General Dynamics unveils new machine gun
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has unveiled a next-generation Lightweight Medium Machine Gun (LWMMG) at the Joint Armaments Conference in Seattle, US. The company believes the new weapon will close current operational gaps, according to a 16 May, 2012 statement.
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products developed the weapon under its own research and development programme in just over one year. It is designed for ‘low-cost production and for maximum effectiveness at the small unit level, where weight and lethality are decisive factors’.
The company said that the LWMMG will close a ‘current operational gap, providing .50 calibre-like firepower in range and effect at the same weight and size of currently fielded 7.62mm machine guns’. The company stated that it also offers ‘a distinct advantage in both extended and close-in fighting by using the highly efficient .338 Norma Magnum cartridge for increased accuracy and lethality out to 1,700 meters, a distance currently gapped in the operational capabilities of warfighters.’
The LWMMG has a firing rate of 500 rounds per minute, a maximum range of 5,642 meters, and is equipped with quick-change barrel technology. In addition to use by dismounted infantry and on ground vehicles, the weapon can be used as the armament system aboard helicopters and littoral craft, providing greater range and effectiveness for those platforms.
More from Land Warfare
-
MyDefence delivers counter-drone system to US Army ahead of livefire exercise
The Soldier-Kit system consists of detector, jammer, tablet and wideband antenna and is being evaluated as part of Project Flytrap 3.0 counter uncrewed aerial system (CUAS) exercise.
-
Arquus and Milrem push their UGVs fitted with long-range missiles
Arquus displayed the Drailer uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) integrating the Akeron LP long-range missile at the Techterre technology demonstrator event ahead of trials in September.
-
Contract moves new Abrams tank forward in the face of cuts
Several US Army vehicle programmes were axed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to transform the US Army, as outlined in the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative document. However, the new generation Abrams M1E3 main battle tank (MBT) was singled out for survival. But what will it look like?
-
Malaysia signs for two additional GM400α air surveillance radars
The order is in addition to two systems ordered in 2023. It forms part of a family of systems which is becoming widely used and part of a growing demand for the capability, both in deliveries and requirements.