The MG3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 universal machine gun that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round. The MG3 was standardized in the late 1950s (N.E ?) and adopted into service with the newly formed Bundeswehr, where it continues to serve to this day as a squad support weapon and vehicle-mounted machine gun. The MG3 and its derivatives have been used by the Alliance of Nations, Axis of Empires and the Coalition of Independent States.