The U.S. Army has awarded FN America with a firm-fixed-price contract, valued up to $49,973,579, to supply M240L medium machine guns and titanium receivers. The M240L, which is roughly 18-percent lighter than the M240B, was officially adopted in 2010 after a joint effort by FN and the U.S. Army to reduce overall weight while maintaining performance and durability of the machine gun.
“The M240L is the product of a collaborative effort between FN, the Army and the individual soldier to further enhance the M240B to be more effective for the warfighter,” said Mark Cherpes, president and CEO for FN America. “The development saw the introduction of new materials along with new manufacturing techniques that have paved the way for the future generation of military equipment. I am extremely proud of the innovation and ingenuity that went into the development of the M240L and look forward to working with the U.S. Army to deliver against this contract.”
The development is a major leap forward in the materials and manufacturing methods for today’s machine guns. The M240L has been the cutting-edge for lightweight medium machine guns with an overall weight reduction of 5 pounds from the M240B without any impact to performance or longevity. The 18-percent weight reduction was achieved by incorporating titanium into the design, including the receiver, and introducing new manufacturing methods to adjust for the material properties. The M240 general purpose machine gun, derived from the FN MAG 58, was adopted by the U.S. military in the late 1970s, and has been in continual service since being introduced.
Throughout its history, FN has been one of the largest suppliers of small arms to the U.S. military and continues to develop innovative, future technology. In addition to the M240 and its variants, the company currently holds contracts for the FN M249 lightweight machine gun; the FN MK 46, MK 48, MK 17, and MK 20 SSR for USSOCOM, and various other contracts.
