US Army looking for lighter .50 machine gun
The U.S. Army and Special Operations Command are stepping up efforts to procure a lighter, modernized .50-caliber machine gun more easily transported than the standard 85-pound M2.
The goal is not to replace the M2, a combat fixture for 70 years, but to augment the inventory with a .50-caliber weapon that brings the same firepower at less than half the weight, Army officials said here at the Feb. 27-29 winter convention of the Association of the U.S. Army. Early models of the Light Weight .50-caliber (LW50) are expected to be delivered this year.
More info at Murdoc Online
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Sounds like the XM312 would be good fit. If they haven’t canceled the program that is.
I read that the problem with the XM312 was the slow rate of fire (260 rounds/min), half the rate of the M2.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not change the material? Instead of a new gun, build a M2 out of Titanium or Scandium with a Carbon fiber barrel?
Sounds like what they need is an XM312 .50 cal.
they are way lighter and more portable.