FN Minimi, M248 SAW, FN SAW Minimi, M249 Minimi...etc????

[BrownyMan]

I'm having a little bit of trouble here it seems that there are several different versions of the same gun - well the same basic design, which is which?

To my knowledge.
ThisÉ
http://infiltration.sentrystudios.com/modules/Diner_Wrapper/html/armory/images/minimi_1.jpg
is the FN Minimi, the first gun with the design.

And ThisÉ
http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/pics/orig/m249-ed1.jpg
is the M249 SAW, the american version of the Minimi, adapted by the US military.

Is this correct?

[das_ben]

double post, sorry

[das_ben]

well as far as i know the gun's name is FN [Fabrique Nationale] Minimi and the us army designation is M249 SAW, but it's the same gun

but i guess some gun nut will prove me wrong in a few minutes :)

[Puppeteer (Ghepetto)]

They look...
...
...the same :confused:

[FiringAimlessly]

They're not the same, there's something under the handguard in the photo that I can't quite make out which would probably turn out to be something really, really, really obvious...

[jaunty]

First, we must clarify the term "SAW".

SAW is the name given to the current squad-based machine gun issued by the US Army. The M60 and FN MAG (M240) were also referred to as "SAW" when they were in service.

As with the FN MAG and M240, the only major difference is where it's made. That being, the Minimi is produced in FN's plant somewhere in Belgium (MadWoffen or another Belgian know the exact location?), the M249 is produced under license in the US. (Not sure if FN has a manufacturing plant in the US, or if they just license production.)

Of course, you can't compare the INF model to an actual photo, since the model isn't as detailed as a photo due to the need to keep poly counts down.

There may be very few design differences, but none affect it's functionality as far as I know.

[Gholam]

FN Inc. is FN's American division, located in Kalifornia IIRC.

[Dr_Strangelove]

The M249 SAW is essentially the M249 FN Minimi with a few small changes to meet the US Army's requirements. The largest of these being a heat shield above the barrel.

[MadWoffen]

There are different version of the Minimi like the Para or the SPW.
Para:

http://www.fnherstal.com/html/Mini/MINIPARA.gif

SPW:


http://www.fnherstal.com/html/Mini/SPW.gif


FN is located in Herstal, near Liege =>


http://www.reality.be/atlas/img/carte_07.gif


They have different US branches (Browning... and Winchester they have bought some time ago), the official FN manufacturing being located in Columbia, SC. I think they also have a manufacturing plant in Japan and in others countries.

The 2 main official sites:

www.herstalgroup.com

www.fnherstal.com



Edit: just after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the US army bought 1.000 Minimi for their special forces. According to the newspapers, these were manufactured in Belgium.

[C.Chan]

yeah they are pretty much the same.

of and SAW stands for Squad Automatic Weapon (someone made a mistake i think.)

umm. SAW is just a quick way to say it. the US does say M249 sometimes, but its easier to say SAW. heh

pfft think of it like how Tom Clancey calls the MP5/40 MP-10 in R6.
Only thing about that is that MP-10 drives me crazy, but SAW doesn't :)

[Zundfolge]

FN Inc. is FN's American division, located in Kalifornia IIRC.

FN's US operation is located in Columbia, South Carolina

http://www.fnmfg.com/


here's their 249 page --> http://www.fnmfg.com/products/m249/m249main.htm

[C.Chan]

lol they manufactur M16's. lazy Colt!