FN Minimi

The FN Minimi is a combination 'belt-fed'/magazine fed' light machine gun, designed to serve in the role of "Squad Automatic Weapon". The SAW was a mobile suppressive fire platform that was light weight and single man transportable - much more so than the venerable M60 (which was always supposed to be a General Purpose Machine Gun, i.e. a crew served weapon). The U.S. Military adopted the first models of the FN Minimi in the 1980s directly as the XM249 or later as the M249 SAW (with some slight design changes in the official U.S. Adopted version). Later versions of the gun, reflected upgrades and design changes that were requested by the U.S. Military.

On a historical note: in the first months of the First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm 1990), there were not enough M249s to supply the massive troop buildup in the Middle East, so the U.S. Army bought outright a number of unaltered FN Minimis directly from FN, to supplement the weapons. So it is not inaccurate to see first pattern FN Minimis in the hands of U.S. Soldiers who are supposedly issued M249 SAWs since the Army mixed the two versions together until the Late 1990s.

Please note that a number of movies, particularly those filmed in British Columbia, Canada, use the Daewoo K3 to stand in for the FN Minimi and M249. Visit the Daewoo K3 page to compare the two guns.

The FN Minimi and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Specifications

(1975 - Present)

Type: Machine Gun

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO

Capacity: 100, 200 round linked belts, or STANAG Magazines

Fire Modes: Full Auto Only (650-900 RPM) (No Selector Switch, safety is a push button)

FN Minimi

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FN Minimi with 200-round ammo drum - 5.56x45mm (note 90-degree carry handle and flash hider design).

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M249 (first pattern U.S. adopted variant of the original FN Minimi) - 5.56x45mm. The only noticeable change from the Belgian Minimi is the rear sight design and cut outs in the buttstock. Other minor changes would result in the M249-E1 and the M249-E2.

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FN Minimi Para with 100-round camo cloth ammo bag - 5.56x45mm. Note handguard design distinguishing this from the paratrooper version of the M249 SAW below.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Colt 45		Masked assassin	Paratrooper version	2014
Cockneys vs. Zombies	Georgia King	Emma		2012
Battleground				2012
Osombie	Paul D. Hunt	Joker	Paratrooper version	2012
The Viral Factor		Gunther	Paratrooper version	2012
The Other Guys		Rasta robbers		2010
Green Zone		U.S. Army soldiers	Substitutes the M249 SAW with an added heatshield	2010
Quantum of Solace		Gunmen	Paratrooper version	2008
The Mark of Cain	Gerard Kearns	Pte Mark "Treacle" Tate	Paratrooper version	2007
The Mark of Cain		British soldiers	Paratrooper version	2007
Home of the Brave	Brian Presley	Specialist Tommy Yates	Paratrooper version mounted on Humvee with 200-round woodland camo cloth ammo bag	2006
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549		JGSDF member		2005
36th Precinct	Patrick Médioni	Robert Boulanger	Para, w/ammo box, w/Beta-C mag	2004
Swordfish	John Travolta	Gabriel Shear		2001
Black Hawk Down	Ian Virgo	PFC John Waddell	Substitutes the M249 SAW	2001
Black Hawk Down	Tom Hardy	Specialist Lance Twombly	Substitutes the M249 SAW	2001
Proof of Life		Downtown 3	Substitutes the M249 SAW with an added heatshield	2000
Bravo Two Zero	Richard Graham, Rick Warden, Steve Nicolson	Mark, Tony, Dinger	the open front sights of the Canadian C9 variant, and also used the FN Minimi prototype.	1999
Ronin	Robert De Niro	Sam	The Paratrooper version is used	1998
Half a Chance	.	Various	.	1998
Dobermann	Monica Bellucci	Nat the Gypsy	With M203 grenade launcher	1997
The One That Got Away	Steve John Shepherd	Small Bob	prototype	1996
Courage Under Fire	Lou Diamond Phillips	Staff Sergeant John Monfriez	Fitted with heat shield to pass for M249 SAW	1996
Operation Condor		Hotel manager		1991
	Eva Cobo de Garcia	Elsa
Robocop		Detroit SWAT officer		1987

