You may remember our recent “Full-Auto on Pearl River“, and we are back again – but on land! This Photo Of The Day shows international security force professionals from Niger, shooting the M240B machine gun with blank and live ammunition. This happened at a range complex, near the John C. Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi, on February 8, 2023.

It looks like they took an actual boat, and put it on the shooting range as a simulator. The lifebuoy is a nice touch, don’t you think?

The M240B is a belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that is chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. It is designed to provide sustained and accurate firepower in a variety of combat scenarios.

Here are some of the key details about the M240B machine gun:

• Weight: 27.6 pounds (12.5 kg)
• Rate of fire: 650-950 rounds per minute (adjustable)
• Effective range: 1,800 meters (1.1 miles)
• Feed system: disintegrating metallic link belt

Approximately 10 partner nation students are participating in a eight-week Patrol Craft Officer-Riverine (PCOR) course that is designed to provide personnel with the specialized training to effectively plan and safely execute patrol craft security actions in a riverine environment.

NAVSCIATTS trains and educates international security force professionals across the tactical, operational, and strategic spectrums based on geographic combatant command security cooperation priorities. To date, the school house has worked with more than 13,000 partner forces from 125 different countries.

-“Sir, do you prefer live rounds or blanks?”

If I may make a suggestion – please get a red dot or an optic for those M240Bs.

Photos by Michael Williams, Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School.