RMG.50 | |
Origin: | Germany |
Type: | Heavy machine gun |
Is Ranged: | YES |
Design Date: | 2008-09 |
Manufacturer: | Rheinmetall |
Weight: | 25.0 kg |
Length: | 1884 mm |
Part Length: | 1200 mm |
Cartridge: | 12.7x99 mm NATO |
Caliber: | .50BMG |
Barrels: | 1 |
Action: | gearbox-driven crank, externally powered[1] |
Rate: | 600 rounds per minute |
Range: | 1800 m |
Feed: | dual linkless feed |
The RMG.50 is a German heavy machine gun under development by Rheinmetall.
The RMG.50 machine gun is under development by the company under contract to the Bundeswehr as a replacement for the Browning M2HB recoil-operated heavy machine gun of the same calibre. According to a company representative, work on the RMG.50 started in 2008 and the first firings took place at the end of 2009. A second prototype was completed and started trials in August 2010. A third prototype were delivered in 2011 for internal qualification and pre-series weapons were delivered to the German Ministry of Defence test authority in 2012. The weapon entered service with the German Bundeswehr in 2014. [2]
Due to its weight and need for external power source it is currently only mounted on vehicles, such as the Puma .[3] [4]