C6 General Purpose Machine Gun

Known in American service as the M240, and in other parts of the world as the FN MAG 58, this popular and robust weapon joined the new family of Canadian small arms along with the C7 and C9 in the mid 1980s. The weapon, like many of the machine guns used by the Canadian Army from 1939 onwards, was also used in vehicle mounts (one of the main differences being a smaller gas regulator knob) in addition to the dismounted infantry role. The C6 was issued one per infantry platoon, and could be set up in a sustained fire role by use of the SF (Sustained Fire) Kit, including tripod, optical sight, aiming stakes, and other devices to enable stabilized fire on pre-sited targets. By using the C2 Mortar Sight, the gun could be fired on the SF Kit indirectly up to 1600 metres.

The weapon had been in use prior to this as both a coaxially mounted weapon and an anti-aircraft weapon on the Leopard tank, which entered Canadian service in 1976. It has also been used on other vehicles prior to employment as an infantry weapon, such as the Cougar and Grizzly, and has been added to newer vehicles such as the LAV III.