Source: @inukraine.official on Instagram
Somewhere above Ukrainian held territory, a Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) helicopter of the Ukrainian Army Aviation branch prepares to engage a Russian Geran-2 loitering munition. The Mi-8 has two door gun positions. The first is seen here, situated on the left side of the fuselage, behind the cockpit. A second position is in the rear of the fuselage, firing out from a opening in the right hand clamshell cargo door. Normally, the 7.62mm PK machine-gun would have been the standard defensive weapon but here, the gunner has elected to use a 7.62x51mm FN MAG machine-gun. Countries that have sent FN MAG machine-guns to Ukraine include Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The gunner's FN MAG looks to have been one provided to Ukraine by France. The FN MAG, the original developed and built by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal, entered service in 1958 and today, it is deployed by dozens of countries. Several countries license build the FN MAG and they are the United Kingdom (as the L7A1), Canada (as the C6), Indonesia (as the SM2), Sweden (as the Kulspruta 58), and the United States (as the M240).
The FN MAG is, as mentioned, chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, and it uses a gas operated, long-stroke bolt action which fires from an open bolt. The rate of fire varies from 650 rounds per minute up to 1,000 rounds per minute. This variance is created by the gunner adjusting the gas valve which permits him to accommodate various cartridge loadings, to overcome barrel fouling, and modify the rate of fire to suit the target being engaged. The empty weight of the FN MAG is 26 pounds though this particular FN MAG uses a polymer plastic buttstock that lightens the mass to a small degree. The FN MAG feeds from the left, ammunition being held in either the M13 disintegrating link belt or the non-disintegrating DM1 belt. Each belt holds 50 rounds and belts can be connected to create longer ones. A quick-change barrel allows for rapid switching in case of barrel failure or to allow a barrel to cool after prolonged sustained fire. When firing from a bipod, the effective range of the FN MAG is .5 of a mile (800 meters) but if using a tripod, the effective range increases to 1.1 miles. The maximum range of the round is 2.1 miles.
The regular sights of the FN MAG consists of a front blade sight and a rear mounted folding leaf sight with both an aperture and a notch. As this example of the FN MAG is fitted with a Picatinny rail, the gunner has added what looks to be a Thermion 2 thermal imager rifle scope made by the Lithuanian based company Pulsar. The Thermion 2 series is offered in two objective lens sizes: F35 and F50. The Thermion 2 uses a AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display with a magnification ranging between 2.5X up to 12X depending on the model. Other features of the Thermion 2 scope series include Wi-Fi for connecting to smartphones (the thermal imager can be operated from a compatible smartphone), reticle style customization, color options for the reticle and display, photograph and video recording (16 GB of internal memory storage), and IPX7 (Level 7) waterproofing. This means the scope can be fully submerged in water up to a depth of 3.2 feet for no longer than 30 minutes without permanent damage. Detection range is between .8 of a mile up to 1.1 miles for the larger model. The FN MAG has a brass catcher bag fitted to collect ejected empty cartridges so that they do not roll around the floor of the compartment, causing a slip hazard for the crew.
As it turned out, the gunner was able to successfully engage the Geran-2, shooting it down where the drone crashed into a copse of trees before exploding when its warhead detonated.
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