Four decades ago FN Herstal embarked on a new product line. Rather than just produce machine guns, the company began to integrate them on pintles or in pods for use on a wide range of subsonic aircraft and helicopters. Integrating such systems requires a deep understanding of the weapons themselves, and their effects on the operational platform. FN Herstal was ideally placed to engineer the mountings, ammunition feeds and spent-case disposal systems. FN Herstal is constantly looking at adding new solutions to its portfolio including cutting-edge, digital technologies, to provide the highest level of operational capability to military forces. The company also integrates weapon systems for land and naval applications.
FN Airborne Pod Systems incorporates safety mechanisms in the recocking device so that there are no chambered rounds until the system is engaged to fire. The machine gun can always be recocked in flight without limitation. The recoil forces that occur when the weapon is fired can be a source of structural fatigue on the carrier aircraft and can also reduce the precision of the gun. In FN’s pod, the machine gun is fitted on a soft mount that absorbs the recoil forces. An elevation and azimuth adjustment device enables the gun to match the carrier aircraft’s optical sighting line. The design guarantees smooth movement of the ammunition belt with no risk of jamming or fouling because of aircraft maneuvers or acceleration.
FN HMP250 Pod
FN has developed a broad spectrum of machine gun pods designed for rotary-wing and subsonic fixed-wing combat aircraft capable of carrying the FN M3P .50-caliber machine gun and multiple 2.75? air-to-ground rockets with the FN RMP variant. FN Pod Systems provide war fighters with a significant firepower advantage in every operational engagement, which is why they are currently in use by a number of NATO nations on both subsonic fixed and rotary-wing combat aircraft. The HMP250 variant is a slightly smaller version of the HMP400, which has a 400 Rd capacity.
FN HMP400 Pod
FN has developed a broad spectrum of machine gun pods designed for rotary-wing and subsonic fixed-wing combat aircraft capable of carrying the FN M3P .50-caliber machine gun and multiple 2.75? air-to-ground rockets with the FN® RMP variant. FN Pod Systems provide war fighters with a significant firepower advantage in every operational engagement and are in use by a number of NATO nations on both subsonic fixed and rotary-wing combat aircraft.
FN RMP
FN has developed a broad spectrum of machine gun pods designed for rotary-wing and subsonic fixed-wing combat aircraft. THE FN RMP variant is capable of carrying multiple 2.75? /70mm unguided or guided rockets. It provides war fighters with a significant firepower advantage in every operational engagement and is currently in use by a number of NATO nations on both subsonic fixed and rotary-wing combat aircraft.
