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FN MAG
A FN MAG mounted on an Eurocopter Cougar MkII EC-725 at the 2007 International Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport.
Type	General Purpose Machine Gun
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	South African Border War, Falklands War, Gulf War, 2003 Iraq conflict
Production history
Designer	Ernest Vervier
Designed	1950s
Manufacturer	Fabrique Nationale (FN)
Produced	1955—
Variants	British L7 and L8, M240 (US)
Specifications
Weight	10.15 kg
Length	1231 mm
Barrel length	546 mm
Cartridge	7.62x51mm NATO
Action	gas-operated long piston
Rate of fire	850 rounds/min
Effective range	800 m (with bipod), on tripod 1800m (tracer burnout)
Maximum range	1800m in sustained fire role, 800m light role
Feed system	Belt fed

The FN MAG (or MAG-58) is a machine gun manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (FN), Belgium. It was developed in the 1950s, in production since 1958, and has become a widely adopted 7.62 mm NATO-firing machine gun, used by more than 20 countries. MAG stands for Mitrailleuse d'Appui General, translated as 'general purpose machine gun' (GPMG).

Contents 1 Design 2 Operation 2.1 Gas setting 2.2 Changing barrels 3 Variants 3.1 FN Production Variants 3.1.1 MAG 60.20 3.1.2 MAG 60.30 3.1.3 MAG 60.40 3.1.4 MAG 10.10 3.2 Other Families 4 Operators 5 Notes 6 See also 7 External links

Chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, the MAG uses a locking system similar to that of the Browning Automatic Rifle and has made use of some other work by John Browning who had worked on other, earlier designs in Belgium. The downward locking breech block drives the belt feed system, which is a similar type to that of the MG42, itself borrowing it from an earlier design. They are, however, not identical: the MAG works with the standard NATO belt type, which was a capability not added until a 1968 redesign of the MG3, a descendant of the MG42. The MG42 also influenced the MAG's trigger mechanism.

The FN MAG has proven to be extremely reliable under all conditions. In U.S. Army testing it could fire, on average, 26,000 rounds until a failure (such as a part breaking). Mean rounds to a stoppage was lower.

One popular feature of this weapon is that the barrels can be switched very quickly; indeed during sustained usage, a well trained crew can swap to a fresh barrel within about three seconds, and are technically supposed to do so after every second 220 round belt during sustained fire in order to prevent overheating. In practise, this is often skipped, with no detriment to the weapon. During the Falklands War British Paratroopers participating in the assault on Goose Green were forced to fire over eight thousand rounds through individual barrels without significant pause or opportunity to change them. The result was muzzles glowing red hot, but the weapons still proving effective.

The weapon is cleared by pulling the charging handle to lock the piston assembly to the rear, pushing the safety button to safe, opening the feed cover, sweeping away any rounds or links, and lifting the feed tray to inspect the breach block. If a live round is on the breech block face, it is knocked loose. If there is a round in the chamber, and the weapon is hot (from firing), the soldier must move his face away from the weapon to prevent injury in event of the round cooking-off. If a cook-off is likely, the best course of action is to slam the feed cover shut, put the weapon to fire, and squeeze the trigger to fire off the round. Some militaries prescribe this course of action as an automatic drill, or variations thereof.

Loading the weapon is performed by pulling the charging handle to the rear, locking the piston assembly to the rear, placing the weapon on safe and then pushing the charging handle forwards. The feed tray cover is then lifted and rounds are laid against the feed stop on the feed tray. The feed cover is then closed and the weapon is ready for operation. In some armies, however; such as the Canadian Forces, it is broked down into two drills: the load and the ready. The load drill is to cant the weapon to the right (helps with keeping the rounds properly seated on the tray), lift the feed cover, place the rounds on the feed tray, close the feed cover, and bring the weapon upright. To ready the weapon: bring it into the shoulder, cock the weapon, and put it on safe.

The rate of fire may be controlled by three different settings. The first setting allows the weapon to cycle at 750 round/min. The two remaining settings increase the rate of fire by 100 round/min per setting — second setting being 850 round/min and third setting, 950 round/min). These settings are changed by turning the gas regulator using the C-tool provided. It is generally performed before missions, as changing the setting is distracting at best under field or combat conditions. In event of sluggish operation due to fouling, the gas regulator is usually turned two positions up in situ to provide more gas for reliable operation. This operation is usually done by the assistant gunner, on instruction by the gunner. As well the barrels, gas plugs, and gas regulators are matched to a given machine gun, and mixing parts with other barrels or guns may cause gas stoppages. Having the gas setting too high when using blanks may cause stoppages where the cartridges get bent and jammed. An indication of this is usually a hard extraction, and an inspection of the round will show a dent in the side of the cartridge. This stoppage is most common with using blanks, and like all other stoppages hardly ever occurs on a well maintained gun when using ball and tracer ammunition. Proper preparation of the MG is to set the head space and timing for each barrel. For example, on some barrels the default gas setting may be on "2" in order for the piston assembly to be driven the proper distance to the rear.

