USSOCOM Takes Delivery of new Sig Sauer MG 338 Machine Gun

[WillBrink]

One bad a$$ looking MG is is too. .338 Norma Magnum? Seems very niche round for them to adopt no? Is there anything else already in the inventory that could fill the gap between 7.62 and .50?

"Sig Sauer announced this week that the U.S. Special Operation Command has certified and taken delivery of the company’s new MG 338 machine gun system.

Chambered in .338 Norma Magnum, the MG 338 is billed on being able to deliver effective fire at ranges out to 2,000 meters, closing the gap between 7.62 NATO weapons like the M240 and .50 cal BMG platforms such as the M2 heavy machine gun. Weighing only 20-pounds, the MG 338 uses Sig-produced ammunition as well as the company’s suppressor design to create an all-Sig product.

“The safety certification of the complete Sig Sauer MG 338 system and delivery of the system to USSOCOM is historically very significant,” said Ron Cohen, the New Hampshire-based company’s President and CEO, in a statement. “For the first time in decades, the U.S. Military certified a new machine gun, ammunition, and suppressor at the same time, bringing innovation, portability, and increased lethality to our ground forces, with all components coming from one company.”

https://www.guns.com/news/2020/01/16...8-machine-gun?

[opngrnd]

I'd be interested to know the requirements that drove this design.

[Grand58742]

Sig has been on a roll lately with new toys.

[Slater]

Taken delivery as in (1) a few for testing and evaluation or (2) a large purchase for operational use?

[Stickman]

Taken delivery as in (1) a few for testing and evaluation or (2) a large purchase for operational use?

Operational use, with a weapon weighing substantially less and "The 300-grain belted magnum round is touted as having a recoil similar to a 7.62mm NATO round while still being lethal out past 1,700 meters. At 1,000 meters, the round is still capable of defeating Level III body armor and penetrating soft-skinned vehicles, thus considered a bridge between the current 7.62mm offerings and .50 BMG."

It converts to .308 as well.

[BoringGuy45]

Operational use, with a weapon weighing substantially less and "The 300-grain belted magnum round is touted as having a recoil similar to a 7.62mm NATO round while still being lethal out past 1,700 meters. At 1,000 meters, the round is still capable of defeating Level III body armor and penetrating soft-skinned vehicles, thus considered a bridge between the current 7.62mm offerings and .50 BMG."

It converts to .308 as well.

Are they talking about the .338 Norma round, or this particular machine gun? If they're talking about the round, I don't see how that's physically possible. If it's the gun, seeing how the recoil system is, that's another story.

[flenna]

That looks dumb with the (comparatively) tiny M4 buttstock on it. But I guess aesthetics don't mean much.

[mack7.62]

What is that in the picture like a 25 round nut sack?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Yamn.... wake me when they get the minigun version up and running...

Why not just go with a 338 Lapua? Granted, it would be a different round than the 338L sniper rounds, but at least the chamber is the same.

I can see that the Norma is bit more 'modern'- shorter, fatter for longer bullets at the same OAL, but another round? And the SIG 277 pussycat or whatever round?

[Grand58742]

Yamn.... wake me when they get the minigun version up and running...

Why not just go with a 338 Lapua? Granted, it would be a different round than the 338L sniper rounds, but at least the chamber is the same.

I can see that the Norma is bit more 'modern'- shorter, fatter for longer bullets at the same OAL, but another round? And the SIG 277 pussycat or whatever round?

According to the .338NM wiki page, they can more easily load 300 grain low drag bullets without affecting the OAL of the round as might happen with a .338 Lapua