Infantry Small Arms / The Warfighter

Fabrique Nationale FN M3P

Belt-Fed Vehicle Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) [ 2009 ]

The Fabrique Nationale FN M3P is a modernized form of the Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun - intended for vehicle, watercraft and aircraft mounting.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 12/16/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright FN Herstal marketing material.

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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).

Specifications

Service Year

2009

Origin

Belgium

Classification

Belt-Fed Vehicle Heavy Machine Gun (HMG)

Fabrique Nationale (FN herstal) - Belgium

(View other Arms-Related Manufacturers)

Belgium; Germany; United Kingdom; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Fire Support
Capable of suppressing enemy elements at range through direct or in-direct fire.

Overall Length

1,650 mm
64.96 in

Barrel Length

1,150 mm
45.28 in

Empty Wgt

77.16 lb
35.00 kg

Sights

Iron

Action

Full-Automatic; Belt-Fed

Full-Automatic
Rounds are automatically ejected from the breech, a new cartridge stripped from the feed and set in the chamber, and rounds are continuously fired so long as the trigger is pulled and an ammunition supply exists.

(Material presented above is for historical and entertainment value and should not be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation - always consult official manufacturer sources for such information)

Caliber(s)*

12.7x99mm NATO

Sample Visuals**

Graphical image of a 12.7mm / .50BMG machine gun / rifle round

Rounds / Feed

250- or 400-round belt

*May not represent an exhuastive list; calibers are model-specific dependent, always consult official manufacturer sources.
**Graphics not to actual size; not all cartridges may be represented visually; graphics intended for general reference only.

Max Eff.Range

6,000 ft
(1,829 m | 2,000 yd)

Rate-of-Fire

1,025
rds/min

Muzzle Velocity

2,900 ft/sec
(884 m/sec)

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.

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Image copyright FN Herstal marketing material.

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