Marine Corps special ops looks for a lighter machine gun

Washington Examiner:
Special operations Marines are aiming to replace their long-serving and iconic M2 machine gun. After more than 80 years with the M2 "Ma Deuce" weapon, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, otherwise known as MARSOC, is seeking to lighten its machine gun load.

First produced in 1933, the M2 quickly earned a reputation for reliability and power and is the longest-serving weapon in the U.S. military arsenal. Its .50 caliber round is one of the largest in existence, allowing the user to hit targets at more than 8,000 yards. With a firing rate reaching nearly 600 rounds per minute, the M2 is formidable in a firefight.

“Witnessing the downrange effects of the .50-caliber bullet is an eye-opening experience,” wrote Gordon Rottman, author of Browning .50-Caliber Machine Guns. “There are few who can say they were wounded by a .50-cal. Those hit seldom say much more.”

But all the power of the "Ma Deuce" comes with a price. Weighing in at more than 80 pounds, the M2 and its large caliber ammunition are a heavy cargo. Hence the search for a lighter substitute.
...
If you are a small unit moving to contact a lighter weapon should make you more effective.  The Marines are looking at the Sig Sauer MG 338 system and the General Dynamics’s Lightweight Medium Machine Gun. The story does not give the caliber or range of the new weapons.

 The Marine rifle company I was XO of in northern I Corp in Vietnam used the M2 and it required several troops to carry the weapon and the ammo. It was an effective weapon and when set up in interlocking fields of fire made it difficult for the enemy to attack the Marine position.

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