If an Allied Steel Rain has fired both its Petard and a Rocket, both of which are Reload weapons, when it takes a Reload action does it reload both those weapons or does it have to choose only one to be reloaded?

When you fire a Reload weapon it places an "Out of Ammo" marker on the unit. When you take a "Reload Action", it removes the marker from the unit, effectively reloading both.

This cuts both ways, though. Due to the use of the "Out of Ammo" marker on the unit, as opposed to putting the maker on individual weapons, all the unit's Reload weapons are simultaneously either fireable or unable to fire - whether each individual weapon has been fired or not. So if you're going to fire a Reload weapon, fire ALL your Reload weapons in the same turn if at all possible. You won't be able to fire the Rockets one turn and the Petard the next without spending the reload action.

As an aside why on earth did FFG change the 4.2" of the Steel Rain to a 5/1 across the board reloadable weapon.

The DT concept of 3/1 for each rocket allowing a single 12/1 non-reloadable shot seemed much better. rule simplification methinks, which actually leads to ambiguity on having two reloadable weapons

I think they just didn't want the single shot weapons in the game for whatever reason.

There are lots of instances where having the 5/1 is better than the +/1 that most other units get though. I've had some good luck with my Steel Rain so far.

I had this very question last night in a game. Luckily the latest FAQ has the answer now, which is different to the conclusion this thread has (though this thread matches what I thought from reading the rules too).

From the FAQ each weapon has its' own reload status. It takes a Reload action to remove just one weapons reload. This can be very annoying if you fire off both guns in one round, as you can only take an action type once per Unit Phase. To remove both reloads in one round you'd have to use a Command Order and then use your Unit Order.

The FAQ is definitely a departure from the rules which were quite clear, and unfortunately it nerfs the Steel Rain just enough that it would not make it into my lists anymore. I probably will just keep playing it the way it is in the rules, unless I'm playing with someone who insists otherwise. I generally only play with people who don't own the game, so luckily I can houserule all I want, but I just can't see fielding a Steel Rain if it's going to take an entire round just to reload.