U.S. Army
infantry units are fighting in the mountains of
Army weapons
officials are fielding several hundred MK 48 MOD 1 machine guns in an effort to
lighten the heavy loads ground forces, especially machine-gunners, struggle to
carry over the country’s unforgiving terrain. The MK 48, made by FN
Manufacturing LLC, was first adopted by Navy SEAL teams in 2000. The elite
commando units needed a reliable 7.62mm machine gun that was light enough to
carry on fast-moving raids and other special missions.
“It’s a great
assault gun,” said Army Col. Doug Tamilio, the head
of Project Manager Soldier Weapons, the command that overseas Army small arms.
At 18.26
pounds, the MK 48 is about nine pounds lighter than the 27.5-pound M240B. But
the 550 MK 48s being fielded are not the beginning of a move to replace the
Army’s beloved M240B, also made by FN Manufacturing, Tamilio
said. It’s a short-term fix until next year when the Army begins fielding the
lighter version of the M240B—the M240L.
The MK 48
fielding is intended to quickly “get something in the hands of soldiers to
fight with in the mountains of
The weapon’s
appearance resembles the M249 squad automatic weapon, also made by FN
Manufacturing. It has the same ergonomic fixed polymer stock and pistol grip.
But unlike the 5.56mm M249, the MK 48 is chambered for the potent 7.62mm NATO
round and is capable of spitting them out at a cyclic rate of fire of 720
rounds per minute.
The MK 48,
while highly reliable, wasn’t designed to offer the long-term durability found
in the M240 series machine gun, said Jim Sharp, deputy director for crew-served
weapons for FNH USA. The MK 48’s receiver will last
about 50,000 rounds compared to the M240’s 100,000-round receiver lifespan.
Tamilio agrees. “It’s a much lighter gun, both in weight and materials,” he
said, describing how the MK 48’s bolt will have to be replaced after about
15,000 rounds while the M240s will last for about 100,000 rounds. Despite its
durable reputation, the M240 is too heavy to carry long distances, especially
up and down steep mountain trails. In some cases, units have chosen to
sacrifice firepower to save weight on multi-day foot patrols in
The MK 48
“breaks away from the traditional support-by-fire position of your heavy or
medium machine gun,” said Pedro Gomes, marketing manager for tactical weapons
at FNH
The MK 48
“gives you the option of bringing that higher calibre, more powerful round
inside the manoeuvre box,” Gomes said.
Back to the Minimi’s 7.62 Heritage
The MK 48 is
very similar to FN’s original Minimi
design, which was chambered for 7.62mm when it first appeared in the mid-1970s,
Sharp said. When the Army went shopping for a new squad automatic weapon in the
1980s, it chose the Minimi design but in the 5.56mm
version, which became the M249 SAW. FN built a streamlined version of the M249,
known as the MK 46, for the SEALs in 1998. Two years
later, the SEALs asked FN to build them a 7.62mm
version of the 46 and the MK 48 MOD O was born. Since then, the MK 48, like the
MK 46, has been very popular among Special Operations Command units, such as
the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Like most
modern machineguns, the MK 48 fires from the open bolt to reduce the risk of
rounds cooking off during sustained firing. When the weapon is loaded, the
feeding operation begins when the trigger is squeezed. This lowers the sear and
starts the bolt moving forward. A roller that sits on top of the bolt assembly
travels down the feed lever, forcing it to pivot from left to right. This sets
the feed-pawl assembly into action. It pushes the first round on the belt of
ammunition into the tray groove.
Dave Hall, a
retired Navy SEAL team senior chief petty officer, described the MK 48 as
“simple to operate, simple to take apart” and “very, very reliable.”
While deployed
in
Hall didn’t
find durability to be a problem. “We shot them quite a bit,” he said, adding
that firing accurate bursts at 500 to 600 meters was pretty routine.
The MK 48’s accuracy at such ranges would come in handy when engaging enemy
armed with AK47s and rocket propelled grenades—weapons that greatly lose their
effectiveness beyond 300 meters, Hall said. “You are way outside of that—you
could just eat their lunch with that thing,” Hall said. “I think the MK 48 is
an excellent balance of accuracy and reliability.”