Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249 | |
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M249 Para fitted with Trijicon ACOG and RFI collapsible stock
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Type | Light machine gun |
Place of origin |
Belgium (Minimi) United States (M249) |
Service history | |
In service | 1984–present |
Used by | See Users |
Wars |
Invasion of Panama Gulf War Unified Task Force Bosnian War Kosovo War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Syrian Civil War Iraqi Insurgency Iraqi Civil War (2014-present) |
Production history | |
Designed | 1976 |
Manufacturer | FN Herstal |
Unit cost | US $4,087 |
Produced | Late 1970s–present |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Weight | 7.5 kg (17 lb) empty 10 kg (22 lb) loaded |
Length | 40.75 in (1,035 mm) |
Barrel length | 465 mm (18 in) 521 mm (21 in) |
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Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO |
Action | Gas-operated, open bolt |
Rate of fire | Sustained rate of fire: 100 RPM Rapid rate of fire: 200 RPM Cyclic rate of fire: 800 RPM |
Muzzle velocity | 915 m/s (3,000 ft/s) |
Effective firing range |
700 m (770 yd) (point target, 465 mm barrel) 800 m (870 yd) (point target, 521 barrel)3,600 m (3,940 yd) (maximum range) |
Feed system | M27 linked disintegrating belt, STANAG magazine |
700 m (770 yd) (point target, 465 mm barrel)
The M249 light machine gun (LMG), formerly designated the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, or the .223 military rnd. The M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal (FN). The M249 is manufactured in the United States by the local subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC in South Carolina and is widely used in the U.S. Armed Forces. The weapon was introduced in 1984 after being judged the most effective of a number of candidate weapons to address the lack of automatic firepower in small units. The M249 provides infantry squads with the high rate of fire of a machine gun combined with accuracy and portability approaching that of a rifle.
The M249 is gas operated and air-cooled. It has a quick-change barrel, allowing the gunner to rapidly replace an overheated or jammed barrel. A folding bipod is attached near the front of the gun, though an M192 LGM tripod is available. It can be fed from both linked ammunition and STANAG magazines, like those used in the M16 and M4. This allows the SAW gunner to use a rifleman's magazines as an emergency source of ammunition in the event that he runs out of linked rounds.
M249s have seen action in every major conflict involving the United States since the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. Due to the weight and age of the weapon, the United States Marine Corps is fielding the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle with plans to partially replace the M249 in Marine Corps service.