The UK is set to award Heckler & Koch (H&K) a 10-year contract for the supply of L7A2 general-purpose machine guns (GPMG) and related equipment to the British Armed Forces.
The 70-million-pound ($94-million) sole-source contract is expected to be signed later this month and remain in effect until June 2036, according to a UK government transparency notice cited by UK Defence Journal.
H&K carried out the mid-life modification on the weapon — originally produced by the Belgian firm FN Herstal — materially altering it from the baseline version on technical grounds.
As a result, “only H&K UK has the technical documentation to continue to supply the GPMG System in the L7A2 configuration,” UK Defence Journal quoted the notice as saying.
The notice added that the upgraded weapon incorporates “a number of safety-critical modifications,” though it provides no further details.
L7A2 GPMG
A British variant of the Belgian-designed FN MAG, the L7A2 is a 7.62×51mm belt-fed machine gun capable of operating in both light and sustained-fire roles.
In the sustained-fire configuration, the L7A2 is mounted on a tripod and fitted with a C2 optical sight. Operated by a two-person crew, it can deliver up to 750 rounds per minute at ranges of up to 1,800 meters (5,906 feet).
As a light machine gun, it is fitted with a fold-out bipod and has an effective range of around 800 meters (2,625 feet).
Variants of the L7A2 are also mounted on British Army vehicles and helicopter platforms.
