A light machine gun (LMG) is a machine gun that is designed to be carried and operated by an individual soldier. A LMG is intended to act as a support weapon in that it can generate a greater volume of continuous fire than the usual firearms carried by infantry soldiers, but at the cost of greater weight and higher ammunition consumption.

While it may be possible to fire a LMG "from the hip" or on the move, they are more accurate when fired from a prone position using a bipod. They are often designed to be used with magazines, not belts, but some, such as the M249, use both.

Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.

Examples

• Bren machine gun
• Lewis machine gun

See also

• Medium machine gun
• Heavy machine gun