Originally designated and manufactured by the Lastimosa Armory as the R-97CN A3, the R-99 SMG was intended for use with the Frontier Colonial Navy, hence the "CN" classification. The Colonial Navy would often conduct Orbital Boarding Parties on hostile ships in high orbit or entering the atmosphere, so they needed a weapon platform that was compact and had the ability to spit lead downrange in low gravity or extremely confined areas such as cockpits or ship corridors.