By Kevin Doell
The M240L medium machine gun with short barrel and collapsible buttstock.
The Army recognized the M240L 7.62mm Medium Machine Gun among the 2010 Army Greatest Inventions (AGI) during an awards ceremony at the Association of the United States Army Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 11.
The Army’s first titanium machine gun was in good company, sharing the limelight with no less than five other Picatinny AGI winners out of a field of 10 honorees.
“The recognition validated the value the gun delivers to Soldiers,” said Tom Walsh, M240 Product Director, Project Manager Soldier Weapons.
“The M240L is five pounds lighter than the original M240B, but delivers the same performance and reliability. The weight reduction means a great deal to Soldiers who are carrying the guns up and down the mountains of Afghanistan every day.”
Project Manager Soldier Weapons fielded the first M240Ls to dismounted Army and U.S. Special Operations Command units operating in Afghanistan for an operational assessment in January 2010.
“First Unit Equipped” took place at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in November 2010.
