The M240 is an American-made general purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. It is a licensed reproduction of the Belgian FN MAG that has been in service with the United States Armed Forces since 1977 and is used extensively by infantry forces and as a vehicle-mounted weapon on ground vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. It has also been used and is still in use by various other countries' armed forces. The M240 was the successor to the M60 machine gun.
Overview[]
Manufactured by FN Herstal, the FN MAG was chosen by the United States military for various roles after large worldwide searches and competitions. The FN MAG displayed a great amount of versatility for a range of operations. While possessing several of the same characteristics of its predecessor, the MAG system was much more durable and thus more reliable.
The US production version of the FN MAG was designated the M240 and was introduced into service in 1977 as a coaxial tank gun. It gradually became used for a wider variety of applications in the 1980s and 1990s. Several variants of the M240 were produced for a range of different roles.
While originally used mostly as a vehicle-mounted weapon, its popularity led to it being adopted by various infantry forces, most often in rifle platoons. The United States Marine Corps adopted the M240G variant for this role in 1991, where it replaced the M60 and M60E3 machine guns. The United States Army adopted the M240B for their infantry use.
The multiple variants of the M240 have not completely replaced all of the M60 variants, though for the most part has become the main gun used for the former roles of the M60.
Behind the Scenes[]
One of the Emissary Predators with a modified M240 slung under its arm.
In The Predator, the Emissary Predators were to carry modified versions of the M240 machine gun, which they would have used to help the Loonies in combating the Upgrade Predator as well as his Yautja hybrids. However, the Emissaries were completely removed from the film during reshoots and as such they and their weapons never appear.