- UK MoD says ten-year deal will create new jobs and sustain employment at FN UK’s facility.
- Mid-life improvements are designed to overcome obsolescence, improve performance and reliability, and reduce through-life support costs.
- Contract comes as FN UK marks a milestone of 50 years of manufacturing in the UK.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a new ten-year contract worth £20m ($27.2m) to upgrade and provide through-life support for the UK Armed Forces’ L111A1 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) will create a handful of new jobs in the UK whilst sustaining 80 existing positions.
Defence Equipment & Support, the procurement arm of the UK MoD, through its Dismounted Close Combat Portfolio team, has awarded the contract to FN UK, the only manufacturer and assembler of machine guns in the UK.
According to a 15 September release, the contract will see FN UK undertake a mid-life improvement programme for the weapon over two years, followed by eight years of in-service support. All upgrade work will be carried out at FN UK’s manufacturing facility in Kent.
Upgrades are expected to commence with 18% of machine guns to be delivered by March 2026, 50% by March 2027, and the remaining 32% by March 2028.
Brig Nick Serle, Head of Military Capability Delivery for the British Army, said: “This mid-life update will further enhance the lethality of our close combatants.”
The contract comes as FN UK marks 50 years of manufacturing in the UK, tracing its origins to Manroy Engineering in 1975, which initially produced machine gun parts for the Ministry of Defence. FN Browning acquired Manroy in 2014 and renamed the company FN UK.
The L111A1 support contract award is separate from another UK programme to introduce a new dismounted assault machine gun in replacement of the L110 A2 Light Machine Gun (LMG), known as the Minimi in UK service, which was axed in 2018.
In the place of the Minimi, infantry sections were tasked to use the L129A1 Sharpshooter and the L7A2 GPMG 7.62mm heavy machine gun.
However, it now appears the UK MoD is seeking an alternative infantry machine gun, chambered in 5.56mm, and more easily carried by dismounted troops.
Specifications: L111A1 12.7mm (.50) HMG
The L111A1 12.7mm (.50) HMG is an updated version of the Browning M2 and serves as the UK military’s small arms fire support weapon, with an effective range of around 1.8km.
| Weight | 38.15kg |
| Length | 1656mm |
| Barrel length | 629mm |
| Calibre | 12.7mm |
| Muzzle velocity | 915 m/s |
| Feed | 50-round disintegrated belt |
| Effective range | 2000m |
| Cyclic rate of fire | 485 – 635 rounds per minute |
| Manufacturer | FN UK |
Able to be operated from dismounted tripods or fitted to vehicles, the L111A1, also known as the ’50 Cal’, is equipped across British Army platforms, as well as Royal Navy surface vessels.
