AM-250 Support Gun



The Armor Militant-250 Support Machine Gun, AM-250, is a heavy support gunner weapon made in the Union of Everett. It features the new .416 caliber round, allowing the gun the penetration and speed of a smaller assault rifle round, with the heavy punch and stopping power of a large caliber sniper, heavy support round such as the .50 caliber. The gun provides infantry squads with the heavy volume of fire of a machine gun combined with accuracy and portability approaching that of a rifle. The AM-250 is gas-operated and air-cooled. It has a quick-change barrel, allowing the gunner to rapidly replace an overheated or jammed barrel. A folding bipod is attached near the front of the gun. It primarily uses a box magazine with belt ammunition although it can also use standard STANAG magazines, similar to those in the new Barrett .416 rifles. The AM-250 replaces the aging Belgian M249 machine gun, bringing new capabilities such as being jam resistant when submerged in water or sand.

Design
The AM-250 is a belt-fed support machine gun. It fires the .416 caliber cartridge, fed from M27 linked belts. Belts are typically held in a hard plastic or soft canvas box attached to the underside of the weapon, called a box magazine. It fires from an open bolt and is gas operated. When the trigger is pulled, the bolt and bolt carrier move forward under the power of the recoil spring. A cartridge is stripped from the belt, chambered, and discharged, sending a bullet down the bore. Expanding propellant gases are diverted through a hole in the barrel into a chamber. This pressure moves a piston providing the energy to extract and eject the spent casing as well as advance the belt and compress the recoil spring, thus preparing for subsequent shots. The AM-250 box magazine may contain a 200 round belt. Due to the larger caliber round, the gun features recoil reduction.