The Ministry of Defense of Georgia and the US Embassy in Georgia have published news articles telling about a US-funded program of equipping the Georgian Defense Forces with 600 M249 SAW light machine guns. The program includes a two-week weapon familiarization course for the Georgian military personnel conducted by US advisors. Half of the course was dedicated to field training held in the Krtsanisi training center and included various drills and target engagements at 100 to 600-meter distances.

Here is the statement published by the US Embassy in Georgia:

The United States is funding the equipping of the Georgian Defense Forces with 600 M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW)

As part of our commitment to Georgia’s defense and territorial integrity through U.S. security assistance, the United States is equipping the Georgian Defense Forces’ (GDF) with 600 M249 portable, gas operated, light machine guns, or Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW). As part of the fielding plan, U.S. advisors will conduct a two-week, “train-the-trainer” course for a team of 15 Georgian soldiers from the GDF’s Training and Military Education Command (TMEC). Once proficient, the Georgian soldiers will then train teams from GDF’s Eastern and Western Operational Commands. The U.S. trainers are members of the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment and conducted the training on behalf of the 7th Army Training Command based in Germany.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia, like all other post-soviet countries, inherited a small arms arsenal consisting of Soviet weapons. However, over the past years, Georgia has been gradually transitioning to NATO standard cartridges and weapons replacing the Soviet/Russian arms and ammunition. As mentioned by the Georgian Ministry of Defence, equipping their armed forces with the new machine guns “is part of the process of upgrading and modernizing armaments and equipment, which aims to increase the capabilities of the Defense Forces and interoperability with partner countries“.

Sources:

“The United States is funding the equipping of the Georgian Defense Forces with 600 M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW)”. (2020, November 20). US Embassy in Georgia. Retrieved from: https://ge.usembassy.gov/the-united-states-is-funding-the-equipping-of-the-georgian-defense-forces-with-600-m249-squad-automatic-weapons-saw/

“Military Accomplished M-249 Light Machine Gun Operation Course”. (2020, November 19). Ministry of Defence of Georgia. Retrieved from: https://mod.gov.ge/en/news/read/8017/military-accomplished-m-249-light-machine-gun-operation-course

Images from www.mod.gov.ge, www.ge.usembassy.gov