
This means the user should try to fire in medium length bursts of 5-10 rounds per burst to stay accurate. It can easily keep its sights on a target with minimal adjustment, but it will start to become inaccurate after many rounds have been fired. The weapon itself performs very well in combat. When the weapon was first released, it was said to fire the 7.62x51mm round, as well as having a recoil reducing muzzle brake, giving reason for its high damage and low recoil. It features a 80-round magazine, low recoil, and a decent fire rate for the amount of damage it puts out. The M249 SAW is a purchasable elite weapon featured in Battlefield Play4Free for the Medic Kit.

In the US Armed Forces it is known as the M249 and is their standard issue squad automatic weapon." Its high cyclic rate provides exceptional round on target. "The Belgium made LMG is very reliable and easy to operate. When compared to its MEC counterpart the RPK-74, the M249 has superior spread values, but does marginally less damage when compared to the QBB-95, the M249 has superior spread and identical damage. Additionally, it is mounted on the AIL Raider.

In the Special Forces expansion pack, it is also used by the Navy SEALs (both handheld and stationary), while only the stationary version is also used by the British SAS.

The M249 also appears as a turret, called M249 LMG, that will spawn near certain control points that are held by the USMC and the EU, although without usable iron sights and infinite ammo. The M249 SAW is a weapon featured in Battlefield 2 and is the first weapon unlocked in the Support kit for the United States Marine Corps. For best results the M249 should be fired from a prone position in controlled bursts." "The Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) is the basis for an infantry squad.
