Breaking news
Central Wisconsin Armory exhibited its M3D Heavy machine gun at AUSA 2014.
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AUSA
2014 Association of the United States Army AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition 13 to 15 October 2014 Washington D.C., United States |
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Central Wisconsin Armory at AUSA 2014 |
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| Wednesday, October 22, 2014 05:45 PM | |||
| Central Wisconsin Armory exhibited its M3D Heavy machine gun at AUSA 2014 | |||
The
M3D, also know as Dragon M-50, was presented by Central Wisconsin Armory
during AUSA 2014 in Washington, D.C.. This machine gun is a lighter, faster
and more reliable version of the famous M2HB 12.7x99mm machine gun. |
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CWA M3D 12.7x99mm in side-by-side twin-mount configuration at
AUSA 2014
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In an attempt to
compete with the GAU-21/M3M of FNH USA, CWA proposes his own improved
version of the venerable M2HB, the M3D. The weapon has a lot of advantages
compare to the original M2. The M3D is 13.5 lbs lighter and 1 foot shorter
than the M2HB. Its rate of fire is twice (around 950 rounds per minute)
of a current version of a .50 caliber M2. Other design enhancements
include an improved barrel liner and an integral flash suppressor that
eliminates “blooming” in night-vision goggles. It can be
mounted on differents platforms (ground vehicles, aircraft, riverine...)
and can also be used from the ground. This machine gun is available
in two versions, single-mount or side-by-side twin-mount. In this last
configuration, the two guns can be operated independently of each other. M3D development work began in 2006 with initial availability in 2008. According to CWA owner and M3D inventor Leroy E. Haywood, the gun is currently deployed with “one Middle Eastern country” and one unspecified U.S. Army Special Forces Group. “Now that the U.S. military sees the benefits of ‘shorter, lighter, faster,’ they really like it”, Haywood said. “So we are going to be doing some serious demonstrations for the U.S. military over the next few months. And hopefully growth will continue with our allies in implementing the platform as well”. CWA proposes a retrofit kit to modify the M2HB, M3P or M3AC and convert them in M3D. CWA also offers different services like maintenance and parts replacement training. |