AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun

The AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (abbreviated AIE-486H HMG or simply HMG), more commonly referred to as the Heavy Machine Gun Turret, is a United Nations Space Command ground weapon effective against infantry and light vehicles. It fires Saboted Light Armor Penetrator rounds at a high rate of fire.

When detached it provides a portable, high-powered machine gun with 200 rounds.

Overview
The AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (not to be confused with the M41 LAAG) is a standard Gatling-style heavy machine gun, used by the UNSC for offensive and defensive purposes. It is also more powerful than the UNSC's former turret, M247 GP Machine Gun. It has saved many lives with its defensive capabilities holding at bay for a time the attacks of the Covenant on Reach dealing out massive casualties to the Covenants efforts to take out the Orbital MAC cannon generators.

For defensive purposes, it can be mounted on a tripod, but when used for assault it can be detached from its tripod by a SPARTAN-II's or Elite's brute strength. Pressing B while using the turret in its mounted position can do this. Once detached, the player will appear in a third-person view, although the regular targeting reticule is still apparent. The reticule will be larger to reflect the fact that the detached turret is less accurate than the mounted turret. It has an infinite ammo capacity while stationary, but removing the turret limits the capacity to up to 200 rounds.

In its unmounted form, the weapon has a limited ammunition capacity of 200 rounds and takes about a second to "spin up" before reaching its highest rate of fire. Pulling the trigger once will cause the gun to fire a maximum of two rounds at a moderate rate; holding it down builds up the rate of fire to a higher rate. The gun slowly climbs during automatic fire like the M7 Caseless Sub Machine Gun, but its recoil is lessened by the gun's tremendous weight, which makes it hard to move around. Also due to the weapon's weight, the user's speed is decreased, and turning takes more time. Also, the user's rate of elevation is low, there is a maximum angle of fire, and the user is stationary, exposed, and unable to react quickly to close-range scenarios or snipers. While wielding the gun in its standalone form, the player cannot melee, use grenades, equipment, or binoculars but the armour piercing rounds usually kill an opponent before he gets too close, as it packs quite a punch concerning fire power. Unlike most mini-guns in other games, the gun cannot overheat, which is more realistic, as one of the designs of a mini-gun is to have multiple barrels, so that one barrel does not overheat due to the fire rate. Having three barrels disperses the heat equally to all three barrels.

When the player picks up this weapon they still keep their other weapons, even if they are carrying two, in the same way as flags, bombs and skulls. However, they must drop the HMG before using their other weapons, grenades or equipment.

The Machine Gun Turret is not as powerful as the Warthog's LAAG so be careful when taking on an undamaged, unengaged Warthog, or else you'll quickly wind up dead. Only fire upon Warthogs that haven't seen you and are concentrating elsewhere.

The bullets are powerful enough to push a Warthog going full speed over, or make them accidentally run over a unfortunate teammate who happened to be in the Warthog's new path.

Trivia



 * Although it is called a Heavy Machine-Gun, the 7.62x51mm NATO rounds would actually classify it as a medium machine gun.
 * The AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun, belongs to the Halo 3 exclusive class of weapons known as "Support Weapons," is one of the four third-person view weapons. The other weapons are the Flamethrower, the Missile Pod, and the Plasma Cannon.
 * Like the M41 LAAG, the AIE-486H bears a striking resemblance to the GAU-19/A machine gun used by the United States military. The GAU-19 and AIE-486H both share the same distinctive flash suppressor. Unlike the GAU-19, which fires .50 BMG (12.7x99mm) rounds, the AIE-486H fires the 7.62x51mm Saboted Light Armor Penetrator rounds.
 * The AIE-486H fufills the same defensive role of the GAU-19/A, being mounted on aircraft like the Pelican, reminiscent to the GAU-19/A being mounted on a modern-day helicopter.
 * The AIE-486H appeared in early footage of pre-Xbox Halo as the mini-gun.
 * During Forge matches, the mounted AIE-486H can be picked up, moved, and rotated, even while another player is using the turret. If the other player rips the turret from the base while this is happening, the player will duplicate the turret. This can be used to arm an entire team with turrets. These traits also apply to Plasma Turrets, and anyone seated in the turret position of a vehicle won't be forced out like the driver will.
 * The HMG can carry more than 200 rounds when detached, through a Campaign glitch.
 * Its recoil causes it to "climb" much like the M7 Caseless Submachine Gun.
 * Brutes will occasionally utilize Heavy Machine Guns against players and allies, the most common example of this appears in the level Crow's Nest, in the Armory.
 * It is possible to use the machine gun mounted in the back of a Pelican in Halo 3 by killing the NPC manning it (without destroying the turret) and getting into the drop bay.
 * In Halo 3's Forge mode, there is a glitch that allows players to go through invisible walls, chain link fences, and other solid barriers using the turret. Be warned though, as most of these areas contain death zones.
 * A way of moving faster with the turret can be done by constantly dropping and picking up the turret. Pressing 'Y' to change guns while holding right bumper to pick the gun up again. This, while looking like you're dribbling the gun, allows almost normal movement, be careful of other guns lying around though, as it might pick one of those up instead.
 * You can also walk in a somewhat diagonal position. You will look like you're skipping with it, but you will go considerably faster.
 * On the base of the empty shell casings, the words Chief-EGX can be seen. This is apparent on all of the UNSC weapons that eject shell casings.
 * The HMG is the only usable UNSC firearm where if a round is fired, it will not hit the target instantly (unlike all other UNSC firearms). This is most likely for balancing reasons.
 * If you put a detached turret into the tunnel in High Ground, then crouch in the tunnel and pick up the turret, you will be standing, meaning that you have shrunk to half-size.
 * The AIE-486H's first mention may in fact be in Halo: First Strike, in which the surviving Marines and Spartans of Red Team use chainguns, among other defenses, to keep the Covenant from compromising one of the orbital defense platform generators on the surface of Reach (although the 486H is a gatling style machine gun, not a chain gun. they are different principles).
 * HMGs are easily detached using explosives. A good tactic is to grenade the turret instead of detaching it to reduce the amount of time in a stationary position.
 * Spartans can be upgraded to wield this gun in Halo Wars.
 * In Red vs Blue: Reconstruction, Wash uses a turret on the map Last Resort to seriously wound the Meta, but it uses Wyoming's temporal distortion and a chameleon upgrade to escape. Wash throws it down in anger afterward and yells at the Reds.
 * While the AIE-486H HMG might appear more mobile than the Halo 2 turret, it is shown to be heavier and harder to carry, even slowing Spartans and Elites. The M247 General Purpose Machine Gun (from Halo 2) is actually lighter, in its portable form, it is able to be carried by Marines as seen in the levels Cairo Station and Outskirts, and the stationary form doesn't appear difficult to rip off.
 * The AIE-486H's two plated armor only protects your thigh when detached
 * The rounds are strong enough to shoot the armor off the back of a Grunt in one shot.

Character Compatibility
Stationary


 * Marines
 * Brutes
 * Spartans
 * Elites
 * Grunts (Uses Plasma Cannon animation)

Detached


 * Spartans
 * Elites
 * Brutes
 * ODST