Overview
The CIS engineers learnt from the lesson of the unsuccessful American "Dover Devil GPHMG" programme, to create a modular weapon suited for modern tactical doctrines and production techniques. In 1988, CIS introduced the new 12.7mm machine gun which was aptly named as the CIS 50MG, after two years of development and testing phase.
As the CIS 50MG is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed weapon, the gun is operated using dual gas pistons, located in two gas tubes placed on either side of the barrel. The barrel is locked by means of a rotary bolt with multiple radial lugs that engages the barrel extension, eliminating the need for headspace adjustments. The CIS 50MG utilizes the same "constant recoil" system used in the Ultimax 100 and it also has a quick-detachable barrel equipped with a carrying handle to facilitate the ease of barrel changing under combat situations or during operational manoeuvres.
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