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Air Date
Ultimate Force	Ross Kemp	SSgt. Henry "Henno" Garvie	Handled but never fired	2002 - 2006
	Danny Sapani	Cpl. Ricky Mann	Fed from 200 round cloth ammo drum
	Alex Reid	Cpt. Caroline Walsh
	Liam Garrigan	Cpl. Ed Dwyer	Fitted with FN FAL style folding stock and fed from 200 round cloth ammo bag
	Louis Decosta Johnson	Cpl. Dave Woolston	Fed from 200 round cloth ammo bag and loose belts
			Para model, fed from 30 round magazine
	William Meredith	Fender	Para model, fed 200 round cloth ammo bag
Iris - Season 1		North Korean terrorists		2009

Video Games

Title	As	Notation	Release Date
Resident Evil Game		Can only be found in the PC version	1996
Project IGI: I'm Going In			2000
Project IGI 2: Covert Strike			2003
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames	as the "Light MG"	M249 (First Variant)	2008
Project Reality		Paratrooper version with optional SCROME J4 scope, EOTech red dot sight, and 100-round DPM camo cloth ammo bag	2005
Project Reality	As the "L110A1" and "L110A2"	L110 variants with optional SUSAT scope and 100-round DPM camo cloth ammo bag	2005
Little Busters!			2007
World in Conflict		Cutscenes only	2007
7.62 High Calibre		Standard and Para versions	2008
Wheelman		w/ full stock and M249-style pistol grip and trigger guard	2009
Jagged Alliance: Back in Action	Minimi	Minimi Para with heat-shield	2012
Medal of Honor: Warfighter	Ksp 90	Bofors Ksp 90	2012
Survarium			2015

Anime

Film/Television Title	Character	Notation	Date
Seven Cities Story: Arctic Front	Aquironia soldier		1994
Gunsmith Cats			1995
Kochikame, The Movie	Volvo Saigo		1999
Asobi ni Ikuyo!			2010

M249-E1 / M249-E2 / M249 Paratrooper SAW

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M249-E1 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) with 200-round ammo drum - First major upgrade of the SAW officially adopted by the US military (this is a real blank adapted movie gun) - 5.56x45mm

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M249-E2 SAW - upgraded M249 with heat shield and full synthetic Stock, equipped with a 200 round ammo drum - 5.56x45mm

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M249 SAW paratrooper version with 200 round ammo drum - 5.56x45mm

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M249 Paratrooper - a real blank adapted movie gun with bipod folded and a picatinny rail on the top of the feed tray cover - 5.56x45mm

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M249 SAW Paratrooper - this one features components of the Product Improvement Package (PIP), including the new telescoping stock, heat shield, and RIS handguard, and is also fitted with an ACOG scope and a 100-round woodland camo cloth ammo bag - 5.56x45mm

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
The Fate of the Furious	Dwayne Johnson	Luke Hobbs	M249-E2 with Trijicon MRO sight	2017
Logan	Boyd Holbrook	Donald Pierce	M249-E2	2017
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot	Various	U.S. Marines		2016
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back		operatives		2016
Captain America: Civil War	Sebastian Stan	Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier	With SureFire 100-round casket magazine and Leupold HAMR sight	2016
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice		Henchmen	RIS handguard	2016
Sicario		Mexican Federal Police		2015
American Sniper		US Marine		2014
Escape Plan	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Swan Rottmayer		2013
Escape Plan		A gunner on helicopter		2013
A Good Day to Die Hard	Bruce Willis	John McClane	Paratrooper model fitted with EOTech sight and RIS handguard	2013
G.I. Joe: Retaliation	Dwayne Johnson	Roadblock	Standard M249 fitted with red dot sight and RIS handguard	2013
Act of Valor		U.S. Navy SEALs	Fitted with red dot sights and RIS foregrips	2012
Safe House		mercenary		2012
New Kids Nitro	Wesley van Galen	Rikkert	M249-E1 SAW with fixed stock	2011
Memorial Day	Thomas Sellwood	PFC Nick Sullivan	With custom picatinny rail	2011
Memorial Day		34th Infantry Division soldiers		2011
Special Forces	Alain Figlarz	Victor	Paratrooper model with foregrip and ACOG sight	2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Lester Speight	Eddie	With barrel shroud and Aimpoint sight	2011
Colombiana		Guard		2011
Battle: Los Angeles	Gino Anthony Pesi	Cpl. Nick Stavrou	With ACOG scope	2011
Battle: Los Angeles		U.S Marines	With ACOG scope	2011
Gamer	Keith Jardine	Mean Slayer	With barrel shroud	2009
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	Heavy Duty	With grenade launcher	2009
District 9		MNU mercenaries		2009
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem		Special Forces soldier	With Elcan M145 MGO and suppressor	2009
Detour (Snarveien)			M249 Para, seen on the screen	2009
Iron Man			Seen on table during weapons demonstration	2008
In the Valley of Elah	Hans Steckley	Cpl. Steckley	Paratrooper version	2007
I Am Legend	Will Smith	Dr. Robert Neville		2007
Stop-Loss	Joseph Gordon-Levitt	Pfc. Tommy Burgess	With Elcan M145 MGO	2007
28 Weeks Later		U.S. Army soldiers		2007
Idiocracy	Terry Crews	President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho	Para, Red and blue highlights, presidential seal on ammo box	2006
The Island		Mercenaries	Paratrooper model; mounted on fictional 'Black Wasp' airbikes	2005
War of The Worlds		U.S. Army soldiers		2005
Jarhead		U.S. Marines		2005
Harsh Times				2005
Bad Boys II		A member of the rescue team	Paratrooper version	2003
Hulk		Soldiers in the Secret Lab	fitted with Cobray CM203 Flare Launcher	2003
The Hunted	Carrick O'Quinn	Kohler		2003
Tears of the Sun	Nick Chinlund	Michael "Slo" Slowenski	Paratrooper version with cloth ammo pouch and accessory rail mounted on feed tray cover	2003
Die Another Day		U.S. Army soldiers	Paratrooper	2002

