South Carolina-based FN America secured a new Pentagon contract this week to supply machine guns and receivers to the military. 

The $49,973,579 firm-fixed-price award, issued by the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Newark, New Jersey, is for M240L, or M240 Lima, medium machine guns, and titanium receivers. Based on the famed FN MAG 58 general-purpose machine gun, Army adopted the M240 series in 1977 as a vehicle machine gun, moving to standardize it as a replacement for the M60 series in the late 1980s. 

After working directly with the military to shorten and lighten the belt-fed 7.62mm GPMG, the M240L shed five pounds via a titanium receiver and polymer trigger frame while picking up a barrel that is four inches shorter than the standard M240B models. It also features a redesigned collapsible buttstock assembly and a forward-mounted MIL-STD 1913 rail kit. 

 

We saw M240Ls being born when we visited FN's immaculate factory in Columbia, South Carolina for an installment of Select-Fire in 2018. FN came to South Carolina in 1981 specifically to produce the M240 for the U.S. military. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

 

Speaking of machine guns, FN had several advanced models on display at last month's SHOT Show in Las Vegas. 

 

FN MK 48 Maximi at SHOT Show
Including an MK48, or Maximi, which blends the M249 SAW/Minimi program with a 7.62 NATO caliber. Developed in conjunction with SOCOM, it only weighs 18 pounds. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Evolys machine gun at SHOT Show
FN also had one of its new Evolys platform guns on display, which offers either a 12-pound belt-fed machine gun in 5.56 NATO or a 14-pound model in 7.62 NATO. We'll take 10 for starters, please. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

 

The latest FN M240L contract has an estimated completion date of Jan. 27, 2027. 

Banner image: U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Bandit Troop, 3rd Calvary Regiment, fire M240L machine guns during a weapon qualifying exercise in Iraq, Oct. 1, 2018. (Photo: Spc. Javion Siders/U.S. Army)

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