M249 light machine gun facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249 |
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| Type | Squad automatic weapon/Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | United States (M249 derivative) Belgium |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1984-Present |
| Used by | United States armed forces Lebanon |
The M249 light machine gun is a machine gun which is the U.S. vesion of the Belgian FN Minimi light machine gun, used by the United States and Lebanon. The main use of this weapon is to provide cover fire for other people in the group (the squad) The gun uses 5.56 NATO caliber ammunition.
Contents
Overview
The M249 was made because a lot of the squadrons of the U.S. Army did not have fully automatic weapons. It has seen action in every war that the United States has been in since 1989.
Replacement
The M249 is due to be replaced by the German M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle in the U.S. Marines, but the U.S. Army does not plan to buy any M27's, so it will stay in service with them.
Images for kids
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Initial Belgian-designed Minimi prototype delivered to the U.S. Infantry Board for evaluation, before it received its XM249 designation (note the difference)
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An early model of the M249
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A U.S. Marine firing an M249 from an M122A1 tripod at a training range in November 2003
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The different rounds that can be successfully loaded into the M249 SAW
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A cloth pouch in Universal Camouflage Pattern used for holding belts of linked ammunition, this one being capable of holding 200 rounds.
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A "fully improved" U.S. Army-issue M249, circa July 2010
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Early M249 "Para" equipped with a M145 Machine Gun Optic, October 2005, Koshk Kowl, Afghanistan
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A Ranger with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment armed with a Mk 46 machine gun provides overwatch security on an objective during a mission in Iraq, November 2006.
See also
In Spanish: Ametralladora ligera M249 para niños
