FN America to supply US Army with additional M240 machine guns.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on June 8 that FN America LLC, Columbia, South Carolina, was awarded a $92,104,736 firm-fixed-price contract to procure M240 Series machine gun variants and spare receivers. One bid was solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 8, 2026. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.
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GIs operating an FN America M240 Machine Gun at Rock Island Arsenal, Jan. 27, 2020 (Picture source: U.S. DoD)

The M240, officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240, is the U.S. military designation for the Belgian-designed FN MAG (Mitrailleuse A Gaz, "gas-operated machine gun"; alternatively, Mitrailleuse d'Appui General, "general support machine gun"), a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.

The M240 has been used by the U.S. Armed Forces since the late 1970s. It is used extensively by infantry, most often in rifle companies, as well as on-ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Though it is heavier than some comparable weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability and its standardization among NATO members is a major advantage.

All variants are fed from disintegrating belts and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 mm (.30/.308 cal) NATO ammunition. M240 variants can be converted to use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict the interchangeability of parts. The M240s used by the U.S. military are currently manufactured by FN America, the American subsidiary of the Belgian company FN Herstal.

The M240B and M240G are usually fired from integrated bipods, tripods, or vehicular mounts; regarding tripod use, the U.S. Army primarily uses the M192 lightweight ground mount, while the U.S. Marine Corps uses the M122A1 tripod, a slightly updated M2 tripod.