The M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), formally written as Light Machine
Gun, 5.56 mm, M249 , is the US military’s adaptation of the Belgian FN
Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by FN Herstal (FN).
The M249 SAW is manufactured in the United States by the subsidiary FN
Manufacturing LLC, a company in Columbia, South Carolina (FN America), and is
widely used in the U.S. Armed Forces. The weapon was introduced in 1984 after
being judged most effective (compared to a number of candidate weapons) to
address the lack of automatic firepower in small units. The M249 SAW provides
infantry squads with a high rate of machine gun fire, combined with the
accuracy and portability of a rifle.