AUSA 2024: Space Age .50 Caliber Machine Guns from Canik
The M2 .50 caliber machine gun is one of the oldest platforms to see continuous service with the US military. Its design process began at the end of WW1, and after multiple prototypes and refinements, it would enter US service in 1933. While the design has evolved somewhat over the years, the tried and tested M2 remains in the inventories of dozens of nations, and few would be surprised if it were to still be in service when the US Marines are deployed to Mars in 200 years time.
One company which is still cranking out variants of the M2 is Turkish small arms manufacturer Canik, which opened its first factory in United States this October. “Canik is everything from small arms,” Adam Ruonala from Canik’s US partner Century Arms told Overt Defense at AUSA 2024:
“We’ve become one of the largest striker fire pistol companies in the United States as well as abroad. And then we’ve also really expanded into the defense sector with our .50 caliber machine guns, our 20, 25 and 30 millimeter cannons, and the robotics integration systems that help mount those and support those on platforms across the world all right.”
At AUSA, Canik displayed some of its modern updates to the vintage M2 .50 caliber machine gun. The highlights: durability, resistance to corrosion, low dispersion, cheaper cost, and a quick-change barrel (although it should be noted that the latest US Army’s latest M2A1 variant also has a quick-change barrel system). Particularly in round dispersion and durability, Canik say they are a world-leader.
“Some of the things that are actually really interesting about these is, there’s a number of competitors that are also producing these for countries around the world, but something that’s very unique about ours is the durability of the platform. So we know that… 5,000 round and sub 16 MOA is traditionally kind of where they need to be in terms of qualification. Ours is running a sub four MOA at 25,000 rounds. Not only that, ours comes in at a price point under our competitors and comes with an additional barrel. That is also done with a quick change. So traditional roll-out lock and we’ll replace it in a new one, which is something that’s given us a competitive advantage and also in the battlefield, we’re getting them able to stay in the fight for longer periods of time, accurate and performance enhanced, yeah, so quick barrel replacement.”
The first of Canik’s machine guns is the M2 QCB (Quick Change Barrel) model with a weight of up to 38.5 kg, 450-650 rounds per minute (rpm), and both full-automatic and semi-automatic firing modes. An improvement upon it is the M2F which retains the M2 QCB’s innovations while raising the fire rate to 750-950 rpm and cutting the max weight to 31.5kg. Finally, Canik also displayed the M3, which has a 1100-1200 rpm and is primarily meant for use on platforms such as helicopters or unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
Canik also works with Unirobotics to make weapons stations for their machine guns and autocannons which come with their own tracking system. One example is TRAGAN, a remote-controlled weapons station (RCWS) which can identify, track and follow systems such as small boats, even when these are moving quickly under low visibility conditions. A bit lower-tech would be TRAKON, which, while manually operated, comes with stabilizing servo-actuators and a control algorithm which helps mitigate the disruption cause by rough terrain or sea waves.
Canik explained:
“We can mount [our remote control weapon station on] everything from a four-wheeler all the way up to tanks, armored personnel carriers, battleships, helicopters. [The RCWS] has its own optics and camera system, so it’s going to track whatever the potential threat is, independently, and then swing the gun in order to make it the most efficient and effective firing process to eliminate the threat. […] The tracking system has three levels, three parameters. 3,000 meters, 2,000 meters and 1,000 meters is what it’s set to pick up and track and be able to engage.“
Canik also has similar solutions for its larger caliber weapons. “We use it not only on our .50 cal, but then also, its there on the on the 25 and 30 millimeter cannons, which is very valuable for things you’re seeing nowadays in modern warfare like drone attacks- situations where the high speed of attack from smaller objects makes it much harder for, say, actual personnel to take down. When you have advanced technology that can allow for it, it gives you competitive advantage.”
In addition to these, Canik also has a dual-mount station, which is most likely primarily intended for naval applications and helicopters. It could, however, also prove useful on ground vehicles in an air defense role.
“Its kind of self-explanatory”, Ruonala said in reference to this system. “The nice thing about this obviously, each of these guns is running at about 950 rounds a minute. So when you look at this it’s nearly 2,000 rounds a minute off of a belt-fed platform.”
And so, in robotic turrets, dual mounts, and simple tripod-mounted variants, the centenarian M2 lives on.