Sig Sauer left behind an important step in their work to fill the gap between machine guns using 7.62x51mm NATO and 12.7x99mm BMG ammunition.
The new system, called the MG 338, completed safety certification tests and entered the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) inventory. “This safety certification was achieved after the extraordinary performance of the entire MG 338 system with the challenges of the comprehensive functionality, durability and safety tests laid out by the USSOCOM,” said Sig Sauer CEO Ron Cohen, about certification and delivery, considered an important milestone. used his words.
The MG 338 process, in which machine gun, ammunition and suppressor equipment were designed in parallel, was carried out in close cooperation with USSOCOM. The system, developed to fill the gap between machine guns using 7,62×51 mm NATO and 12,7×99 mm BMG ammunition, uses 338 Norma Mag ammunition. Machine gun weighs about 9 kilograms, which almost 25% of the M2 machine guns firing 12.7 mm cartridges. However, the gun offers the maximum effective range of M2's. Using the short-stroke gas piston system, the MG 338 has a free-floating barrel and recoil absorbing system. The machine gun, which has a separate buffer inside the receiver to reduce the recoil force. Gun has the recoil force as much as the M4 infantry rifles, according to the company. Supported with MIL-STD-1917 rail for the attaching different types of equipment, especially optics and electrooptics, the MG 338 can be fed on the right or left hand, depending on the user.
