The Army is reportedly trying to come up with a lighter .50-caliber machine gun to replace the M2 Browning, also known as “Ma Deuce.” The new machine gun would reportedly use titanium in the construction to provide additional strength and to cut weight.
The M2 has been in service with American servicemen since the Great Depression. In World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, American troops used Ma Deuce to put the hurt on the enemy. The M2 also provided versatility. It was used on vehicles, ships, planes, and even by grunts on the ground to take out many enemy troops – including Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Efforts to replace the M2 have not done well. Twice since 2000, the M2 has beaten out possible replacements. The XM312 was derived from the XM307. While it was just 52 pounds – meaning two grunts could carry it, it only fired about 250 rounds per minute. That just didn’t quite cut it. The Army didn’t give up, and tried out the XM806. While the rate of fire improved, it still wasn’t enough to convince the Army to replace Ma Deuce.
An earlier effort also didn’t go well. When the M60 Patton main battle tank entered service, it featured the M85. While the M85 was lighter, and had a comparable rate of fire, the gun had some issues. First was reliability, a real deal-breaker for troops on the ground. But the other problem, one that was far more insurmountable, was that the ammo feed used a different link system.
Links might seem like an odd thing to focus on. But without these links, any belt-fed machine gun, like the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, the M240 and M60 7.62mm machine guns, even Ma Deuce, would not work. In this case, the link system used by the M85 meant that the stockpiles of .50-caliber ammunition were useless, because the M2 and M9 links used for the M2 weren’t compatible with the M85. The M85’s link system was not compatible with the M2. And loading an ammo belt is a very time-consuming process, and time-consuming processes aren’t very practical in combat conditions.
The M2A1 version of the M2 just entered service five years ago. Ma Deuce got major improvements, notably a quick-change barrel, fixed headspace and timing, a manual-block safety, and a new flash suppressor that reduced muzzle flash by 95 percent. Currently, there are over 45,000 M2s in service. A new .50-caliber machine gun does not need to be developed for the grunts.
Now, Special Operations Command arguably does have need for a lightweight machine gun. But the M312 or M806 should be able to fill that need without blowing the DOD’s ever-tighter budget. What might be a better use of the money would be for DOD to hire some people who can explain software development to politicians like John McCain, who seem ready to pull the plug way too soon on the F-35.