VFC M249 SAW Machine Gun GBBNo orange tip! The FN Herstal Minimi. Adopted by the United States Military in 1984 as the M249 SAW. Since then, most of us just know it has the M249 SAW or Squad Automatic Weapon. This light machine gun, especially the US Armed Forces version is beloved by real steel shooters and airsofters alike. the M249 in airsoft is not exactly a new gun by any means, there have been many iterations of it in airsoft, G&P, A&K, and even Classic Army has made AEG