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Small arms1959–present
General-purpose machine gun
MG 3 machine gun is a general-purpose machine gun originating in West Germany. It was built by Rheinmetall License-built by: Beretta , MKEK , Ellinika Amyntika Systimata, Defense Industries Organization , Military Industry Corporation , Pakistan Ordnance Factories , General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas.
General-purpose machine gun
West Germany
1959–present
See Users
See Conflicts
1959
Rheinmetall License-built by: Beretta , MKEK , Ellinika Amyntika Systimata, Defense Industries Organization , Military Industry Corporation , Pakistan Ordnance Factories , General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas
1959–present
1 million+
See Variants
11.5 kg (25.35 lb) 27.5 kg (61 lb) (mounted on tripod)
1,225 mm (48.2 in) 1,097 mm (43.2 in) (without stock)
565 mm (22.2 in)
7.62×51mm NATO
Recoil-operated , roller locked
800–950 rounds/min (heavy-weight bolt) 1,000–1,200 rounds/min (standard-weight bolt)
820 m/s (2,690 ft/s)
200–1,200 m sight adjustments
600 m (1,969 ft) (bipod) 1,200–1,600 m (3,937–5,249 ft) (tripod mounted) 3,000 m (9,843 ft) (gun carriage) 3,750 m (12,303 ft) (terminal)
50-round non-disintegrating DM1 belt (can be combined in a drum); 100-round disintegrating DM6/M13 belt
Open tangent iron sights or optical sights
Afghanistan
Albania
Argentina
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Brazil
Canada
Cape Verde
Chile
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Iceland
Indonesia
Iran
Kurdistan
Italy
Latvia
Libya
Lithuania
Mexico
Myanmar
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Sweden
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
Uruguay
Yemen
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept 2026 | 1.225 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 1.225 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 1.225 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 1.225 m | Wikipedia contributors | approved |
MG 3 machine gun equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
Afghanistan
Albania
Argentina
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Brazil
Canada
Cape Verde
Chile
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Iceland
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
ItalyReported count for MG 3 Beretta MG 42/59. Service scope: Italian Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 30,000. Origin: Germany Italy. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Latvia
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Mexico
Moldova
Myanmar
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Northern Cyprus
Norway
Pakistan
Philippines
PolandReported count for MG 3 · MG3A1. Service scope: Polish Land Forces; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): quantity: 522. Origin: West Germany. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
Portugal
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
Somalia
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Sweden
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Türkiye
Ukraine
Uruguay
YemenAfghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Kurdistan, Italy, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Mexico, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Yemen
Equipment reference ↗