| « | The L7A2 is a British designation for the Belgian 7.62mm belt- fed general purpose machine gun FN MAG. It can be carried by foot soldiers and employed as a mounted light machine gun. It is used mainly by the Paras and Royal Marines these days. Armoury Description[1]
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The L7A2 GPMG (full name: General Purpose Machine Gun[2]) is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun used exclusively by the British Army in ArmA 2. It was added with the release of the British Armed Forces DLC.
Overview[]
The L7A2 is a gas operated medium machine gun that uses an open bolt design. It is chambered to fire the 7.62×51 mm NATO cartridge.
It feeds from 100-round belts stored in cloth boxes[CfgWp 6], and can attain a fire rate of up to ~ 846 rounds per minute[CfgWp 7][Formula 1] with a muzzle velocity of 834 m/s.[CfgMa 2] The L7A2 does not come in any variant that has either optical sights, muzzle attachments or side rail accessories mounted. It has a maximum zeroing range of 800 metres.[CfgWp 8]
The L7A2 serves as the British Army's standard issue GPMG. Virtually identical to the M240 utilised by their American allies, the L7A2 is a powerful medium machine gun that has an effective range of between 800 and up to 1,200 metres.
It is exceptionally good at providing medium-long range suppressive fire, and unlike its Russian-made PKP/PKM counterparts, has a much higher rate of fire and easier to manage recoil. Like the M240, it is also utilised as a vehicle-mounted weapon on some ground vehicles - the Jackal 2 MWMIK being one such example, which has the L7A2 fitted as a forward-facing weapon for the vehicle commander.
As with the M240, the L7A2 is chambered to fire the same 7.62 mm NATO round which is what gives it a high damage output compared to the (relatively) smaller 5.56 mm-chambered L110A1. The L7A2 is effective against both infantry and light vehicles alike, and is capable of downing an enemy soldier with only one shot to the chest at almost every range.
However, like all GPMGs, the L7A2 is somewhat difficult to employ whilst the operator is firing from a standing position due to its excessive muzzle climb and recoil. For optimal results, using short bursts of just 2-5 rounds or simply lying prone will allow the user to mitigate the effects of both, thereby making the L7A2 slightly more controllable.
Variants[]
L7A2 Minitripod[]
| « | The L7A2 is a British designation for a Belgian 7.62mm belt- fed general purpose machine gun FN MAG. It can be carried by foot soldiers and employed as a light machine gun. It is used mainly by para and marines these days. This weapon features the Elcan C79 opical sights. Armoury Description[1]
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The L7A2 Minitripod, alternately known as the GPMG Minitripod, is a static defence version of the L7A2.
It is mounted onto a low tripod and is completely identical to the man-portable counterpart, save that it has a lower fire rate of 800 RPM rather than ~ 846 RPM.[CfgWp 12][Formula 2] This variant always comes pre-loaded with a single 200-round belt box and has a further three more boxes spare for a total of 800 rounds.[CfgVh 1]
It takes at least 6 seconds to reload the L7A2 with a fresh belt.[CfgWp 13] The tripod can be swivelled 180 degrees in both directions (horizontally).[CfgVh 2][CfgVh 3] Vertical limits are restricted to a maximum elevation of 70 degrees[CfgVh 4] and a depression of 20 degrees.[CfgVh 5]
Sights[]
Recoil curves[]
Standing
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Charts/graphs are not available on mobile. Please switch to desktop mode in order to see them.
Prone
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Charts/graphs are not available on mobile. Please switch to desktop mode in order to see them.
|
Ammunition[]
| Ammo parameter | 7.62 mm NATO (Ball/Man-portable) | 7.62 mm NATO (Ball/Static) |
|---|---|---|
| Base damage value | 12[CfgAm 1] | 12[CfgAm 1] |
| Aerodynamic friction | -0.0009324[CfgAm 2] | -0.0009324[CfgAm 2] |
| Muzzle velocity (m/s) | 834[CfgMa 2] | 855[CfgMa 4] |
| Expected velocity (m/s) | 900 [CfgAm 3][note 3] |
900 [CfgAm 3][note 3] |
| Deflection angle (degrees) | 10°[CfgAm 4] | 10°[CfgAm 4] |
The man-portable L7A2 GPMG can only feed from one[CfgWp 6] type of "magazine" that requires at least two[CfgMa 5] free inventory slots to carry. The static L7A2 on the other hand has access to two[CfgWp 15] types of "magazines":
100Rnd. M240[]
100-round linked belt stored in a clothed box. Can be shared with the M240/Mk 48 Mod 0/M60E4. The fourth round[CfgMa 6] fired will always be a visible red tracer, while the last four rounds[CfgMa 7] are consistently tracers.
