Deleted member 1487
Per the British model they developed the Taden gun:I think @AdA is trying to say that a “light machine gun” chambered in .280 British could have filled the role that the M60 and M249 played. As I said in the OP though, it is still likely that a medium machine gun in .30-06 or 7.92 Mauser still remains in service, although it would probably see limited use - squads would be happy enough with the FN FAL and the LMG for their suppressive fire needs, and vehicles and stationary emplacements would want a more powerful machine gun like the M2 Browning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taden_gun
The TADEN used the action and gas system of the Bren but would fire from 250-round non-disintegrating metal-link belts rather than box magazines. The light machinegun model used a buttstock and trigger group like the Bren and the medium machine gun model used spade grips and a butterfly trigger like the Vickers.
The TADEN would replace the Bren gun as the light machine gun and the Vickers machine gun as the medium machine gun. The EM-2 would replace the Lee–Enfield rifle and 9 mm submachine guns.
https://armourersbench.com/tag/taden/