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The FN F2000 is a Belgian bullpup assault rifle created by the FN Herstal in 1995.

Description[]

During the late 1980s and early 1990s famous Belgian company FN Herstal began the search for its next entry into the assault rifle world. The aim this time was to produce a modern, modular weapon, and this ultimately resulted in the FN F2000 rifle, which was first displayed in public in 2001. The F2000 offers all of the most popular features of the modern assault rifle, such as a compact bullpup layout, completely ambidextrous handling, and a modular design with plenty of options and add-ons already

Fn f2000 3

FN F2000 assault rifle, with telescope sight and 40mm FN EGLM grenade launcher

available, which allow the rifle to be “tailored” for any particular mission or tactical situation. For example, for peacekeeping operations F2000 could be fitted with less-lethal M303 underbarrel module, which fires tear gas or marker projectiles using pre-compressed air. On the other hand, the F2000 could be fitted with various 40 mm FN EGLM grenade launchers and a proprietary computerized fire control system, instead of the standard low-magnification optical sights. So far FN F2000 rifle found only few buyers, including Armed forces of Slovenia and Belgian Special operations forces. Nevertheless, it is one of most promising assault rifles on the market.

Quite recently FN also introduced a civilian version of F2000, known as FS2000. It has a somewhat longer barrel and is limited to semi-automatic fire. Otherwise it is the same excellent weapon, with great ergonomics and 100% ambidexterity.

The F2000 rifle is a gas operated, rotating bolt, selective-fire weapon, featuring a polymer stock with a bull-pup layout. It utilizes a short-stroke gas piston and a 7-lug rotating bolt which locks into the barrel extension. The unique feature of the F2000 rifle is its patented front ejection system: the spent cases, extracted from the chamber, travel from the rear part of the gun to the ejection port near the muzzle via a special ejection tube and fall out of the gun at the safe distance from the shooters' face. This is achieved using a special swinging guide, which enters the way of the closing bolt, and directs the spent case, which is held on the bolt face, to the ejection tube, while, at the same time, lower lugs of the bolt are stripping a fresh cartridge from the magazine. The cocking handle is mounted well forward on the left hand side, just above the fore grip, and it can easily be operated with the right hand when the gun is held left-handed. The selector switch is mounted at the bottom of the trigger guard. All of these features combine to make the F2000 the first genuinely ambidextrous bullpup, able to be used with equal ease by right and left handed shooters without requiring any adjustments. In its standard configuration, the F2000 is perfectly balanced

Grom020149

FN F2000 with FN EGLM grenade launcher and Holographic Sight

around the pistol grip.

The stock has built-in standard rails on the top of the weapon (for different sights and scopes etc.) and a mounting point ahead of trigger guard, where additional modules may be installed (such as grenade launchers, non-lethal modules etc.). In the basic configuration, the upper rail mount is fitted with a 1.6X magnification optical sight, and the lower mounting point is covered by a removable handguard. At the current time, the F2000 rifle may be upgraded, depending on the mission, with FN's 40 mm low-velocity grenade launcher (on the lower mount, instead of the handguard), or with M303 non-lethal module; other options are handguards with built-in laser pointers or flashlights. The standard low-magnification combat scope, which has a back-up open sights on its top cover, may be replaced by any other scope on Picatiny-style mount, or with FN's proprietary computerized fire control module with laser rangefinder, for both the rifle and 40 mm grenade launcher.

Operators[]

  • Belgium: Used by the Special Forces Group of the Belgian Armed Forces Land Component
  • Chile: Special forces.
  • Croatia: The Croatian Army tested the rif
    800px-EUCOM Slovenian Armed Forces F2000S

    Slovenian soldiers with the F-2000S

    le in 2006. As of 2008, the 1st Airborne Company of the Special Operations Battalion is the only army unit equipped with this weapon. According to unofficial estimates, 100 rifles have been purchased.
  • India: Used by the Special Protection Group.
  • Libya: Purchased a number of F2000 assault rifles along with other assorted lethal and non-lethal systems from FN Herstal in 2008 with deliveries slated to begin in April 2009. The export of the weapons was initially blocked over concerns of proliferation into other volatile regions.
  • Pakistan: Special forces.
  • Peru: Special forces.
  • Poland: In limited use by the GROM special forces group.
  • Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Arabian National Guard purchased 55,000 rifles in 2005.
  • Slovenia: In June 2006, the ministry of defence of the Republic of Slovenia signed a contract with FN Herstal involving the acquisition of 6,500 F2000 rifles as the new standard service rifle for the Slovenian Army (Slovenska vojska) along with the 40mm LG1 grenade launcher. This is arguably the first confirmed large-scale adoption for this rifle by a European and NATO member country. The basic F2000 Tactical model was upgraded according to Slovenian specifications and designated F2000 S, the most apparent feature being a raised Picatinny rail also functioning as a carrying handle. The rifle debuted on 25 July 2007. Rearmament was completed by the end of 2007. In 2012 the Slovenian army is going to equip its reserve forces with the F2000 S as well. The Slovenian army will ultimately purchase 14,000 rifles.

Variants[]

F2000 Tactical[]

The F2000 Tactical railed variant is similar to the standard model, but it lacks the optical sight, and comes instead with an extended top receiver MIL-STD-1913 rail with flip-up iron sights.

FS2000[]

The FS2000 is a civilian-legal, semi-automatic version of the F2000 that first became available in June 2006. The FS2000 Tactical model is equipped with an extended barrel with a permanently attached flash suppressor and a 1:7 in right hand twist rifling rate; the bayonet lug was not included on the FS2000 rifles. The lower hand guard can be removed in the same manner as the F2000 to accept the same variety of accessories. It comes with a Picatinny rail optic rail along with backup iron sights. The rear flip-up National Match-sized aperture is adjustable for windage, while the removable front sight is adjustable for elevation. A small number of the early models featured a stepped barrel contour as well as a demilled bayonet lug. Measurements on the stepped barrel's rifling were as long as the non-stepped barrel, revealing that the stepped barrel is not simply a shorter F2000 military barrel with an extended flash hider.

A variant of the FS2000, called the FS2000 Standard, is equipped with the factory F2000 1.6x magnification optic and sight cover. It does not contain the grenade launcher computer.

Specifications[]

  • Caliber: 5.56x45 mm NATO
  • Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
  • Overall length: 694 mm
  • Barrel length: 400 mm
  • Weight: 3.6 kg empty, in standart configuration; 4.6 kg with 40mm grenade launcher
  • Magazine capacity: 30 rounds (any NATO / STANAG type magazines)

See also[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at FN F2000 and the edit history here.

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