You know what they'll do ... They'll shave 20 pounds off the weight of the gun, and then hang 20 pounds of electronic sighting gizmos on it.
Ma deuce is a moose for sure.
It is a heavy sucker but I never thought of it as a squad weapon. The M60 got to be too much, hence the M249 SAW (a cautionary tale in itself in the development of a new weapon system).
The weight of the .50 ammo itself is daunting. Carrying enough to be useful is a job for several troops. All things considered it is something to be carried or mounted on a tactical vehicle, not on a soldier’s back. Even the titanium version.
I never knew the M2 was considered a man-portable system.