can be folded back and secured in slots under the receiver by hooks and a spring-loaded catch. When firing from the hip, the bipod legs remain extended and the left leg is gripped for support. The bipod can be removed from the gas cylinder by tapping-out a roll pin in the gas cylinder head until it is flush and the bipod can be rotated enough to clear the gas cylinder's retaining lugs. In the static medium machine gun sustained fire support role, the weapon is mounted on a tripod that offers a higher degree of accuracy and control than the bipod, for example the FN 360° tripod, which features an elevation adjustment mechanism that enables the weapon's bore axis to be maintained from to , has a 30° to +15° elevation change and a 360° traverse range. Variants Variants of the FN MAG were manufactured by at least ten companies: FN Herstal, Fabricaciones Militares, Changfeng Machinery, Indian Ordnance Factories, Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärfaktori, the Ordnance Development and Engineering Company of Singapore, Canadian Arsenals Limited, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Heckler and Koch, Manroy Engineering, Yunnan Xiyi Industry Company Limited, and Egypt's Maadi Company for Engineering Industries. FN production variants The vehicle-mounted variant of the MAG lacks a stock, bipod, carry handle, pistol grip, ejection port dust cover and a mount for optical sights. It does, however, have a new closed-type gas regulator. Depending on the weapon's employment, the machine gun can also be fitted with an extended charging handle linkage, standard trigger group (with a pistol grip), or a specialized trigger assembly with an electrically fired trigger. The pintle-mounted aircraft model is fed from either the right- or left-hand side exclusively with the M13 belt. Thus configured, weapons typically lack standard iron sights and are equipped with electrically powered triggers. British versions The L7 general-purpose machine gun is used by the British Army. The L7 and the related L8 are license-built derivatives of the MAG. The official British Army designation for the current version is the L7A2 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). The L7 was adopted by the British forces as a replacement for the long-serving Vickers machine gun (in the medium role) and the Bren (in the light assault role), following trials in 1957. Built under license originally by Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock and currently by Manroy Engineering, it serves in the British Army, the Royal Marines