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
The X-Files - Season 9		US Army Soldiers	M249E2, Gulf War flashback sequence / "Providence" (S9E10)	2002
Red Cap		Army Air Corps Gunner	Paratrooper model	2003 - 2004
Over There	Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones	Pvt. Maurice 'Smoke' Williams	Starts out with the standard version, then changes to paratrooper version	2005
CSI: NY - Season 2		U.S. Marine	"Heroes"	2006
Generation Kill	Billy Lush	Lance Corporal Trombley		2008
		U.S. Marines
Ultimate Weapons		U.S. Marines	M249-E2	2010
Revolution	Extra	Militia Monroe	M249-E1	2013
Banshee - Season 2	Hoon Lee	Job	M249-E2 / Episode 10	2014
Banshee - Season 3	Hoon Lee	Job	Episode 1	2015

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat				2007
Counter-Strike Online	M249	Red (Christmas Special) and Skull-7 Anti-Zombie Variant (w/ 1.5x M145 MGO scope)	Paratrooper version	2010
Operation 7				???
Half-Life			Only appears in the expansion pack Opposing Force, magazine capacity is 50 rounds	1998
Parasite Eve II	M249		Paratrooper version	1999
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear	M249 SAW	w/ 200-round ammo can	Urban Operations expansion	2000
Counter-Strike	M249		Paratrooper version	2000
Delta Force: Land Warrior				2000
Fallout Tactics	FN M249 SAW	w/ 30-round STANAG magazines		2001
Delta Force: Task Force Dagger				2002
America's Army				2002
Conflict: Desert Storm				2002
Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield		w/scope		2003
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero	M249		Paratrooper version	2003
Söldner: Secret Wars				2004
Counter-Strike: Source	M249		Paratrooper version	2004
Far Cry	Machine gun	No stock		2004
Battlefield 2		With Minimi-style carry handle and muzzle brake	Handheld or vehicle-mounted, or in fixed positions	2005
Close Combat: First to Fight	M249 SAW			2005
Project Reality		With paratrooper-style telescoping stock	In fixed defensive positions	2005
Project Reality		Paratrooper version with optional M145 MGO or ACOG scope, M4-style telescoping stock, RIS foregrip, and 100-round woodland camo cloth ammo bag		2005
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories	SAW			2006
Alliance of Valiant Arms		With custom tiger-stripe paint scheme		2007
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	M249 SAW			2007
ArmA: Armed Assault				2007
Soldier of Fortune: Payback				2007
Battlefield: Bad Company		Paratrooper version		2008
Far Cry 2		Metal belt box		2008
Saints Row 2	AR200 SAW			2008
Terminator Salvation				2009
America's Army 3		With 200-round ammo drum or 100-round woodland camo ammo bag and M68 Aimpoint red dot scope		2009
ArmA II	M249 SAW		Also available in M249 Paratrooper and L110A1 models	2009
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	M249 SAW		A mounted M249 SAW is seen on a log in the level "Whiskey Hotel". It is also a console-spawned-only weapon in certain missions.	2009
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising	M249 SAW			2009
Marines: Modern Urban Combat				2010
Just Cause 2	Machine Gun			2010
Fallout: New Vegas		w/lower wooden handguards		2010
Delta Force: Xtreme 2				2010
Medal of Honor	M249 SAW	w/ variety of accessories	w/ MK 46 Mod 0 heat-shield	2010
Army of Two: The 40th Day	M249 SAW	Can be fitted with a variety of stocks, barrels, magazines, scopes, suppressors/muzzle brakes		2010
Homefront	M249			2011
Battlefield Play4Free			With optional EOTech red dot sight	2011
Battlefield 3	M249 SAW	Can be use with a variety of options, Both Russian and United States options for scopes and attchments		2011
SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs	ISR-N56			2011
War Inc. Battlezone		w/ various attachments		2011
Karma Online				2011
Spec Ops: The Line				2012
Medal of Honor: Warfighter	"M249"	various variants	w/o STANAG magazine well	2012
Arctic Combat				2012
Ravaged				2012
ArmA Tactics	M249		M249 Para PIP	2013
America's Army: Proving Grounds				2013
Insurgency	M249	w/ various attachments		2014
Squad	M249	CompM4 red dot sight	Paratrooper version with M4-style telescoping stock, RIS handguard, and 200-round drum magazine	2015
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds	"M249"	w/ various scopes	M249-E2 SAW with 100-round ammo drum	2017

