The Army is on the lookout for a replacement for its M240B machine gun, according to budget documents.
The replacement program, dubbed the Future Medium Machine Gun, or FMMG, is aimed to replace the M240B — which has been in service since the late 70s — for dismounted troops.
The service has budgeted $3.6 billion to replace the medium machine gun, which is chambered in 7.62 mm.
“The FMMG is a belt-fed, crew-served, direct-fire weapon system that will enable the rifle platoon to organically suppress and destroy enemy personnel targets and maintain operational tempo,” the Army wrote in its budget documents. “The FMMG will provide increased lethality and capability to the warfighter compared to present machine gun technologies fielded to operational units.”
The $3.6 billion figure encompasses research, development, acquisition and contract award costs.
The weapon is prioritized for soldiers in the close combat force such as infantry, scouts, special operations forces and combat engineers.
Documents do not list a caliber for the new weapon. The War Zone first reported on the Army’s request for funding for the FMMG.
The Army recently began fielding the 6.8mm Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle and automatic rifle to replace the M4 carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, both chambered in 5.56mm.
The 6.8mm has been compared to perform as well or better in accuracy and lethality as the 7.62mm, officials said.
Special Operations Forces, the Marines and recently the Army have been evaluating machine guns chambered in .338 Norma Magnum.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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