Machine gun

Conflict Usage

Colombian FARC Dissident Conflict

Side: FARC dissident groupsRole: Arms-cache automatic fire weaponfire support

Colombian police reported seizing an arsenal belonging to FARC dissidents in Narino province that included an M60 machine gun, grenades, uniforms, and more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition.

Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

Side: HezbollahRole: Mounted and infantry automatic firefire supportstrike

Israeli ground operations and later reporting documented Hezbollah machine guns among captured weapons in southern Lebanon, including vehicles fitted with mounted machine guns.

Machine gun Images

Related Weapon Systems

Infantry WeaponsUAG-40 automatic grenade launcherBelt-fed 40 mm automatic grenade launcherThe UAG-40 is a Ukrainian belt-fed automatic grenade launcher chambered for 40 x 53SR mm high-velocity ammunition. Developed and manufactured by Kuznya na Rybalskomu, it emphasizes low weight for a crew-served launcher and was documented in the Boko Haram Insurgency when Boko Haram displayed a captured example after an April 2016 ambush in Nigeria.

Infantry WeaponsAK-47/AKM rifle familySelective-fire assault rifle familyAK-47/AKM-family rifles are Kalashnikov-pattern small arms derived from the Soviet AK-47 and 1959 AKM modernization, usually chambered in 7.62 x 39 mm. In the post-2015 archive they appear with FARC dissidents in Colombia, gangs in Haiti, PKK fighters, GNA scouts in Libya, insurgents in Mali, Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, militants in Sinai, RSF units in Sudan, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.

Infantry WeaponsAR-15-pattern rifle5.56 mm self-loading rifle platformThe AR-15-pattern rifle is a lightweight, modular 5.56 mm self-loading rifle family derived from the ArmaLite and Colt AR-15 lineage. In the Battle of Marawi, open-source arms research documented AR-type rifles among weapons captured from IS-aligned Maute Group fighters, making the platform part of the militant small-arms mix used in dense urban fighting.

Infantry WeaponsGalil assault rifleSelective-fire assault rifle familyThe Galil is an Israeli Kalashnikov-derived assault rifle family originally produced by Israel Military Industries and later modernized by Israel Weapon Industries as the Galil ACE line. Recent conflict reporting places Galil or Galil ACE rifles in irregular small-arms stocks from the Lake Chad Basin to FARC dissident operations in Colombia and trafficked gang arsenals in Haiti, where they appear as portable infantry weapons rather than heavy support systems.

Infantry WeaponsM60 general-purpose machine gun7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunThe M60 is a U.S.-origin 7.62x51 mm NATO belt-fed general-purpose machine gun built for ground, tripod, vehicle, and aircraft-mounted fire support. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, analysts have identified rare M60 machine guns in Boko Haram/JAS and ISWAP media, likely reflecting captured or diverted state weapons rather than formal insurgent procurement.

Infantry WeaponsSPG-973 mm tripod-mounted recoilless gunThe SPG-9 is a Soviet 73 mm tripod-mounted recoilless gun that fires rocket-assisted HEAT and fragmentation projectiles from a crew-served launcher. Though designed as an infantry anti-armor weapon, Ukrainian units have documented its continued use in the Russia-Ukraine War as a flexible fire-support system against trenches, infantry groups, and light armored vehicles.

Sources