M249 Light Machine Gun

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M249 Light Machine Gun The M249 light machine gun is a gas­operated, air­cooled, belt or magazine­fed, automatic weapon that fires from the open­bolt position firing the M855 ball 5.56x45mm round and the M856 tracer variant. It is an adaptation of the FN Minimi, a Belgian made machine gun; used by the United States military. It has a quick change barrel that can be changed in case of a damaged or overheated barrel, is equipped with a folding bipod but can be attached to a tripod for greater stability when firing. It can be fed by either linked rounds or magazines, this way the operator can use magazines from nearby riflemen in case they run out of ammunition. The M249 saw was adopted by the U.S. Army in the 1980’s to provide a mobile equivalent to the M240B heavy machine gun and the M60 medium machine gun. The M249 SAW is the highest casualty producing weapon in any infantry squad, due to its high rate of fire it can also provide effective suppressive fire on enemy forces. The M249 SAW rates of fire are Sustained, Rapid, and Cyclic. Sustained rate of fire is 50 rounds per minute, with bursts of 3­5 rounds with 4­5 seconds between bursts and a barrel change every 10 minutes. Rapid rate of fire is 100 rounds per minute with 8­10 round bursts with 2­3 seconds between bursts, and a barrel change every 2 minutes. Cyclic rate of fire is 650­850 rounds per minute, with a barrel change every minute. Maximum range of the SAW is 3600 meters, but the maximum effective range depends on what support is affixed to the weapons system. With a bipod the effective range on a point target is 600 meters, and area target effective range is 800 meters. With a tripod point target effective range is 800 meters and area target is 1000 meters. The M249 is unique in that it provides the rate of fire as a heavy machine gun, and is still light enough to be

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