Anime

Film/Television Title	Character	Notation	Date
Violence Jack: Hell's Wind Hen	Hell's Wind biker		1990
Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex	Batou	M249 SAW	2002
Blood+	Red Shield personnel		2005
Flag	mounted on UNF tank	M249-E1	2006
The Strange Case Files of Ryoko Yakushiji	Lucienne		2008
Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino	Italian Army	M249-E2	2008
Puella Magi Madoka Magica	Homura Akemi	M249 SAW Paratrooper	2011
Sword Art Online II	Player	M249-E1	2014

FN Minimi SPW

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FN Minimi SPW with 100-round cloth ammo bag and RIS foregrip - 5.56x45mm

The Minimi SPW or M249 SPW (Special Purpose Weapon) is a modified SAW with shorter barrel and collapsible buttstock. The carrying handle, STANAG magazine well, and vehicle mounting lug have been removed to reduce weight. Several times seen as a modified Daewoo K3.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Elysium	Adrian Holmes	Manuel	Mocked up to resemble a KAC ChainSAW	2013

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men				2007
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter	"MK48"	w/ carry handle		2005
Rainbow Six: Vegas	M249 SPW	With optional ACOG scope, red dot sight, and improved stock		2006
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2	M249 SPW	with a variety of accesories and wrong buttstock when used by the player		2008
7.62 High Calibre				2008
Code of Honor 3: Desperate Measures	"M249 MOD 2"			2009
Bodycount	"Minimi"		With 100-round solid drum	2011
Armed Forces Corps	"M249 MOD 2"			2009

Mk 48 Mod 0

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Mk 48 Mod 0 machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATO

The Mk 48 Mod 0 is the 7.62x51mm general-purpose machine gun variant of the Mk 46 Mod 0, and like that variant was developed for the requirements of USSOCOM. SOCOM had used the M240B as a stopgap replacement for the Mk 43 (their name for the M60E4), but found the 28-pound M240 insufficiently portable compared to the 22.5-pound M60E4. As a result they requested an LWMG ("Light Weight Machine Gun"), and FN Herstal responded in 2001 with a scaled-up Mk 46 which was both more reliable than the M60 and lighter (~18.5 pounds), and this entered production in 2003. This version is no longer manufactured, and all existing stocks were upgraded to the Mk 48 Mod 1 standard.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen		NEST soldiers	With Harris bipods, Aimpoint and Elcan M145 MGO sights	2009
SEAL Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden	Xzibit	Mule		2012
Zero Dark Thirty		Navy SEAL	With suppressor	2012
Lone Survivor		Navy SEAL		2013
American Sniper	Jake McDorman	"Biggles"	With ACOG scope, AN/PEQ-15 IR designator, and cloth ammo bag	2014
Bright		SWAT		2017

