The FAMAS (French: Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, lit. 'Assault rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory') is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978.
Beginning in 2017, the FAMAS was replaced in most frontline units in the French Army by the HK416F, and the FAMAS is expected to remain in limited service until 2028.[4]
History
The first French bullpup rifles were developed between 1946 and 1950 at the AME and MAS, testing rounds such as .30 US Carbine, 7.92×33mm Kurz, 7.65×38mm (Made by Cartoucherie de Valence) and some other intermediate calibres.
Since France was engaged in the First Indochina War at the time, and was also the second-largest contributor to NATO, the research budgets for new types of weapons were limited and priority was given to the modernisation and production of existing service weapons.
Nevertheless, approximately forty different 7.62×51mm NATO calibre prototype rifles were developed between 1952 and 1962, most notably the FA-MAS Type 62. However, the United States' adoption of the M16 rifle and 5.56×45mm cartridge caused the French to rethink their approach, and consequently, the Type 62 was not adopted.[5][6][7]
In the 1960s, MAS began to manufacture under licence the Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifle and later on the Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifle as temporary substitutes.
At the same time, the French embraced the idea of developing a new 5.56 mm automatic rifle. However, adopting the German-designed HK33 was considered unsatisfactory for many members of the French high command.
General Marcel Bigeard was also against the idea of relying on foreign weapons. While visiting the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, he asked the engineers to develop a homemade French 5.56 mm automatic rifle, which subsequently led to the creation and adoption of the FAMAS.
The FAMAS project began in 1967 under the direction of General Paul Tellié (1919-2014) and the first prototype was completed in 1971, with French military evaluation of the rifle beginning in 1972.[1]
When production problems delayed the general issue of the new rifles, and with the 1978 Battle of Kolwezi showing an immediate need for a more modern weapon to be comparable with the assault rifles of enemy forces, the French Army began searching for an emergency temporary rifle until the FAMAS came into full production.
While the Heckler & Koch HK33 was considered, with a batch of 1,200 examples tested, it was ultimately turned down in favour of the SIG SG 540, made under licence by Manurhin as a temporary resort until enough domestically built FAMAS were produced to issue to French forces.
In late 1978, the French military accepted the FAMAS as their standard-issue rifle, the FAMAS F1.
Service
The FAMAS first saw service in Chad during Operation Manta and again in desert operations during Operation Desert Storm and in other various missions.[8]
Officially, operational conditions proved the weapon to be reliable and trustworthy under combat conditions. It is known affectionally by French troops as "The Bugle" due to its distinctive shape.[9][10]
Replacement
In 2017, the French armed forces began retiring the FAMAS in favour of the German-made HK-416.
When the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne (MAS) factory closed in 2002, no more domestic rifles could be made. The last batch of newly produced FAMAS, built in 2002, saw more than a decade of heavy service by 2016. As of 2014, the French armed forces currently use an estimated 400,000 FAMAS F1 and G2 rifles still stored in their arsenal.
Design details
Action
The FAMAS is a bullpup assault rifle, where the ammunition feed is behind the trigger. The receiver housing is made of a special steel alloy, and the rifle furniture is made of fibreglass.
The FAMAS uses a lever-delayed blowback action, an action type also used in the French AA-52 machine gun derived from the prototypes built during Army Technical Department tests having taken place between the First and Second World Wars.
The FAMAS is known[18] for its high rate of fire of around 900–1,100 rounds per minute.[3]
Ergonomics
Fire mode is controlled by a selector within the trigger guard, with three settings: safe (central position), single shot (to the right), and automatic fire (to the left). Automatic fire can be in three-shot bursts or fully automatic; this is determined by another selector, located under the housing and behind the magazine.
Variants
FAMAS F1
[[File:FAMAS-F1 parts assembled.svg|thumb|upright=1.35
2. Removable stock
3. Cheek rest. Can be reversed for right or left-handed shooter.
4. Mobile assembly and ejection port
5. Pins
6. Bipod
7. Handguard
8. Charging Handle
9. Grenade launcher sight
10. Grenade support
11. Flash hider/22 mm rifle grenade launcher
12. Barrel
13. Fire control selector: Safety, semi-automatic, automatic
14. Trigger
15. Magazine release
16. Magazine block (safety device)
Conflicts
The FAMAS has been used in the following conflicts: • 1982 Lebanon War
• Chadian–Libyan conflict
• Ouvéa cave hostage taking[24]
• Gulf War
• Rwandan Civil War[25]
• Bosnian War[26]
• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)[27]
• Opération Licorne[27]
Users
See also
Sources and references
External links
- Official Nexter FAMAS page
- Buddy Hinton: FAMAS Photo Collection
- FELIN article, with FAMAS pictured as part of FELIN system
- Modern Firearms: FAMAS
- REMTEK - ARMS: FAMAS
- The Firearm Blog: R.I.P General Paul Tellié, Father of the FAMAS
- Nazarian's Gun's Recognition Guide: MAS .223 semi-automatic rifle Manual (.pdf)
References
- Modern Firearms – FAMAS World.guns.ru, 24 January 2011, retrieved 30 May 2011^
- FAMAS Commando Prototypes 2023-08-26, retrieved 2023-08-26^
- Kyle Mizokami. Everything You Need to Know About France's Prized FAMAS Rifle National Interest, 21 November 2019