The U.S. Army in 2011 named the M2A1 Machine Gun one of the greatest inventions of the year. The Machine Gun is a big improvement over the M2 "Ma Deuce" with quick barrel change and a new flash hider the minimizes the signature of the heavy machine gun by 95% at night. It is safer to handle and maintain that the M2A1 further enhances the legend of the M2 weapon system.

According to PEO Soldier, with the wider adaptation of the M2A1, the existing inventory of M2 machine guns are now being upgraded to the M2A1 configuration, which actually started in January 2011 with around 6,000 M2HBs slated for reconfiguration.

This helps the Army save on costs rather than totally replacing these reliable weapons systems with brand new M2A1s. With the introduction of the M205 lightweight tripod to replace the present M3 Tripod. The M205 tripod is 16% lighter and comes with the new Traverse & Elevation (T&E) which allows for faster target acquisition and engagement.

Apart from the upgrade of the existing M2 inventory, there will still be over 5,000 new M2A1s which will need to be supplied. As to how many have already been delivered, we have no numbers on that.

We have always been keen on having an airsoft heavy machine gun used in airsoft events as a fixed weapons platform for base defense or as a vehicle mounted weapon on surplus military vehicles and M2A1 is one that we look forward to seeing, whether a DIY custom project or a limited run special release by an airsoft company.