FN Minimi MK3 Belgian 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
FN Minimi MK3 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
Light Machine Gun
Basic Information
Name
FN Minimi MK3 Belgian 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
Designation
FN Minimi MK3 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
Alternate Designation
FN Minimi MK3 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
Equipment Type
Light Machine Gun
Manufacturer
FN Herstal
Date of Introduction
2013
Description
In November 2013, FN Herstal unveiled the improved Mk3 version of the Minimi light machine gun. The upgrades were based on operational experience and user feedback over the past 10–15 years. It can be converted to fire in either 5.56×45mm or 7.62×51mm rounds. The stock is 5-position adjustable that is also adjustable for cheek rest height with a folding shoulder rest and hydraulic buffer. The feed tray has retaining pawls to hold ammunition from the belt in place while loading. The handguard has three forward Picatinny rails. A new bipod is a 3-position height adjustable and seamlessly integrates into the shape of the handguard when folded back regardless of accessories that may be attached. Other features include a more ergonomic cocking handle and an optional heat shield, enabled by an added-on long pin, to protect from barrel heat. Users that already have Minimi machine guns can partially or completely upgrade their existing weapons with the Mk3 features.
Variants
FN Minimi Mk 3 (5.56×45mm or 7.62×51mm)
In November 2013, FN Herstal unveiled the improved Mk3 version of the Minimi light machine gun. The upgrades were based on operational experience and user feedback over the past 10–15 years. It can be converted to fire in either 5.56×45mm or 7.62×51mm rounds. The stock is 5-position adjustable that is also adjustable for cheek rest height with a folding shoulder rest and hydraulic buffer. The feed tray has retaining pawls to hold ammunition from the belt in place while loading. The handguard has three forward Picatinny rails. A new bipod is a 3-position height adjustable and seamlessly integrates into the shape of the handguard when folded back regardless of accessories that may be attached. Other features include a more ergonomic cocking handle and an optional heat shield, enabled by an added-on long pin, to protect from barrel heat. Users that already have Minimi machine guns can partially or completely upgrade their existing weapons with the Mk3 features.
M249 SAW
The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) is the US-manufactured version of the Minimi, in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). Featuring slight changes to the construction such as the barrel, addition of a heat shield, and a revised operating rod, the gun was also optimised for US manufacturing processes. 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 M249 is manufactured in the United States by the local subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC in Columbia, 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 rifle magazines as a source of ammunition in case they run out of belts. However, rifle magazines should only be used in emergencies due to their high malfunction rate.
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.
The M249 is a belt-fed light machine gun. It fires the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge, usually a combination of one M856 tracer and four M855 ball cartridges fed from M27 linked belts. Belts are typically held in a hard plastic or soft canvas box attached to the underside of the weapon. The M249 can also fire rifle grenades.
It fires from an open bolt and is gas operated. When the trigger is pulled, the bolt and bolt carrier move forward under the power of the recoil spring. A cartridge is stripped from the belt, chambered, and discharged, sending a bullet down the bore. Expanding propellant gases are diverted through a hole in the barrel into a chamber. This pressure moves a piston providing the energy to extract and eject the spent casing as well as advance the belt and compress the recoil spring, thus preparing for subsequent shots. At 1,041 mm (41 in) long and 7.5 kg (17 lb) in weight (10 kg (22 lb) including a 200-round belt and plastic ammo box), the M249 is a cumbersome weapon.
The M249’s air-cooled barrel is equipped with a mechanism to remove and replace the barrel assembly with a spare, this makes it easy for operator to easily change the barrel on the field when it gets too hot during extensive amounts of fire. The barrel has a rifling twist rate of one turn in 180 mm (7 in). A folding bipod with adjustable legs is attached near the front of the weapon, though there are provisions for hard-mounting to a M192 Lightweight Ground Mount tripod or vehicle mount.
The M249’s original gas regulator featured two different gas port sizes, normal and adverse. The adverse setting increases the cyclic rate of fire from 700–850 rounds per minute to 950–1,150 rounds per minute and is used only in extreme environmental conditions or when heavy fouling is present in the weapon's gas tube. The two-position gas regulator was discarded as part of a product improvement program, which made the M249’s that received the product improvement kit can no longer fire at higher cyclic rate. The sustained rate of fire, the rate at which the gunner can fire continuously without overheating, is around 100 rounds per minute. Whilst the rapid rate of fire is around 200 rounds per minute.
Mk 46 Mod 0
The Mk 46 Mod 0 is the M249 modified for service with US Special Operations Forces. Previously known as the M249 Special Purpose Weapon (SPW).
Mk 46 Mod 1
The Mk 46 Mod 1 is the product improved version of the Mk 46 Mod 0, designed for service with US Special Operations Forces.
Mk 48 Mod 1
The Mk 48 Mod 1 is the FN Minimi variant chambered in 7.62 × 51 mm and modified for service with US Special Operations Forces.
F89 Minimi
Original production version of the Australian version of the Minimi, manufactured by ADI Ltd.
F89A1 Minimi
Updated model of the F89 Minimi, currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy.
F89A2 Minimi
Current upgraded standard of the F89 in service with the Australian Armed forces.
Para Minimi
Compact variant of the Australian F89, in service with special forces and airborne units.
C9A2
The C9A2 is the current production model in use with the Canadian Armed Forces.
System
Alternate Designation
FN Minimi MK3 7.62mm Light Machine Gun
Caliber
7.62 mm
Type
Light Machine Gun
Manufacturer
FN Herstal
Length, Overall
1,015 mm
Length, Collapsible stock Fixed and Extended
1,026 mm
Length, Collapsible stock Fixed and Stowed
950 mm
Barrel Length
422 mm
Width
128 mm
Height
INA
Height, Bipod Extended
INA
Weight, Unloaded
8.8 kg
Rifling
RH, 1 in 178 mm
Action
The weapon is a belt-fed, fully-automatic, long-stroke gas-operated light machine gun, firing from an open bolt.
Mode of Fire
Fully-automatic only
Mode of Locking
Rotating bolt
Cyclic Rate of Fire
±800 rds/min
Maximum Firing Range
3,600 m
Effective Firing Range
500 m
Feed System
Belt, disintegrating link and STANAG box magazine.
Sights, Rear
Aperture, fully adjustable 100-1000 m by 100 m increments
Sights, Front
Semi-fixed hooded post, adjustable for windage and elevation
Sight Radius
490 mm
Ancillaries
The Mk 3 Minimi is fitted with a bipod mounted at the front of the weapon, just behind the gas regulator. The bipod legs can be extended to accommodate different terrains, environments, and shooting positions, and have three different length positions available.
Accessories
Standard equipment supplied with the Minimi consists of three ammunition boxes, a cleaning kit stored inside the forearm, lubricant bottle, sling and blank-firing barrel.
Ammunition
Type
Rifle
Caliber
7.62 mm
Cartridge
7.62 × 51 mm NATO
Basic Load
INA
Details
Country of Origin
Belgium
Category
Machine Guns
Land > Infantry Weapons > Machine Guns
Filter Label
F
Classification
Domain
Ground
Equipment Status
Active
Dimensions
Length
1.02 m
Width
0.13 m
Height
—
Weight
8.8 kg
Documents & Files (3)
Operators (54)
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