The barrels can be exchanged rapidly, thanks to a barrel release button located on the left side of the weapon. The weapon is cleared first and then the button is held down, while the barrel's carrying handle is moved from the right side of the weapon to the center, unlocking it from the receiver. At this point, the barrel is pushed down and forward to remove it from the receiver, and placed to the side on a clean heat resistant surface. Ammo can lids work well for this making a V shape from the lids to prevent rolling. The new barrel is inspected for obstructions, inserted into the receiver, and then the carrying handle is shifted to the right, locking it into place. Take special care to not lift up on the carrying handle release button while locking or unlocking the barrel in place. When the carrying handle is rotated to lock the barrel in place, there should be distinct clicking sounds. A good gun crew will count and know how many clicks their barrels are supposed to make.

During prolonged firing, care must be taken to not allow exposed skin to come in contact with the weapon. The barrels can become hot enough to inflict second degree burns instantly without becoming visibly different. However, such barrels glow brightly to anyone using any sort of night-vision device. In winter use, care must also be taken not to let the removed barrel lay on bare snow, as it will melt its way through that in a very short time, causing some embarrassment, or worse, when the replacement barrel is lost in the snow.

Note: The FN MAG does not have a bolt, but a breech block assembly. When it comes forward it does not lock into the barrel like the FN Minimi, so the barrel may be removed without the weapon being cocked. Some armies still prefer to cock the weapon and put it on safe after carrying out a complete unload to maintain the same drills as using the Minimi.

• Standard infantry version with pistol grip, fixed buttstock, and bipod
• Many subvariants including the T3 (L7A1) and T6 (L7A2)

• Fixed aircraft version, firing from a solenoid trigger
• Capable, at least in some subvariants, of left and right hand feeding

• Coaxial version for armoured fighting vehicles
• Many subvariants including the T3 (M240)

• "Jungle" version with shorter barrel and buttstock.

The FN MAG has been adopted by nations around the world. In the British and American cases whole separate families of weapons have evolved from the original FN weapon.

Main article: L7 (machine gun)

Main article: M240

It has been adopted by more than 80 countries worldwide, and is license-produced in the US, UK, Argentina, Taiwan, India, and Singapore and Egypt.

• Argentina
  • The FN MAG is still in use in the Argentinian Army,^[1] after being purchased more than two decades ago, the MAG gained notoriety in the Argentine Armed Forces during the Falklands War.

• Australia
  • The FN MAG is officially designated as the MAG-58 in the Australian Defence Force, in particular, the Australian Army. Due to its weight the weapon is usually employed in the Direct Fire Support role mounted on a tripod for accurate sustained fire operations. The MAG58 is also used as a coaxial and flex mount machine gun for the LAV25 AFV, and is also fitted to Army Black Hawk helicopters as a defensive weapon operated by the load master. Other vehicle fitment of the weapon was on the Perente 6x6 Infantry mobility vehicles and the Bushmaster 4x4 infantry mobility vehicle.

In recent times the stores of the MAG-58 of the ADF have undergone a complete rebuild replacing all the rivets in the receiver and exchanging L7 GPMG components that had found their way into the ADF stores of MAG-58 over the years. Standardising and refurbishing of the weapon platform allowed for continued operation and logistical support of the SFMG well into the year 2000 and beyond. To date no weapon is in production to replace the MAG-58.

• Austria
  • The MAG-58 is established in the Austrian Army as 7,62 mm MG FNMAG/Pz and is used in the Schützenpanzer Ulan and the Kampfpanzer Leopard 2A4. In version FNMAG/M it is also used as armament for the new S-70A-42 Black Hawk Helicopters.

• Belgium
  • At use in every basic infantry and paracommando squad of the Belgian Army.

• Brazil

• Cambodia
  • Used by Khmer Republic back in the Cambodian Civil War in the 1970.

• Canada
  • As the C6 GPMG, it is used primarily as a platoon level support weapon. Two C6 machine guns are assigned to each Rifle platoon. The C6 GPMG is also mounted on a variety of vehicles, including the LAV III, the Coyote, the Leopard C2, and the G-Wagon LUVW. In these vehicles the C6 GPMGs are co-axially and pintle mounted and used to provide fire support to the infantry or for local defence of the vehicle itself.

• Colombia

• Greece
  • The FN MAG is in service with the Army and Special Forces

• Estonia
  • The Swedish-made version known as the Ksp 58 has been adopted as the standard MG.

• Indonesia
  • Pindad SPM2-V2 GPMG is an Indonesian copy of the FN MAG. It different externally, but internally it is the same gun.

