General Dynamics Long-Range Machine Gun | Kit Up!

GD Shows Off Long-Range Machine Gun | Kit Up!

GD’s Ordnance and Tactical Systems division was showing off the 23-pound LWMMG at Modern Day Marine 2013, touting it as the needed bridge between the M240 and the M2 .50 caliber machine guns. 

“We wanted a round that could provide capabilities to eliminate the gap between 7.62mm and .50 cal,” a GD official said. “We needed a round that could provide accurate, effective fire on target beyond 1,500 meters.” 

The LWMMG fires a 300 grain .338 caliber bullet and is capable of effective fire out to 1,700 meters, compared to the M240 round which is effective out to 1,100 meters. 

“It puts a lot of energy on the target; it doesn’t compare to the .50 cal which is a 650 grain bullet, but we are not trying to replace the .50 cal,” the GD official said. The LWMMG isn’t being marketed as a replacement for the M240 either even though it’s about 4 pounds lighter. The heavier, .338NM ammo weighs about 9 pounds for every 100-round box. One hundred rounds of 7.62mm weights about seven pounds. 

“You can mount this anywhere an M240 will mount,” he said. “You can put effective fire on targets at extended ranges, and that is why we chose that round; we built the weapon around the round.”

After 12 years of war, our Enemies in the AfPak theater know our weapons' capabilities pretty well.  Consequently, they prefer to initiate an ambush with an IED, then open fire with machine guns, RPGs and recoilless rifles (when available) from elevated positions out of range of our weapons.

Our .50 cal machine guns can reach them, but a dismounted patrol can't carry a .50 cal.  And a mounted patrol can't dismount the .50 cal from a truck and maneuver it to a more advantageous position if the enemy's fighting positions are too far up on the high ground (which they usually are).

This machine gun weighs roughly the same as an M-240, but with much greater range.  Carrying an M-240B in Afghan terrain is no joke, but our servicemen do it.  And this guns range is long enough that the enemy wouldn't be able to out-range them.

My first thought when I read the Kit Up headline was - why not .338 Lapua?  How does the .338 Norma compare to it?  I don't know the answer to those questions, but here's this from the article...

The plan was to build the LWMMG in the same round as U.S. Special Operations Command’s new Precision Sniper Rifle, which Remington is now building in .338 Lapua magnum, GD officials said. While the company is pleased with the performance of the shorter .338NM cartridge, it would not be difficult to convert it to .338 Lapua, GD officials maintain.

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