(MAS) FAMAS
5.56x45mm NATO
This came out of a long project to re-equip the French forces that started in 1967 but the FAMAS did not come into service until 1978. It is a bullpup design that was initially unreliable and had plastic parts that were easily broken. The improved redesign of the F1, designated G2, corrected these problems and improved the ergonomics.
It was designed to fire the APAV 40 rifle grenade from the end of the barrel and has a fold up sight (alidade) specifically to incline the FAMAS correctly for firing the grenade out to 75m or 100m.
The model shown is the early G2 intended for overseas sales which has no tritium night sights, no sights or barrel fitting for grenade launching, the original F1 non-NATO magazines and buttstock, but with the bipod which had been removed from the F1. The French Navy adopted these G2s with bipods, NATO magazines and grenade capability which then became the standard for the G2.
The FAMAS is in use by France, the French Foreign Legion, the Philippine National Police Special Action Force, Djibouti, Iraq, the Tunisian Presidential Guards, the United Arab Emirates and special forces in Serbia and Indonesia.
France started replacing their FAMAS rifles in 2017 with HK416 as their new service rifle.