A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG will typically feature a quick-change barrel design calibered for various fully powered cartridges such as the 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR, 7.5×54mm French, 7.5×55mm Swiss and 7.92×57mm Mauser, and be configured for mounting to different stabilizing platforms from bipods and tripods to vehicles, aircraft, boats and fortifications, usually as an infantry support weapon or squad automatic weapon.
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses Browning's larger and more powerful .50 BMG cartridge. The design has had many designations; the official U.S. military designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, and low-flying aircraft.
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for use in the M60, including ball, tracer, and armor-piercing rounds.
The M240—officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240—is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.
The FN Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is currently manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC.
The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, including Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India and the United Kingdom.
The LAV-25 is a member of the LAV II family. It is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle built by General Dynamics Land Systems and used by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
A medium machine gun (MMG), in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed machine gun firing a full-powered rifle cartridge, and is considered "medium" in weight. Medium machine guns are light enough to be infantry-portable, but still cumbersome enough to require a crew for optimal operational efficiency.
The United States military has developed a number of Helicopter Armament Subsystems since the early 1960s. These systems are used for offensive and defensive purposes and make use of a wide variety of weapon types including, but not limited to machine guns, grenade launchers, autocannon, and rockets. Various systems are still in use, though many have become obsolete.
The Mk 48, or Maximi is a belt-fed light machine gun, and is chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, fed from a disintegrating belt or the non-disintegrating segmented German DM1 belt of ammunition.
The 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by W+F of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service when the Swiss Army initiated a competition for a new service machine gun to replace the MG 11 heavy machine gun and the Furrer M25 light machine gun adopted in 1911 and 1925 respectively.
The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal (FN).
The M192 Lightweight Ground Mount is a tripod fielded by the United States armed forces. It was designed and developed by Capco, Incorporated under contract through Picatinny Arsenal to replace the M122 tripod. The United States Army named the tripod one of 2005's top ten inventions. It was designed for use with the M249, M240B, and M240L.
A weapon mount is an assembly or mechanism used to hold a weapon onto a platform in order for it to function at maximum capacity. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts.
The M3 tripod is a weapon mount used on the M2HB Browning machine gun and the Mk 19 grenade launcher. The M3 tripod has a total weight of 20 kilograms. The M205 tripod, formerly the XM205, is intended to replace it.
The M205 Lightweight Tripod for Heavy Machine Guns is the replacement for the current M3 tripod in support of the M2 machine gun and Mk 19 grenade launcher used in the United States armed forces. The soldier will experience less weight burden with the M205 Lightweight Tripod than with the standard M3 Tripod, and will be able to take advantage of the enhanced tripod's integrated traverse and elevation mechanism for quicker, more accurate target engagement.
The M63 ground mount is a four-legged anti-aircraft weapon mount used on the M2HB Browning machine gun.
