The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have reportedly acquired a version of the 6.8x51mm M250 light machine gun that Sig Sauer developed for the U.S. Army, but chambered to fire the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm round. Sig Sauer’s design may now be in line to supplant at least a portion of Israeli Negev light machine guns 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm, variations of which are current in IDF service.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday on the IDF’s purchase of the 7.62x51mm version of what Sig Sauer currently markets commercially just as its Light Machine Gun (LMG). The outlet cited anonymous sources, as well as a video that emerged last month, seen in the social media post below that indicates the guns are intended as Negev replacements.
The video shows four LMGs, three of which are equipped with ROMEO8T non-magnifying “red-dot” type optics paired with a Juliet-series magnifier – both also Sig Sauer products. The fourth gun has an EOTech EXPS-series holographic sight, which is non-magnifying. What looks to be a night vision or compact thermal optic is also visible in the foreground at the beginning of the clip. The guns with the ROMEO8T optics also have aiming lasers mounted on accessory rails on the front left side of the handguard. All four LMGs have suppressors fitted, as well.
The U.S. Army is also fielding its M250 versions of the LMG with ROMEO8T optics. The service announced back in 2022 that it had chosen Sig Sauer to supply the core components of its Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) family, which includes the M250 and the M7 rifle, the latter of which also fires the 6.8x51mm round.
Per Sig Sauer, there is no difference dimensionally between the 6.8x51mm and 7.62x51mm versions of the LMG, or a third variation chambered for the 6.5mm Creedmoor round. All of them have 16-inch barrels and 37-inch overall lengths with the gun’s buttstock in its collapsed position. No empty or loaded weights are provided in the company’s publicly available defense catalog, but the U.S. Army says its variant tips the scales at 13 pounds unloaded and 14.5 pounds with a sound suppressor fitted.
Overall, Sig Sauer’s LMG was designed with modularity in mind, as well as with ergonomics intended to mimic those found on AR-15/M16-pattern rifles that U.S. and Israeli military personnel, and many others around the globe, are already familiar with.
The IDF’s acquisition of at least some 7.62x51mm LMGs does not come as a complete surprise. Sig Sauer notably displayed a placard detailing “Major Global Contract Wins” at the official opening of its expanded ammunition plant in Jacksonville, Arkansas, in October 2024. Included in the 2024 column were depictions of the LMG and the .338 Norma Magnum version of the company’s new Medium Machine Gun (MMG), along with the ROMEO8T optic and linked .338 ammunition, all with Israeli flags alongside them. The MMG has yet to emerge publicly in IDF service.
Israeli personnel are also known to have had the opportunity to fire the M250, as well as the M7 rifle, while getting close looks at those guns by invitation of the U.S. Army.
To what extent the IDF may plan to field Sig Sauer’s LMG, or MMG, remains unknown. There is a possibility that the guns seen in the video earlier in this story are part of small batch for test and evaluation. “Both the [Israeli] Defense Ministry and the IDF declined to comment on” whether the LMG specifically was intended to replace one or both versions of the Negev light machine gun, according to Haaretz.
Though very likely to be heavier than the M250 to some degree, the 7.62x51mm LMG could still be significantly lighter than the existing 7.62x51mm Negev NG7 in its standard configuration with a 20-inch long barrel that has an empty weight of around 17.5 pounds. Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) also offers a short-barrel version of the NG7 that is marginally lighter and an ultra-light derivative that is just 14.5 pounds empty. Despite its smaller caliber, the standard 5.56x45mm version of the Negev is around 16.5 pounds before any ammunition is loaded.
The NG7, which was unveiled in 2012, already reflected a broader global trend of interest in lighter-weight machine guns chambered in 7.62x51mm and similar calibers. Guns in this broad category offer greater range and terminal performance in a handier package compared to light machine guns chambered to fire smaller rounds. These were key factors that led the U.S. Army to field versions of the 7.62x51mm Mk 48 light machine gun, a scaled-up derivative of the 5.56x45mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) originally developed for the U.S. Navy SEALs, and then the M250.
For Israel, a 7.62x51mm version of Sig Sauer’s LMG also allows for the use of existing ammunition stocks. With the U.S. Army planning to buy thousands of M250s, there is set to be a robust overall supply chain for the company’s light machine gun family for decades to come, as well.
The IDF more broadly adopting Sig Sauer’s LMG, as well as its MMG, would be another major win for the company, which has been making steady inroads in the global small arms market for years now. Acquisition decisions by Israel’s armed forces often have trend-setting impacts around the world.
It will be interesting to see how widely the IDF fields the new guns from Sig Sauer and how that might impact further purchases in Israel and elsewhere worldwide.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com