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The Army is in the midst of developing a new, lighter version of its iconic .50 caliber machine gun, which promises to be even deadlier than the original.
The M2 machine gun, commonly known among U.S. troops as the “Ma deuce,” is world-renowned for its remarkable firepower. And an updated version of the M2, fitted with lighter titanium parts, promises to improve upon the already impressive piece of weaponry. Once completed, the new M2 will be between 20 and 30 percent lighter than its original, making it much easier to transport and operate.
“We always want to lighten the soldier load. A major requirement is to engineer a 60-pound weapon compared to an 86-pound weapon,” Laura Battista, the Product Management Engineer for Picatinny Arsenal, told Scout Warrior, a military news website. “We will procure 30 and then go into full blown testing – air drop, full reliability, durability, maintainability and government standard testing. We’ll see how it did compared to the M2 and we will try to go to turn it into a program of record.” – READ MORE