.50-caliber and 12.7 mm heavy machine guns give infantry, vehicle crews, and security forces longer-range automatic fire than rifle-caliber machine guns. The best-known Western example is the M2 Browning family, a belt-fed, recoil-operated heavy machine gun used from ground mounts, vehicles, boats, and aircraft mounts. In the Battle of Marawi, Philippine reporting documents a caliber 50 heavy machine gun used by government forces for suppressive fire during urban fighting, while Nigerian reporting from the Boko Haram Insurgency documents a .50 inch Browning machine gun recovered from Boko Haram terrorists at Gombi in 2015.
Philippine News Agency reporting on Marawi siege promotions says a police corporal delivered suppressive fire with a caliber 50 heavy machine gun against local terrorist groups during the battle.
Channels Television, citing a Nigerian Army statement, reported that troops recovered one .50 inch Browning Machine Gun, 12.7 mm ammunition, and other weapons from Boko Haram terrorists near Gombi in March 2015; the report documents recovery from insurgents rather than a specific firing incident.
U.S. Central Command imagery from Camp Shorabak in August 2017 documents a U.S. Marine advisor demonstrating firing techniques on an M2 Browning .50 Machine Gun to Afghan National Army soldiers, supporting Afghan government-force fielding and training during the post-2015 War in Afghanistan.
