U.S. Marines Retain M2 .50 Caliber Machine Guns for Ship Defense in the Pacific.

A U.S. Marine assigned to Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, fired an M2 .50 caliber machine gun during a live-fire integration range aboard USS Comstock on February 2, 2026, while the ship operated in the Pacific with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The drill underscores why crew-served deck guns remain a critical last line of defense against small boats and low-cost drones in modern amphibious warfare.

A U.S. Marine from Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fired an M2 .50 caliber machine gun during a live-fire integration range aboard the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) while underway in the Pacific Ocean on February 2, 2026. The drill took place as the 11th MEU continues integrated training aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations, tightening the link between ship and landing force for the kind of close, fast-moving encounters that define modern littoral warfare. In a battlespace where the first warning can be a small boat accelerating out of sea clutter or a low-cost drone skimming toward the ship, this sort of deck-gun event is not a formality; it is a practical test of reaction time, discipline, and shot placement under realistic conditions.
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A U.S. Marine from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fires an M2 .50 caliber machine gun during a live-fire integration range aboard USS Comstock, highlighting the enduring importance of close-in weapons for ship self-defense against small boats, drones, and other short-range threats during modern amphibious operations in the Pacific (Picture source: U.S. DoW).

That photo and the broader training cycle it represents are a useful reminder for anyone who still thinks of shipboard defense only in terms of missiles and sophisticated combat systems. In today’s contested littorals, where cheap unmanned aircraft can appear with little warning and where irregular maritime actors can blend into commercial traffic, the last 2,000 yards are often where decision time collapses. A deck-mounted machine gun, crew-served and visually aimed, is not a relic. It is the most immediate layer of close protection, the most flexible tool for escalation of force, and often the only weapon that can be brought to bear fast enough when the tactical picture is still forming.

The M2, and increasingly the M2A1 variant in U.S. service, remains the benchmark heavy machine gun because its raw physics translate cleanly into shipboard utility. In the M2A1 configuration, the weapon fires 12.7x99 mm ammunition from a link-belt feed using a short-recoil operating system, air cooling, and a heavy barrel. The technical manual lists an approximate muzzle velocity of 2,910 feet per second (890 m/s), a maximum effective range of around 2,000 yards (1,829 m), and a maximum range on the order of 7,440 yards (6,803 m). Cyclic rate is 450 to 600 rounds per minute, with doctrinal firing modes that deliberately trade volume for control to manage heat and conserve barrels. The M2A1’s fixed headspace and timing, combined with features that enable faster barrel changes, matter at sea because they reduce setup error and accelerate safe return to action when the weapon has been pushed hard in a high-tempo deck engagement.

Onboard an amphibious ship, the M2’s tactical value is not simply its punch but its adaptability. Against small boats, it can deliver warning shots, then disabling fire aimed at engines or steering, and finally lethal effects if the threat persists, all while minimizing collateral risk compared with heavier calibers. Against drones, it offers a brutally practical answer to slow, low targets that may slip through radar coverage or clutter an electro-optical picture, particularly when multiple contacts force commanders to reserve higher-end interceptors for the most dangerous tracks. And in the day-to-day grind of maritime security, a manned gun position provides something sensors cannot: a trained pair of eyes, immediate identification, and a direct way to impose distance and compliance on approaching craft.

USS Comstock is built to take that close fight while also doing the harder mission of getting combat power ashore. The U.S. Navy lists her as a 610-foot (186 m) ship with an 84-foot (25.6 m) beam, a 21-foot (6.4 m) draft, and an approximate full-load displacement of 16,000 tons. Propulsion is provided by four Colt Industries 16-cylinder diesel engines driving two propellers for a top speed of about 22 knots. Her defining capability is the well deck, sized for four Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) or up to 21 LCM-6, enabling rapid ship-to-shore movement of Marines, vehicles, and supplies. While she has no hangar, the ship has two landing spots supporting aircraft operations up to the CH-53E class, which is central to the MEU’s ability to shift forces and sustain distributed operations.

The machine gun is only “small” until it is the only thing with the right angle, the right rules of engagement, and the right reaction time. The Navy lists Comstock’s armament as two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, two 25 mm Mk 38 guns, six .50 caliber machine guns, and two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) systems. In practical terms, that means Phalanx and RAM are there for the hardest, fastest problems, while the Mk 38 and the M2 family handle the messy close-range reality of surface contacts, drones, and swarm-style harassment where deterrence and discrimination matter as much as firepower. The February live-fire integration range was therefore not a routine qualification but a rehearsal of the last line of ship survival: sailors and Marines proving they can put accurate, disciplined fire exactly where it needs to go, from a moving deck, before a threat gets inside the reaction bubble.