In 1976, the US armed forces had a problem. Their current machine guns were far too heavy to be manned by one person, and many of the soldiers had therefore been depending on basic rifles for sustained firepower, resulting in frequent overheating. They planned for a light and powerful firearm to be introduced, and adapted the FN Minimi to that purpose. Although it was exactly what they had been looking for, the M249 needed successive adaptations to be deemed completely suitable for use. Some soldiers from Afghanistan have reported that this weapon is susceptible to breaking, due to sand entering the system. It has since served in multiple recent wars, releasing the 5.56x45mm .223 Remington rounds at 915 m/s. Check out these bullets by following the link.