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation / Episode	Air Date
Future Weapons	Richard Machowicz	Richard Machowicz	Predators	February 26, 2007
Mail Call	R. Lee Ermey

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Combat Arms	Mk.48			2004
Soldier of Fortune: Payback	M48 SAW	custom stock and carry handle	w/ EOTEch, reflex scope or red dot scope	2007
7.62 High Calibre				2008
ArmA II		M68 Aimpoint		2009
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising	Mk48 Mod 0			2009
Battlefield Play4Free	"Veteran's M249 SAW"	With optional EOTech red dot sight	Depicted as upgraded version of Mk 46 Mod 0	2011
Operation Flashpoint: Red River				2011
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	MK48	w/ various attachments	w/ M249 Para-type collapsing stock	2012
Arctic Combat				2012
Counter-Strike Online				2012

Mk 48 Mod 1

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FN Mk 48 Mod 1 - 7.62x51mm NATO

Improved version of the Mod 0 which began as a refurbishment program in 2006 and replaced the Mod 0 entirely as of 2010.

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Ghost Recon Online	Mk 48 Mod 1	w/ various attachments		2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Mk48	w/ various attachments		2012
Grand Theft Auto V	"Combat MG"	extended magazine, scope and angled foregrip	w/ the STANAG adaptor of an M249 SAW and the buttstock of an M60	2013

Mk 46 Mod 0

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Mk 46 Mod 0 light machine gun - 5.56x45mm

The Mk 46 Mod 0 is a short-barreled Mk 48 in 5.56x45mm NATO. This version is no longer manufactured, it was dropped in favor of the Mk 46 Mod 1.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
XXX 2: State of the Union	Ice Cube	Darius Stone		2005
XXX 2: State of the Union	Samuel L. Jackson	August Gibbons		2005

Television

Show Title / Episode	Actor	Character	Notation	Air Date
Future Weapons/Predators	Richard Machowicz	Richard Machowicz		February 26, 2007

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Rainbow Six: Vegas	MK46	w/variety of accessories		2006
World in Conflict			Anachronistic	2007
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2	MK46	w/variety of accessories		2008
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	Mk. 46 Mod 1		Actually a Mod 0	2008
Operation 7				2006
7.62 High Calibre				2008
The 3rd Birthday				2010
Medal of Honor: Warfighter	M249 Mk46 Mod1		w/ various attachments	2012
Binary Domain	Schwarzlose M-489 SAW	Para stock, SAW-style handguard, enormous bayonet-like device		2012
Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault	M249-G4	w/ various attachments	Actually a Mod 0, as seen on its markings on its side	2015

Mk 46 Mod 1

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FN Mk 46 Mod 1 - 5.56x45mm NATO

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3	Mk 46 Mod 1	w/ various attachments		2010
Medal of Honor: Warfighter	M249 Mk46 Mod1	w/ various attachments		2012

FN C9 Light Machine Gun

The C9 is a variant of the Minimi used by the Canadian Armed Forces, identifiable by the open front sight and rounded trigger guard as opposed to the hooded front sights and squared trigger guard on other Minimi variants. The upgraded version, the C9A1, features an ELCAN scope mounted on the feed tray cover and an optional vertical grip that mounts to the stock for added stability during prone firing. The newest version, the C9A2, is a mid-life upgrade that incorporates a paratrooper-length barrel and an overall olive drab coloration and M4-style telescoping stock to match the Canadian-issue C7A2 rifle.

FN C9 light machine gun - 5.56x45mm

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FN C9A1 light machine gun with bipod removed, ELCAN scope, and 200-round ammo drum - 5.56x45mm

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FN C9A2 light machine gun with ELCAN scope, AN/PEQ-2 IR designator, and 200-round cloth ammo bag - 5.56x45mm

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Hyena Road		Canadian soldiers	C9A2	2015
Battle for Haditha		U.S. Marines	Fitted with buttstock to pass for M249 SAW	2007

Video Games

Title	Appear As	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Project Reality		C9A2, with optional ELCAN scope and 100-round cloth ammo bag	Handheld or vehicle-mounted	2005

See Also

• FN Herstal - A list of all firearms manufactured by FN Herstal.
• Sumitomo Heavy Industries - A list of all firearms manufactured by Sumitomo.