M60E6 General purpose machine gun

[Zarvan]

The M60E6 is a lightened, improved and updated version of the M60E4



Caliber 7.62 x 51 mm
Weight (unloaded) 9.27 / 9.85 kg
Length 940 / 965 mm
Barrel length ~ 500 mm
Muzzle velocity 853 m/s
Cyclic rate of fire 500 - 650 rpm
Practical rate of fire 100 rpm
Magazine capacity Belt-fed
Sighting range ?
Range of effective fire ~ 700 m
Range of effective fire (mounted on tripod) ~ 1 100 m


The M60E6 is a lightened, improved and updated version of the M60E4 machine gun. It is the latest improvement of the M60 series, produced by the US Ordnance company. Its version, the Mk.43 was used by US special forces. The M60E6 competed for the Danish Army's general purpose machine gun replacement program against the Heckler & Koch HK121 (currently known as HK MG5). In 2014 the M60E6 was selected as a winner and has been adopted by the Danish Army as the M/60. Deliveries of the first 600 machine guns were planned to begin in 2015. The M60E6 will replace the ageing M/62 (Rheinmetall MG3) machine gun, which has been used by the Danish Army since 1962.

Its predecessor, the M60E4 was developed in the 1990s for US Navy SEALs. However this weapon had problems and reliability issues. The M60E6 incorporates a number of improvements over the M60E4 and and is a more reliable weapon.

The M60E6 is a gas-operated, air cooled, belt fed machine gun that fires from an open bolt. It is chambered for 7.62x51 mm NATO rounds. It has a quick-change barrel and an offset barrel handle, which is also used to carry weapon. It allows to replace a hot barrel without using gloves. Weight of the M60E6 has been reduced to 9.27 kg. Also the weight is better distributed. Its relatively light weight and short length makes it accurate when firing from the shoulder. There is also a version with a longer and heavier barrel, which weights 9.85 kg. All major components of the M60E6 are interchangeable with older M60 series machine guns.

The M60E6 is available with a choice push-button safety or ambidextrous safety levers. This weapon fires in a fully automatic mode only. Rate of fire is 500 to 650 rounds per minute. However skilled shooter is able to deliver one shot at a time.

This weapon utilizes disintegrating metallic link belts of about 100 to 200 rounds.

The M60E6 has an integral folding bipod. The bipod is mounted to the gas system, rather than to the barrel. This machine gun is compatible with standard NATO tripods and vehicle mounts.

This weapon has multiple Picatinny-type rails and can fit a variety of accessories and optics.

Range of effective fire is around 700 meters, when fired from bipod.



Variants



Mk.43 is a version used by the US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM). There are Mod 0 and Mod 1 versions of this weapon. Eventually it was replaced by a more reliable Mk.48 machine gun.

M60E6 Machine Gun | Military-Today.com