Knight's Armament Company LMG

The Knight's Armament Company Light Assault Machine Gun (LAMG) is a light machine gun system developed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company (KAC). It was previously known as the Knight's Armament Company LMG[3] as well as the KAC Stoner 99 LMG which was used to differentiate it from the earlier ArmaLite Stoner 63 LMG and ARES Stoner 86 LMG it is derived from.[4]

"Stoner LMG" redirects here. For other uses, see Stoner 63.
Knight's Armament Company Stoner 99 LMG
TypeLight machine gun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
Used bySee users
Production history
DesignerEugene Stoner
Designed1986
ManufacturerKnight's Armament Company
VariantsSee variants
Specifications
Mass
  • LAMG: 5.1 kilograms (11 lb) (5.56x45mm NATO) [1]
  • LWAMG: 6.31 kilograms (13.9 lb) (7.62x51mm NATO)[2]
Length
  • 895 millimetres (35.2 in)
  • 890 millimetres (35 in) (LAMG) [1]
  • 1,085–1,168 millimetres (42.7–46.0 in) (LW-AMG)[2]
Barrel length
  • 381 millimetres (15.0 in) (LAMG) [1]
  • 508 millimetres (20.0 in) (LW-AMG)[2]
Cartridge
Barrels1:7 Twist, Hammer Forged, Chrome Lined [1]
ActionOpen bolt, Constant Recoil, Gas Operated
Rate of fire
  • 600-1000RPM
  • 575-625 (LAMG) [1]
Feed systemM27 linked disintegrating belt (LAMG)
SightsIron, integral optical mounting rail

Development

Stoner designed the weapon as a replacement for the Stoner 63. Neither weapons system gained much popularity as the FN Minimi would become the LMG adopted by the United States military, which dubbed the FN weapon the M249. Currently, the weapon has seen only limited production which makes the Stoner LMG commonly used by private military contractors (PMC's) because of its compact size and comparatively light weight.

Design

The Knights Armament Company LAMG was intended to be a lightweight but reliable. At its core it is an open bolt, belt-fed, gas operated, air-cooled light machine gun utilizing the Constant Recoil system found on other machine guns such as Ultimax 100, designed by Stoner 63 contributor Jim Sullivan. In this system the bolt carrier group is full decelerated by the return spring before hitting the housing to minimize felt recoil and improve controlability. For this reason, the KAC LAMG lacks a bolt buffer. The belt feed has an unusual exposed lever hinged at the side of the receiver. The top cover above the feed tray is very short to allow for quicker reloading and the mounting a receiver-integral optics rail.[2] The KAC LMG is extremely accurate due to the secure mounting of the “quick change” hammer forged chrome lined barrel.

Variants

Model 86

The first variant, came with a magazine feed device and fixed tube stock.

Model 96

Simplified derivative lacking the magazine feed device. Has shorter barrel and M4 carbine type retractable stock for CQB and Picatinny rails for sights/grips/bipods etc.

ChainSAW

The Chain SAW was originally developed as a technical exercise to test new ergonomic designs for light machine guns. The Chain SAW was designed to only be fired from the hip, with a handle along the top to hold the firearm (which is mounted instead of a stock) meaning the user would wield the Chain SAW as if they were using an actual chainsaw. As the Chain SAW is intended to be hip-fired, various targeting aids were developed alongside it to aid the aiming and accuracy, although KAC admits that more work on targeting aids will have to be made before the Chain SAW could be produced and used effectively.

LW-AMG

The Lightweight Assault Machine Gun (LW-AMG) is a scaled-up version of the LAMG offered in 7.62x51mm NATO [3]

Users
  • Various PMCs

References
  1. "STONER KAC ASSAULT MACHINE GUN - Knight's Armamemt". Knight's Armament. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  2. "LW-AMG". Knight's Armament. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. F, Nathaniel (9 October 2017). "7.62mm Lightweight Machine Gun Unveiled by Knight's Armament Company [AUSA 2017] -". The Firearm Blog. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  4. http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/6619/smallarms56019.jpg
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