M249 SAW



The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) is the smaller brother of the M240, and is chambered to the 5.56x45mm NATO round. It is an 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 as a light, squad level 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.

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 effects 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
In singleplayer, the M249 can be found on a few single player levels, such as Acta Non Verba, in a house off the right side when the player must escort the M1A2 Abrams. It comes with 5 HG-2 grenades, and a capacity of 150 rounds

In multiplayer, the M249 SAW the default US Army light machine gun issued to the Support kit. 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. It has a high rate of fire and average damage, as well as mediocre accuracy. A player can make use of it as a good close quarters weapon, because of its high rate of fire and capacity.

Battlefield Heroes
"Sound and fury all in one fierce package."

As a part of a celebration of Battlefield: Bad Company 2's release, new weapons and outfits were made for players to be able to purchase for their heroes. The M249 is the weapon of the Royal Gunner and is a long range weapon with 120 ammo.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Only available in multiplayer, the M249 SAW is the second light machine gun issued to the Medic kit requiring 1100 points to unlock. It has a high rate of fire, medium recoil and a large magazine size. Its high rate of fire makes it much more effective than other LMGs at close range, yet as the gun has the lowest recoil of all LMGs, it is fairly decent to get medium range kills without burst firing, and to some extent, long range kills with a 4x Scope. 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.
 * A fully loaded M249 SAW is lighter than an empty M60. This is because the M249 uses the 5.56x45mm NATO round, which is much lighter compared to the M60's bigger 7.62x51mm NATO round.