• India
  • The various services of the Indian Armed Forces use the locally produced versions of the MAG 58 known as the MG 2A1, MG 1A, MG 5A & MG 6A.

• Ireland
  • Known as the GPMG or MAG. It is used in a fire support role at section level in the infantry. Other units (including the Naval Service and Air Corps) use the GPMG in variety roles such as mounted, sustained fire and heavy roles. It has been recently introduced to the army reserve replacing the Bren gun.

• Israel
  • It is being superseded by the newer, Israeli made Negev Light machine gun. Still widely used on tanks, APC's, Israeli Navy Missile Boats and Dvora Patrol Boats and other vehicles.

• Japan
  • The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force uses the FN MAG manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries but with totally different features such as vented barrel, stock, carrying handle, bipod etc. This variation is known as the T-62/Type 62. See NTK-62 machine gun.

• Lithuania

• Malaysia
• Morocco
• The Netherlands
  • Mostly replaced in the infantry role by the FN Minimi, now only used on tanks, APCs, Jeeps and non-combat units.

• New Zealand
  • MAG-58 used as both flex and coax MG's on the NZLAV. Infantry units use the GPMG.

• Nigeria

• Norway
  • In use on used Leopard 2 main battle tanks bought from Netherlands.

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Philippines
  • Used on Simba (APC).

• Singapore
  • One FN MAG is issued to each rifle platoon. It is always referred to as GPMG or simply, MG. The weapon is operated by the machine gun team, comprising the MG Commander, the MG-gunner, and assistant gunner who carries extra ammunition, helps link belts and change barrels, and provides security.

• Slovenia

• South Africa
  • Deployed in infantry platoons. Commonly referred to as the LMG.

• Sweden
  • Adopted in 1958 as Ksp 58, and manufactured by Carl Gustav. It was chambered in 6.5x55mm Swedish.
  • It was slightly modified in 1970 circa, to the current Ksp 58B standard, with the major improvement being a new gas-regulator. At the same time most weapons were converted to 7.62x51mm NATO, simply by replacing the barrels. However, the old barrels were still kept to be able to use the large stock of ammunition in 6.5 mm.
  • A short barreled variant, also fitted with a retracting stock akin to that on the FN Minimi Para has also been developed under the designation Ksp 58DF, but the resulting Ksp 58D has not yet been adopted.
  • The Ksp 58 Strv is a version used in tanks.

• Taiwan
  • Made under license as the CSF (Combined Service Forces), formerly Hsing-Hua Arsenal, Type 74.

• Thailand
  • Service in Royal Thai Army as vehicle mount machine gun and some Infantry Unit since 1995.

• United Kingdom

Main article: L7 (machine gun)

• • The MAG was adopted by the British forces as a replacement for the Vickers machine gun and the Bren, following trials in 1957. It serves in the British Army, the Royal Marines and other services as the L7 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun), but affectionately nicknamed "Gimpy" by British soldiers.

• United States
  • As M240. The Army mainly uses the M240B, and the Marine Corps the M240G, though there are other types used by them and other branches, such as for use in AFVs.
  • This inroads to the American military opened the way (and the logistics channel) for Army adoption of the MAG -- designated the M240 -- for use on the M1 Abrams tank in 1977. The Marine Corps adopted it in the 1980s for general use on vehicles, eventually arranging to swap all of their M60s to the Army in exchange for the M240. The Marines' use of the M240 in the GMPG role led Army to reconsider the MAG, and it was finally adopted for infantry in the 1990s after it beat the latest version of the M60 (the M60E4) in trials. It has also been adopted in many roles by other branches, and is gradually replacing the M60 family.
  • The M240B model also has an internal recoil buffer and some other changes over the MAG, other versions also vary. A new lightweight version will make use of titanium for some components. The M240 and remaining M60, as well as some M249 are planned to be replaced under a program for a new lightweight machinegun in the early 21st century.

• Venezuela
  • The FN MAG is used as a standard machine-gun in Venezuelan Army infantry units.

• Zimbabwe

1. ^ MAG 7.62 being used in military training exercises in Misiones, Argentina: http://www.infobae.com/adjuntos/imagenes/99/0079971B.jpg

• Mk 48 Mod 0 LWMG - FN Minimi in 7.62 mm calibre for US SOCOM
• T74 machine gun
• Sumitomo Heavy Machineries NTK-62 machine gun (Type 62) an outwardly similar Japanese weapon

• Modern Firearms FN MAG/M240 machine gun
• FN MAG 58 on the range
• FN MAG 58 night shoot
• Video #1 of GPMG (an FN MAG 58 clone)
• Video #2 of GPMG
• Video #3 of GPMG
• Video #4 of GPMG
• Video #5 of GPMG
• Video #6 of GPMG
• Video #7 of GPMG