Improved .50-caliber machine gun hits fleet

Marine units have received an upgraded .50-caliber machine gun that aims to make firing quicker, safer and less visible to the enemy.

Marine Corps Systems Command officials in Quantico, Virginia, released information Thursday about the upgrades, which include a quick-change barrel, fixed headspace and timing, and a flash hider that reduces the machine gun’s signature by 95 percent at night.

“The improved M2A1 makes Marines more lethal because they’re able to get rounds down range quicker,” said Maj. Harry Thompson, team lead for General Purpose Weapons at the command.

The current machine gun requires Marines to manually set headspace and timing before firing and after the barrel heats from high fire volumes.

Headspace is the distance between the face of the bolt and the base of the cartridge when chambered, while timing is the adjustment of the weapon so firing occurs when the recoiling parts are in the correct position.

The quick-change barrel is now possible because the headspace and timing are now fixed, Thompson said.