M249 SAW



The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) is chambered to the 5.56 NATO round, it is a powerful, accurate, and mobile base of fire weapon whose purpose is to provide fire support for individual fire teams during offensive and defensive operations. Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1983 to replace the heavier M60 General Purpose Machine Gun, the M249 is capable of producing a large volume of fire with accuracy and handling approaching that of a rifle. At 15 lbs, it can be fired from the shoulder. While the M249's standard ammunition feed is by an ammo belt, it is also capable of firing ammunition from an M16 magazine inserted into the left-hand side of the weapon. The M249's direct predecessor was the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). The BAR saw action during WWII and Korea before it was retired in the mid 1950s.

Appearances in Battlefield
The M249 Appears in Battlefield 2, Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Battlefield 2
The M249 in Battlefield 2 is the first weapon the Support kit gets for the United States Marine Corps. The Light Machine Gun also appears as a turret. It is tied with the Chinese Type 95 LMG for the highest accuracy and lowest power. When compared to it's MEC counterpart the RPK-74, it has a much lower power output, but is far more accurate. The M249's sights are easier to use than the Type 95's or the RPK-74's. Though having a high rate of fire, it is fairly inaccurate when standing up, due to affects of the recoil. It is therefore a good idea to go prone to maintain an acceptable amount of accuracy. Also, it is advised to reload when the heat of battle is at a break, as the M249 takes a long time to reload, and reloading it while in combat can very likely kill you.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
The SAW is used by the EU and US for their Medic kit. It has decent range and power.

Battlefield: Bad Company
The M249 SAW in Battlefield: Bad Company is the standard U.S Army Light Machine Gun. Like most other machine guns, it has 150 rounds per belt and the player will have 300 rounds in reserve. It's Russian counterpart is the PKM medium machine gun. The Bad company version differs from the Battlefield 2 version in that it is the more compact Para version, with shorter barrel and telescoping stock.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
The M249 SAW in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the standard U.S. Army Light Machine Gun. It takes 1100 points to unlock using the Medic Kit. The M249 featured in the game is the 'Para' variant, which incorporates a heavier, shorter barrel and a telescoping buttstock. It has a high rate of fire and a large magazine size. Its high rate of fire makes it much more effective than other LMGs at close range, yet the gun has such low recoil (lowest recoil of all LMGs) that it is fairly decent to get medium range kills without burst firing, and to some extent, long range kills. Overall, the M249 SAW is a very effective weapon in the hands of a player who knows how to control the high rate of fire.

Trivia

 * The M249 Para version seen in both Bad Company games uses the old tubular-style steel stock instead of the modern, lightweight plastic M240-style stock, which reduces recoil.
 * Contrary to the weapon description, the M249 SAW did not replace the M60. The M240B, however, did replace the M60.