We’ve all been there. The burning desire to play the part of Jesse Ventura in Predator, laying down death and destruction with a belt fed minigun. Naturally that was all Hollywood magic — the General Electric firearm on display requires an external power source to run that would probably be just as big as the pile of ammunition needed to feed the beast. In the 30 years since that movie came out a man portable minigun has remained a work of science fiction… Until now.
From Empty Shell:
The XM556 Microgun was designed and engineered around the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. This defensive suppression weapon is significantly smaller and lighter than it’s big brother the M134. It was meant to stand in place of anywhere high suppressive fire wanted without the weight or footprint of the larger M134 electrically driven Gatling gun system. The current XM556 Microgun is smaller and lighter than some current 5.56mm beltfed Squad Automatic Weapons currently on the market, with 4x’s the firepower.
The XM556 is a new platform system that was designed from scratch by the ground up. The parts are not just a smaller imitation of the larger M134, but were designed on its own. An absolutely all new style of bolt was conceived and designed to eliminate current known issues with the M134. The bolts combined with many other improvements have been made to not only extend the life of the gun but reduce wear and reduce or eliminate stoppages.
The gun is sold as a complete weapon system. Some mounts and accessories designed for the M134 will work with the XM556 Microgun to make adoption easier.
And yes, we have asked to go out to their facility in Houston to have a sneak peek. Stay tuned.