The US Department of Defense has awarded FN America a contract worth $9.9 million to produce additional M240B medium machine guns for the US Army and Navy. The weapons will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Columbia, South Carolina, which has been producing military firearms for decades. Company officials described the contract as part of a continuing relationship with the Pentagon that dates back to the company’s earliest US military weapons production. The M240B remains a key component of the US military’s infantry arsenal. Designed to fire 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition, the medium machine gun provides reliable suppressive fire capability for ground units at the platoon and company levels. Its robust construction includes a cold hammer-forged barrel with a chrome-lined bore that helps extend service life while maintaining consistent performance under heavy use. The weapon also features a durable steel receiver and an integrated MIL-STD-1913 mounting rail that allows the attachment of optics and other accessories to improve accuracy and operational flexibility. The M240B has a maximum effective range of about 3,725 meters, making it suitable for a wide variety of combat scenarios. FN America has been manufacturing the M240 family of machine guns for US forces since the late 1970s and reports that millions of weapons have been delivered to the military since production began. In addition to the latest order, the company has received multiple defense contracts in recent years, including a 2025 agreement to supply the lighter M240L variant and another contract from the Defense Logistics Agency to provide barrels for both M240 and M249 machine gun systems used across several US military branches.
