An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 23 As infantry soldiers it is an essential requirement as the machine gun is a section level weapon, and each soldier in the infantry section must be able to use the weapon as efficiently as their own personal rifle. Once qualified on the GPMG, the RDF soldier will af- terwards receive regular continuation training with the machine gun, and will fire and qualify on it at the very least on a bi-annual basis. This is essential, because as already stated, the GPMG is a section level weapon, and as such will be used on all RDF tactical training and also on all PDF exercises RDF members are involved in. The GPMG itself has been in service for over 50 years, it is a widely used weapon, in service with over 80 armed forces in the world, many of which make their own locally built versions - to date over 200,000 gun units have been constructed. The FN Herstal Company in Belgium manufac- tures the version used by the Defence Forces. As the C Company RDF soldiers may have noticed while firing the GPMG on the range, it is a sturdy weapon, robust- ly built, capable of absorbing rough use for long periods without maintenance, other than changing the barrel. For the infantry the GPMG is used in the smallest military unit - the section, where its main purpose in combat is to suppress the enemy and 'win the fire fight'. Overall the GPMG is arguably the best weapon of its class in the world. However, its main drawbacks would include its calibre - with its 7.62mm ammunition not been compatible with the sections 5.56mm rifles. Its weight sometimes not good for carrying on long periods, and the belts in which it is fed, can sometimes sag, preventing quick operation. During the 1990s these issues were deemed important enough to be addressed by many armies, some of which converted their infantry platoon weapons to various ver- sions of 5.56mm Light Machine Guns (LMGs). These weap- ons were lighter to carry than the GPMG, were compatible with their rifle ammunition, and were magazine fed - so erasing the problem of sagging ammunition belts. The 7.62mm calibre GPMG seemed to be becoming of a begone age, just like the old .303 weapons which were once in worldwide use. Then the current conflict in Afghanistan broke out in the mid 2000s, with many NATO armies taking some part in this conflict. This conflict would be a light infantry ground war, mostly platoon and company level. Much of this infan- try fighting turned out to be a longer range than expected, between 600 and 800 meters, and sometimes much fur- ther. 5.56mm calibre weapons, including the machine guns, struggled to reach the enemy positions, never mind 'win the fire fight'. This was were the GPMG began to return to favour; it was quickly retrieved from various stores and re-issued alongside the 5.56mm machine guns. Soldiers in the field favoured it for combat because of two main principles - it was reliable and robust in combat conditions, and more importantly it had further range, able to hit targets beyond the range of the 5.56mm weapons. The GPMG has been in service for 50 years now, and will still be in service somewhere in another 50 years time, it is a genuine "Old Reliable". T E C H I N F O R M A T I O N Name: FN MAG GPMG Manufacturer: FN Herstal, Belgium Entered service: 1964 Calibre: 7.62mm Weight: 10.9Kg Length: 1,260mm Range: 1,800m Sight: Rear Ramp Type Mode of Fire: Automatic Fire Ammunition Feed: 50 Round Belt Rate of Fire: 650-1,000 Rounds/Minute

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