The SIG Sauer MG 338 is a medium machine gun manufactured by the

SIG Sauer SIG Sauer is since the 1970s a combined brand name of several Firearms manufacturing companies, with SIG referring to ''Swiss Industry Group'' originally founded 1853, while the latter part comes from Sauer & Sohn, founded in 1751 in Germany a ...

company.

Description

The SIG MG 338 is primarily chambered in .338 Norma Magnum and has an effective range of approximately 1,700 meters, approximately twice the effective range of 7.62x51mm, while at 1,000 meters, it is still capable of penetrating Level III armor. The MG 338 can be switched to fire 7.62×51mm by changing out the barrel, bolt, feed tray, and cover. It weighs approximately which is significantly less than the preceding

M240 The M240 machine gun, officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240, is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been use ...

. The MG 338 uses a short stroke gas piston operating system and is

select fire Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Select (album), ''Select'' (album), a 1982 album by Kim Wilde * Select (magazine), ''Select'' (magazine), a 1990–2001 British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a 1996–2001 interac ...

, capable of both automatic and semi-automatic fire. The MG 338 is fully ambidextrous and is capable of being fed and charged from the right or left side which can make mounting the machine gun to various vehicles easier. It can also be loaded from the closed or open bolt position. Standard configuration uses an AR style handgrip and folding buttstock. The weapon system also includes an NGS (Next Generation Suppressor)

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

made by SIG Sauer and has gas settings for firing suppressed or unsuppressed. Optics are mounted to the frame of the weapon which avoids issues with mounting optics to the feed tray of the weapon. A separate acquisition program for a fire control system was underway as of 2021. Recoil is managed via a proprietary system which allows the barrel to shift backward, reportedly reducing the felt recoil to slightly more than an M4.

History

In 2017

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...

(SOCOM) issued a solicitation for a .338 Norma Magnum machine gun. This was in response to the need for

overmatch Overmatch is a concept in modern military thinking which prizes having overwhelming advantages over an adversary to a more significant margin than in traditional warfare. It is related to military superiority. Overmatch uses a military force's "c ...

when examining the capabilities of the 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm rounds compared to 7.62×54mmR. The MG 338 was planned to have a similar weight to the M240 but, with the .338 Norma Mag, deliver terminal effects on targets similar to that of the 12.7 mm. Programs for acquisition of .338 Norma Mag ammunition began in 2018. Acquisition of the weapon system began in 2019. The MG 338 was first unveiled at AUSA 2018. Development of the MG 338 also led to the NGSW

XM250 The M250 is the U.S. military designation for the SIG LMG 6.8, a 6.8×51mm (.277 in), gas-operated, belt-fed light machine gun designed by SIG Sauer for the U.S. Army's Next Generation Squad Weapon Program in 2022 to replace the M249 light mac ...

design, chambered in

6.8×51mm The .277 Fury or 6.8×51mm Common Cartridge (designated as the .277 SIG Fury by SAAMI) is a centerfire, rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge announced by SIG Sauer in late 2019. Its hybrid, three-piece cartridge case has a steel case-head and ...

, which was an offshoot of the MG 338. At one point, the MG 338 was referred to as the SL MAG. The MG 338 passed its US military safety evaluations in 2020. The

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

also looked at adopting the weapon alongside SOCOM, and it was also evaluated by the Marine Corps'

MARSOC United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM, originating from Marine Force Recon (FORECO ...

Users

References

{{SIG Sauer Rifles .338 Norma Magnum firearms Medium machine guns Machine guns of the United States SIG Sauer machine guns

Description

History

Users

See also

References