The M240 is a machine gun which has gained high esteem as an effective and reliable weapon. 100% of soldiers report that they are completely confident with their weapon. This general purpose machine gun was originally built by Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian arms manufacturer, but it has since been adopted by America. The gun is belt-fed, which allows for a rapid rate of fire and a fast bullet velocity. Modern variants could hypothetically last around 26,000 rounds between failures - an unparalled performance. There is no denying its greatest weakness, however: the gun weighs a hefty 27.6 pounds(!), which the US armed forces believe is unacceptable, and are trying to fix. The M240 is typically used on tripod support systems, which reduces the impact of these problems considerably. This gives the 7.62mm .308 Winchester bullets an effective range of 1,800 metres.

In recent decades, warfare has changed dramatically to suit the most recent technologies and tactics.

But despite advances in technology and the ongoing arms race one fact remains - guns are still the defacto means of arming soldiers, and that doesn't look set to change any time in the near future. Many firearms and cartridges can trace their lineage back over a hundred years which just goes to show that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Different countries will always have different views on how to arm their troops - here are just a few that can be seen in a war near you....