The MG3 is a short recoil-operated, belt-fed, heavy-barrelled, air-cooled machine gun suitable for bursts and sustained fire. It can be fed from the DM1 continuous belt or either the DM6 or the US M13 disintegrating link belts.

In the loaded state the sear always holds the bolt in rear position and therefore the possibility of “cook-off” is

eliminated.