FN has been showing off the Evolys, a weapon that handles like an assault rifle but delivers the sustained firepower you’d expect from a belt-fed machine gun.
The General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), also designed by FN, has been a stalwart of the infantry for decades but is expected to be phased out of service by 2035. The Ministry of Defence will soon go to tender to define requirements for a replacement, and the Evolys is already being talked about as a potential contender.
A single GPMG is normally allocated to an infantry section, usually the Delta fire team, but it was never designed for assault work. FN official Stevie Crook, a former British Army infantryman, highlighted the practical limits of the current weapon in close-quarters and jungle environments. The GPMG weighs about 10.9kg and has a 24.8-inch barrel, dimensions that make it awkward to manoeuvre where space and speed matter.
“You don’t want a weapon that long… that heavy. You know, that’s not good for the guy that’s carrying it,” Crook said, stressing how modern operations demand lighter, more mobile kit.
By contrast, the Evolys is available in 5.56mm and 7.62mm variants with much shorter barrels, 14 inches for the 5.56mm and 16 inches for the 7.62mm, and far lower weights: around 5.5kg and 6.2kg respectively. That slimming down allows troops to carry GPMG-level rounds while remaining agile during assaults or close-in fighting.
A notable design change is the Evolys’s side-loading feed, rather than the GPMG’s top-cover system. Crook emphasised that side-loading keeps the receiver solid, so an optic mounted on the Picatinny rail along the top will hold zero far better. That stability, he said, opens up the capability to use night optics and thermals more effectively.
“I’d say this is a real gamechanger. It will enhance the capability now to fire at night with an optic with an inline sight, with a thermal,” he added.
While the GPMG’s iron sights have stood the test of time, the Evolys’s rail system means a soldier can quickly swap optics to suit a changing tactical picture, a small but significant flexibility on today’s battlefield.
Crook also argued the Evolys is tailored for an assault role, not merely static section support. Its lighter weight and side-loading mechanism mean it can be reloaded and brought back into action far faster than the GPMG, which typically requires two hands and a prone position to change belts.
“When you’re going through the battlefield, you know, in fire and manoeuvre, then you continue on your mission as part of the section and maintain momentum in the firefight,” he said.
Whether the Evolys, or something like it, will end up in the hands of British troops remains unclear. Procurement decisions are rarely quick, and requirements are exacting. But the Evolys underlines how manufacturers and armed forces are rethinking the balance between mobility and sustained firepower for future conflicts.
