The M338 machine gun and the ammunition it makes to fire out of the new weapon officially have been officially by the U.S. military as safe for testing.
The .338 NM machine gun is lighter than the current M240 in 7.62mm but can shoot with some of the same effects as the .50 caliber, a much heavier platform.
The SURG program was ongoing for the past few years as it worked to produce a weapon for SOCOM operators that cuts the noise from a fired round more efficiently.