Fabrique Nationale FN M3P Belt-Fed Vehicle Heavy Machine Gun (HMG)

Specifications

Year: 2009
Manufacturer(s): Fabrique Nationale (FN herstal) - Belgium
Roles: Fire Support/Suppression/Defense; Vehicle Mount;

Action: Full-Automatic; Belt-Fed
Caliber(s): 12.7x99mm NATO
Sights: Iron
Overall Length: 1,650 mm (64.96 in)
Barrel Length: 1,150 mm (45.28 in)
Weight (Unloaded): 77.16 lb (35.00 kg)

Muzzle Velocity: 2,900 feet-per-second (884 meters-per-second)
Rate-of-Fire: 1,025 rounds-per-minute
Effective Range: 6,000 ft (1,829 m; 2,000 yd)

Operators: Belgium; Germany; United Kingdom; United States

The Fabrique Nationale (FN Herstal) FN M3P is a vehicle machine gun based on the hugely successful Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun series. The M3P is simply a modernized form intended for use on trainable vehicle mountings or as a fixed vehicle/aircraft gun (podded or open-air). It can be manually-fired or remotely fired (via solenoid) which sufficiently broadens battlefield applications. In the former, it can be sat upon a trainable pintle mounting and used as a normal open-air, air-cooled machine gun (defensive application or on a vehicle/watercraft for offensive purposes). In the latter, it can serve through a remote weapons station installation, as a coaxial machine gun on a tank (or other wheeled/tracked armored vehicle) or in "podded" form and slung under the wing of an aircraft - light strike or helicopter - used in conjunction with the aircraft's existing weapons software suite.

The FN M3P showcases a design faithful to the original Browning with its rectangular receiver, large ejection port and feed units and perforated barrel for air cooling. A large, cylindrical muzzle brake is fitted. Belt-feeding is standard (from left or right of the receiver) as is full-automatic fire. The weapon is chambered for the proven 12.7x99mm NATO standard heavy cartridge and fires at a rate nearing 1,025 rounds per minute. its overall construction provides a weight-savings measure over the original Browning M2.

The FN M3P is marketed across several designated variants beyond the base open-air gun mounting. These include the podded FN HMP250 (250-rounds), the FN HMP400 (400-rounds) and FN RMP (250-rounds with 3 x 2.75" rockets underslung).

Variants / Models

• FN M3P - Base Series Designation; open-air design.
• FN HMP250 LCC - Podded variant; 250-round feeding with links collector.
• FN HMP400 LC - Podded variant; 400-round feeding with links collector.
• FN HMP400 LCC - Podded variant; 400-round feeding with links and cases collector.
• FN RMP LC - Podded variant; 250-round feeding with 3 x 2.75" tube-launched rockets.