U.S. Special Operations Command Won't Give Up on These Two Machine Guns

Task and Purpose

Security, United States

U.S. specific Operations direction plans above continuing ought equip operators with FN America’s Mk 46 spec-ops designed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon variant and the beefed-up Mk 48 “super SAW,” doubling down above the two lightweight machine guns adopted almost 15 years ago among a chief overhaul of the military’s tiny wepon arsenal.

U.S. specific Operations direction Won't rent above These Two machine Guns

All of this is ought state that SOCOM’s super SAW can hold picked up some extra bite. back all, the new understanding does know upgrades and engineering assistance from FN America, which force mean that SOCOM plans above rejiggering the super SAW though the next large fight.

(This first appeared persist year.)

U.S. specific Operations direction plans above continuing ought equip operators with FN America’s Mk 46 spec-ops designed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon variant and the beefed-up Mk 48 “super SAW,” doubling down above the two lightweight machine guns adopted almost 15 years ago among a chief overhaul of the military’s tiny wepon arsenal.

The department of Defense recently awarded FN America, a South Carolina-based wepon manufacturer, a $13.45 million understanding ought furnish both the 5.56mm Mk 46 and 7.62mm Mk 48 glitter machine guns ought SOCOM, The Firearm Blog reports. The understanding represents an enlarge above SOCOM’s $11.5 million vocation at 2010 though the two weapons, which FN especially designed though Naval specific effort starting assistance at 2004.

The Mk 46 and Mk 48, though they eclipse their SAW cousin at range, firepower, and ergonomics, hold their possess maiden lay of problems. The Mk 48 at specific “had a trend ought lose accuracy owing ought how much the weapon used to shiver during sustained firing,” The battle belt observed at May. “There were too problems with overheating and the gas system filling quickly with carbon, the latter spread major ought jamming unless operators thoroughly cleaned the weapon regularly.”

But it’s worthy noting that the new understanding with FN comes impartial a little months back SOCOM officials unveiled plans though a so-called “assault machine gun” chambered at 6.5mm Creedmoor, a smaller cartridge than the standard 7.62mm ammo that surplus more effective though long-range remove assistance than the 5.56mm M249 SAW ammo. Here are the details of SOCOM’s new intermediate caliber ammo, per The battle Zone:

In testing at 2017, specific operators shooting rifles modified ought fire 6.5mm Creedmoor were twice though responsible ought overcome their targets compared those using regulation guns at the existing 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. specific Operations direction too evaluated .260 Remington and collected data above the deed of entire three types of ammunition at the FN Mk 20 Mod 0 Sniper assistance Rifle, the Knight’s wepon corporation M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), and Heckler and Koch M110A1 brief Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS).

The testing too showed that the 6.5mm versions of the weapons hold 40 percent greater hill and less recoil than their 7.62mm counterparts. The approximately was 30 percent less susceptible ought wind drift, though well, making it more accurate at those distances.

That transition, though initially hinted at on an April 2017 Military ripen report, too appears ought understanding with the U.S. Army’s long-running advance though an intermediate caliber though its possess M249 SAW and M4 carbine replacement at the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, albeit chambered at the slightly-larger 6.8mm, though task & goal reported at May. if the army is whipping together the NGSAR with an intermediate caliber ought patch warfighters’ so-called “range gap,” then it follows that maybe SOCOM force chase a new “assault machine gun” too and abandon the tried-and-true MK 46/Mk 48 duo behind, right?

Maybe not: SOCOM’s influence ought reinvest at its Mk 48 arsenal suggests that maybe weapons planners hold managed ought identify a mixture of existing upgrades ought the beloved “super SAW” ought understanding the intermediate caliber — a influence that, though The battle belt pointed out, force indeed enhance the efficiency of the occasionally buggy Mk 48 or “improve the condition with minor effort.” Indeed, another briefing slip from SOCOM's ammo update showed the development of an "assault machine gun" chambered at 6.5mm that appears ought exhibition the Mk 48.