This is the only magazine that can be used by man-portable L7A2s.
200Rnd. 7.62x51 mm NATO[]
200-round linked belt "magazine". It is identical to the man-portable 100-round belt (aside from its increased capacity), but rounds fired from this "magazine" specifically have a higher muzzle velocity of 855 m/s[CfgMa 4] rather than 834 m/s.
This magazine cannot be used by the man-portable L7A2.
200Rnd. M240[]
Extended capacity 200-round belt. Other than its increased capacity[CfgMa 8] and lower muzzle velocity[CfgMa 9], it is identical to the man-portable 100-round belt box.
This magazine is not available to static L7A2s by default and can only be "loaded" into them through the use of scripting commands.
Magazine compatibility[]
| Weapon name (Classname) |
100Rnd. M240 |
200Rnd. 7.62x51 mm NATO |
200Rnd. M240 |
|---|---|---|---|
| L7A2 GPMG (BAF_L7A2_GPMG) |
✔ | ✗ | ✗ |
| L7A2 GPMG (BAF_L7A2_GPMG_Small) |
✔ | ✗ | ✗ |
| L7A2 Minitripod (BAF_GPMG_Minitripod_D) |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| L7A2 Minitripod (BAF_GPMG_Minitripod_W) |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- The real-world counterpart of the L7A2 is based on the "MAG" machine gun designed by FN Herstal of Belgium. Likewise, the MAG itself forms the basis upon which the "M240" series of MMGs used by the U.S. military is also based on.
- However, the in-game L7A2 incorrectly shares the same model with the M240 used by both the U.S. Army and USMC factions. Although the real L7A2 is mechanically identical to the M240 with the exception of the number of gas regulator positions (3 versus the L7A2's 10), both weapons are furnished differently.
- As is the case with the M1911 pistol, it is likely that the L7A2 was made to reuse the M240's model simply to save the need to create a unique model for the DLC, since the L7A2 is basically the same weapon minus the previously mentioned aesthetic differences.
- Oddly enough, static L7A2s also feature an Elcan "C79" optic mounted on them while the man-portable variant is not available with any optical sights.
- Prior to the latest Steam version patches (as part of CorePatch), the L7A2 had a much higher muzzle velocity of 900 m/s. Its maximum zeroing limit was also much greater, allowing for a setting of up to 1,400 metres rather than 800 metres.[3]
- The patches also changed the name of the Minitripod variant to "GPMG Minitripod", omitting the L7A2 designation from its display name.
- In addition, an alternate variant was also added by CorePatch that specifically does not obstruct the user's backpack slot (Classname: BAF_L7A2_GPMG_Small). However, this variant is hidden by default and can only be equipped through scripting commands or a custom addon to unhide it.
Gallery[]
Config/script references[]
CfgAmmoCfgMagazines
CfgWeapons
CfgVehicles
Formulae |
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2010, Weaponry, Arma 2, viewed 5 March 2025, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-baf-weaponry/arma2-baf-weapons>.
- ↑ Ministry of Defence 2018, Small arms and support weapons, The British Army, viewed 21 May 2024, <http://web.archive.org/web/20180312144741/https://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/small-arms-and-support-weapons/>. (archived link)
- ↑ Mazzon, M et al. 2019, CorePatch, GitHub, viewed 12 July 2023, <https://github.com/Goliath86/CorePatch/blob/master/Changelog.txt>.
External links[]
See also[]
Weapons of comparable role and configuration[]
- M240 (USMC/U.S. Army conventional forces counterpart)
- PKM (Outdated ChDKZ/Takistani Army counterpart)
- PKP (Modern Russian Armed Forces counterpart)
- UK-59 (ACR conventional forces counterpart, ArmA 2: ACR only)
 British Army - Armoury (ArmA 2)
| |
|---|---|
| Handguns | M1911 .45 |
| Assault rifles | L85A2 5.56 mm (L85A2 UGL) |
| Designated marksman rifles | L86A2 LSW 5.56 mm |
| Sniper rifles | AS50 12.7 mm • LRR .338 |
| Squad automatic weapons | L110A1 5.56 mm |
| Machineguns | L7A2 GPMG 7.62 mm |
| Launchers | FGM-148 Javelin • FIM-92F Stinger • NLAW |
| Static | L111A1 • L134A1 |
| (Parenthesis) denote variants. British Armed Forces | |