FAMAS

Lore & Background

The FAMAS project began in 1967 under General Paul Tellié, with the first prototype completed in 1971 and military evaluation starting in 1972. Production delays led the French Army to temporarily adopt the SIG SG 540, made under licence by Manurhin, until enough FAMAS were produced. The rifle was accepted as the standard-issue weapon in late 1978 as the FAMAS F1.

The FAMAS uses a lever-delayed blowback action, derived from prototypes built between the World Wars. It has a steel alloy receiver and fibreglass furniture. Fire mode is controlled by a selector within the trigger guard, with safe, single-shot, and automatic settings; a second selector under the housing determines three-shot burst or fully automatic fire. The F1 uses proprietary 25-round magazines, while the G2 uses STANAG magazines. The rifle features a bipod and, on later models, a polyvalent hand-guard with a NATO Accessory Rail.

The FAMAS first saw combat in Chad during Operation Manta and later in Operation Desert Storm. French troops affectionately called it "Le Clairon" (The Bugle) due to its shape.

Reader's Guide

The FAMAS was the primary service rifle of the French military for nearly 40 years, from its adoption in 1978 until replacement began in 2017. Its bullpup design allowed a compact overall length while maintaining a full-length barrel. The rifle's lever-delayed blowback action, shared with the AA-52 machine gun, was a distinctive feature. However, the FAMAS was optimized for French-specified steel-casing ammunition; using standard brass-casing NATO ammunition could cause malfunctions, leading to a ban on foreign ammunition in French-issued FAMAS. Chamber fluting could mitigate this but deformed brass cases.

Production ceased when the MAS factory closed in 2002, and the last batch saw heavy service. By 2014, an estimated 400,000 FAMAS F1 and G2 rifles remained in arsenal. The French Ministry of Armed Forces selected the HK416F to replace the FAMAS in 2016, with 90,000 to 102,000 rifles to be delivered. The FAMAS is expected to remain in limited service with the French National Guard, domestic police, and reserve units until 2028.

Did You Know?

• The FAMAS was known affectionately by French troops as 'Le Clairon' (The Bugle) due to its distinctive shape.
• The FAMAS uses a lever-delayed blowback action, also used in the French AA-52 machine gun.
• The FAMAS F1 uses proprietary 25-round magazines, while the G2 uses NATO-compatible STANAG magazines.
• The FAMAS can fire rifle grenades, with direct and indirect fire modes using two alidades.