This sequence provides a slight delay that ensures chamber pressure has dropped to a safe level by the time a cam in the bolt carrier rotates and unlocks the bolt, increasing extraction reliability as the empty cartridge casing has had the time to cool down and contract, exerting less friction against the chamber walls.

Spent casings are removed through a port located at the bottom of the right side of the receiver, protected from debris with a spring-loaded dust cover.

The vehicle-mounted Minimi is fitted with an electrically powered trigger that enables it to be fired remotely from within an armoured fighting vehicle.

The standard light machine gun version has a 465 mm (18.3 in) barrel and a skeletonized aluminium stock with a folding wire shoulder strap.

All models can alternatively be fitted with a fixed synthetic stock, the same used on the M249, which contains a hydraulic buffer that contributes to stabilizing the rate of fire and reducing recoil forces.

[16] The pawl-type feeding mechanism is modelled on the system used in the MAG general-purpose machine gun, which was originally used in the World War II-era MG 42.

The belt is moved in two stages during both the forward and rearward movement of the reciprocating bolt carrier, which provides for a smooth and continuous feeding cycle.

Early models of the Minimi had the rear sight mounted forward of the feed cover and the front post secured to the barrel, closer to the muzzle end.

Standard equipment supplied with the Minimi consists of three ammunition boxes, a cleaning kit stored inside the forearm, lubricant bottle, sling and blank-firing barrel.

As part of the US military's M249 Product Improvement Program (PIP), the M249 was updated with: a new synthetic stock and modified buffer assembly, a single-position gas regulator, a so-called birdcage type flash hider/compensator from the M16A2, a polymer barrel heat guard, and a folding carry handle.

A lightweight variant of the Para with a Picatinny top cover rail adapter is known as the Minimi Special Purpose Weapon (SPW).

[citation needed] It had the magazine feed port removed to further reduce weight, and a railed MIL-STD-1913 handguard was used that enables the use of standard tactical accessories.

Another variant of the SPW requested by the US Special Operations Forces is the Mk 46 Mod 0 that incorporates a lightweight fluted barrel but lacks the magazine feed system, vehicle mounting lugs and carry handle.

A railed forearm ensures modularity and mission-adaptability permitting the use of flashlights, vertical grips, and infrared laser designators.

When the USSOCOM issued the requirements for the Mk 48 Mod 0 in the early 2000s, the original plans for the Minimi were retrieved and used to develop this new model.

In November 2006, a FN Herstal press release said the Minimi 7.62 had recently been "launched onto the market" and was available "with a fixed or telescopic buttstock and a standard or triple rail handguard".

[18] Apart from the different caliber, the Minimi 7.62 incorporates a non-adjustable, self-regulating gas system and a hydraulic recoil buffer in the buttstock assembly.

[19] Sumitomo Heavy Industries conducts licensed production, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) have adopted it under the name 5.56mm Machine Gun MINIMI (5.56mm機関銃MINIMI) The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) began procurement from the 1993 fiscal year as a successor to the Type 62 7.62mm machine gun, and by the 2017 fiscal year, they had procured 4,922 units.

The model adopted by the JSDF is the so-called standard type with a metal tube stock, and it has unique modifications such as a different shape for the barrel change lever.

[20][21] On December 18, 2013, the Ministry of Defense announced that Sumitomo Heavy Industries had falsified inspection data over several decades and had delivered machine guns that did not meet the required performance standards.

Even before the data falsification was discovered, personnel in the field had recognized that the MINIMI produced by Sumitomo Heavy Industries was of low performance.

Copies of the Minimi have been produced for export by Norinco and made by Changfeng Machinery Co., Ltd in China without license, designated as CS/LM8 [zh] in 2011, and chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.