U.S. Army Awards General Dynamics $35m to produce M2A1 quick change barrel conversion kits
The US Army Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command, Picatinny, N.J., awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products an order valued at approximately $35 million to manufacture M2A1 quick change barrel (QCB) conversion kits. The QCB conversion kits feature several direct-replacement parts to modify existing M2 heavy barrel (M2HB) machine guns to the M2A1 configuration. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in January 2011 and will continue through December 2012. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics.
"With the QCB conversion kits, the US warfighter can change the machine gun barrel in a few seconds. The M2A1 features fixed headspace and timing, which eliminates the need to manually calibrate the weapon after each barrel change and reduces exposure time to enemy fire," said Mike O'Brien, vice president and general manager of gun systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. "The M2A1 is an efficient and reliable tool for American warfighters in combat."
Production work will be completed by the existing workforce at the General Dynamics facility in Saco, Maine, which employs approximately 420 people and has manufactured the M2 machine gun since 1979. Program management will be performed at General Dynamics' Burlington Technology Center in Vermont.
Source: General Dynamics
More from Land Warfare
-
![Estonian Army receives first 50 of 230 light armoured vehicles]()
Estonian Army receives first 50 of 230 light armoured vehicles
The armoured vehicles are fitted with 12.7mm heavy machine guns and came off the production line with specific Estonian requirements. Only the communications subsystems and some other minor equipment were added to vehicles in Estonia.
-
![Thales to supply 500 of its new Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radios to a NATO country]()
Thales to supply 500 of its new Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radios to a NATO country
The newly disclosed Thales UK Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radio (VMSR) offers full interoperability with the soldier radio variant to provide secure and reliable voice connection.
-
![Modern militaries crawl towards electrification of the battlefield]()
Modern militaries crawl towards electrification of the battlefield
Full electrification of their land and air vehicles may be beyond modern militaries for now. But how close are they to the tipping point of the widespread use of electric vehicles?
-
![Pearson Engineering to supply mine ploughs and dozer blades for Polish Abrams tanks]()
Pearson Engineering to supply mine ploughs and dozer blades for Polish Abrams tanks
The contract follows news released in 2023 that a first customer had taken into service Pearson Engineering’s new Slice system enabling the interoperability of Front-End Equipment (FEE) between main battle tanks and dedicated engineering vehicles.
-
![Aselsan successfully tests Gökberk system against FPV drones]()
Aselsan successfully tests Gökberk system against FPV drones
The system had been previously proven to work against rotary and fixed-wing kamikaze drones, with Aselsan now working on new capabilities for Gökberk to counter UAV swarms.
