$68M to FN Manufacturing for U.S. Army M249 Machine Guns

M249 machine gun, Afghanistan(click to view full) FN Manufacturing in Columbia, SC received a $68.4 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply M249 5.56mm light machine guns to the U.S. Army. The quantity was not disclosed. FN Manufacutring will perform the work in Columbia, with an estimated completion date of July 24/14. 1 bid solicited with 1 bid received by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ (W15QKN-09-D-0019). FN’s 5.56mm M249 was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1984 to replace the 7.62mm M60 Machine Gun… According to Globalsecurity.org, the M249 is a fully-automatic, gas-operated, magazine or belt-fed, individual weapon. It is an infantry weapon used in 2 roles, automatic rifle and light machine gun. It can be fired from the shoulder, hand-held or from the integral bipod. It is equipped with Army-standard “Picatinny Rails” to quickly mount optics, target illuminators, and other devices without special tools, and has an optional short barrel for close-quarters operations. The M249 also serves with the US Marines, and with a number of other militaries around the world. “IAR What IAR: The USMC’s SAW Substitution” discusses the U.S. Marine Corps’ recent decision to move away from the M249.