M247H machine gun

The M247H Heavy Machine Gun is a heavy weapon used extensively by the United Nations Space Command ground forces. It is a variant of the widely used M247 General Purpose Machine Gun.

Design details
The M247H is an air-cooled, gas-operated, electrically fired, linkless-fed weapon that fires 12.7mm cartridges. It can be used in both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle roles. It is most often seen mounted on stationary tripods and used as a defensive weapon, but can also be carried by those strong enough to efficiently operate it. An M247H is mounted on either side of the UH-144A Falcon.

Like many other support weapons used by the UNSC, the M247H is fitted with a metal shield near the rear of its barrel to protect the user. Some versions, including the one mounted on the UH-144A Falcon, lack this feature.

Trivia

 * It has a faster fire rate but less damage than its Halo 3 counterpart, the AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun.
 * Chief Warrant Officer Jorge-052, a SPARTAN-II commando, utilized this weapon throughout the Human-Covenant War. His customized M247H lacked the shield plate, which was replaced by a heat cover over the barrel and many other smaller differences.
 * The M247H is erroneously labeled as the AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun in Bungie.net game stats. Similarly, the weapon's description on the official Halo: Reach website erroneously claims that the M247H uses 7.62mm cartridges, which would classify it as a medium machine gun.
 * It is prone to overheating in Halo: Reach unless it is removed from its mount, which somehow enables it to fire without overheating until all ammunition is expended.
 * When firing, the weapon makes the exact same sound as the AIE-486H HMG, including the sound of the gun spooling up.
 * Unlike the AIE-486H HMG featured in Halo 3, if the Infinite Ammo setting is active, the turret will have unlimited ammunition, even while detached from its base.