Firearms / Assault rifles / FAMAS
FAMAS
General Facts
- TYPE
Assault rifle - ORIGIN
France - NICKNAMES
Le Clarion (French nickname) - DESIGNED
1967 - 1972 - DESIGNER
Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS) - PRODUCTION
1974 - 2000 (F1)
1994 - 2000 (G2) - PRODUCERS
France - MAS (F1, F1 Commando)
France - Giat (G1, G2, FELIN) - QUANTITY
Over 400.000 F1 and over 300.000 G2 produced. - UNIT COST
1.500 for F1 in the 1980's
3.000 for G2 in the 1990's - CHARACTERISTICS
Compact design
Rugged and reliable
Bipod fitted as standard
Expensive to produce
Uses uncommon version of the 5.56mm round
Rather heavy
Introduction
The FAMAS is a late Cold War era assault rifle of French origin. It was developed by MAS in the late 1960's but not adopted by the French forces until 1978. The name FAMAS stands for Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, which is French for assault rifle of the Saint-Étienne weapons factory.
Design
The FAMAS has a bullpup design and can be easily identified by its oversized carrying handle. The FAMAS uses the uncommon lever delayed blowback action also found on the AAT-52 machine gun. A metal receiver is used which is mostly covered by a plastic frame. It can be used by both right and left handed persons since the ejection mechanism can be reversed. The sights are mounted on the carrying handle. A bipod is fitted as standard and straddles along the forwarm when not in use. The FAMAS is also used in the French FELIN future soldier programme, in which the carrying handle is replaced by optical sights.
Firepower
The FAMAS fires a proprietary version of the 5.56x45mm M193 round from 25 round magazines. Later models are able to fire both the proprietary M193 and the NATO version of the 5.56mm round and use 30 round STANAG magazines. The FAMAS is a select fire weapon with options for semi-automatic, three round burst and full automatic fire. The cyclic rate of fire is about 1.000 rpm and the maximum effective range is about 400 meters. The FAMAS is capable of launching rifle grenades, a practice which is widely used in French service.
Users
The main user of the FAMAS is France, where it was adopted by all branches as a replacement for both the MAT-49 sub machine gun and the MAS 49/56 rifle. The FAMAS has been exported to several nations in limited quantities.
FAMAS F1
FAMAS F1: The original version of the FAMAS assault rifle. It uses a 12 inch rifling twist rate and uses the French M193 round with steel case. The F1 can be identified by its straight 25 round magazine.
FAMAS F1 Commando: This is a rather uncommon version of the F1 with a shorter barrel.
FAMAS G1: An improved F1 with an enlarged trigger guard. It was not produced, but the enlarged trigger guard can also be found on the later G2 model.
- Specifications:
- FAMAS F1
- FAMAS F1 Commando
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm M193 |
Magazine | 25 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, lever delayed blowback |
Fire selector | 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 900 - 1.000 rpm |
Barrel length | 488 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 3 grooves, 305 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 960 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 757 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 3.61 kg empty |
Sights | Iron sights, blade front and aperture rear, 0 to 300 meters gradation, 330 mm sight radius, optional optical sights |
Remarks | Bipod |
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm M193 |
Magazine | 25 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, lever delayed blowback |
Fire selector | 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 900 - 1.000 rpm |
Barrel length | 405 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 3 grooves, 305 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | ? |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 674 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 3.5 kg empty |
Sights | Iron sights, blade front and aperture rear, 0 to 300 meters gradation, 330 mm sight radius, optional optical sights |
Remarks | Bipod |
FAMAS G2
FAMAS G2: This is an updated model of the FAMAS F1 that was developed in the 1990's to comply with NATO standards. The G2 uses a 9 inch rifling twist rate which allows it to fire both the French M193 round and the NATO round. The G2 retains the oversized trigger guard that was used on the G1 model and uses 30 round STANAG magazines. Several variants of the G2 were developed, including sub machinge gun, carbine and sniper, but were not placed in production.
- Specifications:
- FAMAS G2
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm M193 or NATO |
Magazine | 30 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, lever delayed blowback |
Fire selector | 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 1.000 - 1.100 rpm |
Barrel length | 488 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 3 grooves, 228 mm right hand twist |
Muzzle velocity | 925 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 757 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 3.8 kg with empty magazine, 4.17 kg loaded |
Sights | Iron sights, blade front and aperture rear, 0 to 300 meters gradation, 330 mm sight radius, optional optical sights |
Remarks | Bipod |