Army cancels XM806 .50 machine gun, will modernize M2HB instead

The Firearm Blog ^ | July 24, 2012

[JerseyanExile]

The Army has decided to cut the XM806 Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun program. The XM806 was a scaled down version of the 25mm XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon, which was also cut before it went into production.

The XM806 was originally going to be deployed this year, but delays pushed the expected deployment date back to late 2013 or early 2014. Military Times reports that the money allocated to the XM806 will be used to upgrade the Army's .50 M2 Browning machine guns to the M2A1 version. Earlier this year the Army announced plans to upgrade every M2 to the M2A1.

[elcid1970]

You’re right, the one advantage of the M-85 was no headspace & timing. And the M-85 was fired by the TC using his Cadillac handle in the cupola.

As for oiling the belt, our loader’s job was to drizzle a can of motor oil (qt can, not five gallon!) over the belt during firing. Messy but it worked.

Did you say M-60A2, the missile tank with the powered cupola? Had a bad accident inside one of those, I was used to a manual cupola.

1-32 Armor “Bandits”......in Friedberg, FRG?

[GreyFriar]

ElCid— Yep, the M60A2 had the 152mm Shellaigh gun/launcher missile system. The same as was on the M551 Sheridan. I never got to fire a missile though. And yes, 1-32 Bandits of 3rd Brigade, 3AD (see my tag) at Ray Barracks, Friedberg, germany. The post was closed in 2008 and returned to the Germans. And Elvis Presley was assigned to D Co. 1-32 AR during his Army tour as a draftee. Note that in GI Blues, Presley wears the 32nd Armored regiment crest on his kahkis and the 3AD should patch. I spent 2 years attached to B Co as its forward observer, doing the original 1976-78 concept testing of what are now the FIST teams. I was assigned to C/2-27 FA, but did my FOing off the A2.