Negev Machine Gun, Negev 5.56 mm LMG and Belt-fed LMG

The Israeli Weapon Industries Negev 5.56 mm LMG was designed to meet the requirements of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) for a multipurpose weapon that can be fed from belts and magazines allowing it to be used within infantry sections and also mounted on vehicles and helicopters. The design was accepted by the IDF in 1997 and ‘thousands’ have since been produced for the IDF and export customers including Colombia, Costa Rica and Estonia.

The Negev’s gas regulator has three positions: the first allows a rate of fire between 850 and 1,050 rpm firing the LMG with a magazine; the second position is for belt-feed at 850-1,050 rpm under normal conditions; and, the third increases the rate of fire to 1,050 rpm for use in extreme environmental conditions. The standard Negev weighs 7.4 kg, measures 1.02 m with the buttstock extended, 780 mm with the stock folded and has a 460 mm barrel.

A shorter and lighter variant known as the Negev SF (Special Forces) is also available. Use of a 330 mm barrel reduces the weapon’s length to 890 mm with the stock extended and 680 mm with the stock folded. Empty weight is reduced to 6.95 kg. For easy handling a forward handgrip is fitted. The Negev’s iron sights are graduated from 300 to 1,000 m on the standard version while the SF version has a ‘flat top’ receiver and additional Picatinny rails on the forward handguard. The Negev Machine Gun can be used with NATO standard 30-round magazines, 35-round Galil magazines and 150- and 200-round ‘soft assault drums’ made of nylon fabric.

The newest Belt-fed LMG on the market is the Heckler & Koch (HK) 5.56mm MG43 which was unveiled in September 2001 and subsequently type-classified by the Germany Army as the MG4. The service has begun fielding the weapon to replace the successful 7.62mm MG3 machine gun, a derivative of the Second World War MG42. The first MG4s were deployed with the German International Security Assistance Force contingent in Afghanistan in early 2006 and an order for a further 870 weapons is expected before the end of 2007. The German Army is copying the practise of many other Western armies by deploying two MG4s with each infantry squad.