Mk46

The Mk 46 is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed lightweight machine gun (LWMG) in use with United States special operations forces (SOF) since 2003. It is a variant of the M249 SAW light machine gun that has been designed by Fabrique Nationale (FN) to be as light and compact as possible and was tailored specifically for use by SOF. The Mk 46 is a development of the M249 Special Purpose Weapon (SPW), which was the initial attempt to create SOF-specific SAW. The SPW design did away with the SAW's carrying handle, tripod-mounting lug and a magazine well for accepting M16-style magazines. The SPW added a 3-sided set of MIL STD 1913 Pictatinny rails around the forearm and 1 atop the receiver. The SPW features a collapsible buttstock of the sort found on the M249 PARA. The SPW's barrel is longer than the M249 Para but shorter than the full-length SAW. Like the M249, the SPW features a fold-down bipod. In the SPW's case, this bipod can be detached in order to save even more weight.