker killed the legendary Hive Wars Predator, but accidentally shot private Lee in the head. Later on LV-223, the smartgunner walked into a Xenomorph ambush, being dragged into the bush while the other marines were attacked. Rucker died in an Alien hive when a chestburster emerged from his chest.

Genna

Genna from Aliens vs. Predator: Deadliest of the Species was a Colonial Marine smartgunner providing security on the Samara Station. When a female Predator named Big Mama arrived on the station, things escalated quickly and soon there was an all-out brawl between a Xenomorphs, humans and robotic Xenomorphs. Genna ended up joining Big Mama's gang of misfits, which included Ash Parnall. Together they fought the poor-mans version of Weyland-Yutani, a company called Montcalm-Delacroix that created White Hybrid Xenomorphs. While initially using the smartgun, she later switched the using Predator gear instead, provided by Big Mama.

Jones

Jones was a heavy weapons specials onboard the USS Verloc, which answered a distress call from LV-1201 during the events of the Aliens vs. Predator 2 video game. His marine unit was largely successful, taking only a few casualties during the mission. Jones was heavily built and kept to himself, having only a few lines during the campaign led by Corporal Andrew Harrison. Besides the smartgun, he used other heavy weapons like the Sadar and minigun, managing to mow down multiple Xenomorphs. He escaped with his fellow marines onboard the Verloc, being followed by a Predator ship.

Private Freebody

Freebody was the second smartgunner from the Life and Death series and can be considered to be the more successful one. Like Rucker, she survived the Yautja attack on LV-797 but managed to avoid any friendly fire incidents. On LV-223 she successfully fought off hordes of Xenomorphs that attacked the shrinking squad of marines. She wounded an Engineer with her smartgun which enabled Captain Paget to kill the giant later. Freebody was one of the few surviving marines from the LV-223 incident but her final fate onboard the Engineer Derelict Ship is left open.

Captain Kylie Duncan

Captain Kylie Duncan is the only villain in the list, but that does not make her less awesome. Appearing in the acclaimed Alien: Into Charybdis, she was the commander of a platoon of Colonial Marines sent to an Iranian research facility to take it under US control. She was a veteran of numerous Alien encounters, receiving several wounds, including a big scar on her jaw. Although a high-ranking officer, she did not shy away from fighting Xenomorphs herself. Taking a half a dozen marine comrades with her, she descended into an Alien hive and wiped out about 300 Xenomorphs with smartguns. After her fellow marines died, she received horrible acid damage and fell into a pit of Black Goo Pathogen.

Private First Class Mark Drake

Drake was one of the two smartgunners stationed on the USS Sulaco. He had a special relationship with PFC Vasquez, with them sharing a past together and being possible lovers as well. James Cameron hinted that they were together in a juvenile correctional facility, and joining the Colonial Marines was a chance for a new life for them. Drake followed Vasquez's lead in the atmosphere processor battle and covered their retreat. When his smartgun ran empty, he grabbed a flame unit out of nowhere and continued firing. He almost made it to the APC and would have been a viable asset in the Ops battle, but the acid splash from a Xenomorph killed him.

Private First Class Jenette Vasquez

PFC Vasquez is the most well-known smartgunner in the Alien franchise and rightfully so. She played a crucial part in the Colonial Marine operation on LV-426 and perhaps killed the most Aliens out of all the marines. She was handy not only with the smartgun but the pulse rifle as well, preferring to use the grenade launcher to great effect. Although her actions doomed the atmosphere processor and her friendly fire killed Drake, she redeemed herself in the Ops battle and sacrificed her life together with Gorman, taking more Aliens with them in the explosion.

Space Marine Ellen Ripley

Ellen Ripley took on the role of a smartgunner in an alternate storyline following the events of Aliens. She appeared in the Space Marine comics, which were tied to the Kenner Aliens action figures released in the late 1980s and early 1990s, prior to the release of Alien 3. Other familiar faces from Aliens, such as Apone and Drake, also made a return in these stories. In this alternate take, Ripley wielded a hybrid weapon resembling a mix of the pulse rifle, flamethrower, and smartgun. NECA later reimagined this version of Ripley as a figure equipped with the iconic M56 smartgun, albeit without the traditional harness or headset. Ripley blasted all sorts of Xenomorph types with this weapon, including giant facehuggers.

Conclusion

The M56 smartgun is one of the most powerful weapons in the Colonial Marine arsenal, designed for both devastating frontal assaults and effective fire support from the flanks. Operators of this heavy weapon, known as "smartgunners," are often physically strong and imposing, capable of managing its weight and recoil. Smartgunners frequently rack up high kill counts but often meet tragic ends in their battles against relentless Xenomorph and Yautja threats. Interestingly, the weapon isn’t exclusive to humans; even Predators briefly wielded the M56 smartgun in the Alien vs. Predator arcade game, showcasing its versatile and fearsome design.

Tag Categories: Alien Universe Weapons, Colonial Marine Lore