M249 light machine gun

Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249
Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249
	M249 Para equipped with an ACOG scope
Type	Light machine gun; Squad automatic weapon
Place of origin	United States / Belgium
Service history
In service	1984–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Invasion of Panama; Gulf War; Unified Task Force (Somalia); Bosnian War; Kosovo War; War in Afghanistan; Iraq War; Syrian Civil War; Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present); Yemeni Civil War (2015–present); Saudi-led intervention in Yemen;
Production history
Designed	1976
Manufacturer	FN Herstal
Unit cost	US$4,087
Produced	Late 1970s–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	7.5 kg (17 lb) empty; 10 kg (22 lb) loaded with 200 rounds;
Length	40.75 in (1,035 mm)
Barrel length	465 mm (18.3 in); 521 mm (20.5 in);
Cartridge	5.56×45mm NATO
Action	Gas-operated long-stroke piston, opened rotating bolt
Rate of fire	Cyclic: 850 rounds/min; Rapid: 100 rounds/min; Sustained: 50 rounds/min;
Muzzle velocity	915 m/s (3,000 ft/s)
Effective firing range	700 m (2,300 ft) (point target, 465 mm barrel); 800 m (2,600 ft) (point target, 521 mm barrel); 3,600 m (11,800 ft) (maximum range);
Feed system	M27 linked disintegrating belt in a 100- or 200-round soft pouch; STANAG magazine
Sights	Iron sights or Picatinny rail for various optical sights

The M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the US military’s adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by FN Herstal (FN).

The M249 SAW is manufactured in the United States by the subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC, a company in Columbia, South Carolina (FN America), and is widely used in the U.S. Armed Forces. The weapon was introduced in 1984 after being judged most effective (compared to a number of candidate weapons) to address the lack of automatic firepower in small units. The M249 SAW provides infantry squads with a high rate of machine gun fire, combined with the accuracy and portability of a rifle.

The M249 SAW is gas operated and air-cooled, it has a quick-change barrel (allowing the gunner to rapidly replace an overheated or jammed barrel), and a folding bipod attached to the front of the weapon (an M192 LGM tripod also being available). The SAW can be fed from both linked ammunition and STANAG magazines (such as those used in the M16 and M4), allowing the SAW operator to use them as a source of ammunition in case they run out of belts.

The M249 SAW has seen action in major conflicts involving the United States since the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. In 2009, the United States Marine Corps selected the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle to partially replace the M249 in USMC service.

In 2022, the U.S. Army selected the SIG Sauer XM250 to replace the M249 SAW.

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