The M192 Lightweight Ground Mount is a tripod fielded by the United States armed forces

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

. It was designed and developed by Capco, Incorporated under contract through Picatinny Arsenal

Picatinny Arsenal

The Picatinny Arsenal is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on a lot in northern New Jersey near Lake Denmark. The Arsenal is the headquarters of the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center...

 to replace the M122 tripod

M122 tripod

The M122 tripod is a weapon mount used on the M60, M240 and M249 series machine guns. The M122 weighs 7.3 kilograms . The M122 tripod has started to be replaced by the M192 Lightweight Ground Mount, an advanced lightweight tripod fielded in the early 2000s....

. The United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 named the tripod one of 2005's top ten inventions. It was designed for use with the M249

M249 light machine gun

The M249 light machine gun , previously designated the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon , and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is an American version of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal . The M249 is manufactured in the...

, M240B, and M240E6.

Design

At 11.5 pounds, the M192 is 6.5 pounds lighter than its predecessor. Unlike the M122, its rear legs are independently movable and stored in a forward position. Because of this design, there is no need for a locking bar connecting the two legs.

Additionally, the M192 features an integrated traversing and elevation (T&E) mechanism. Instead of the M122's ratcheting screw method of operation and locking traversing bar, the M192 uses a pair of levers, which unlock the gun's position. The levers are designed to allow the gunner to make "bold adjustments" or "minor adjustments", depending on how much pressure the gunner uses.

Due to its lighter weight and different configuration, it is claimed that machine gun crews can emplace the M192 more quickly than the M122.