FAMAS F1
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- FAMAS F1
- Alias
- Le Clairon
- Manufacturer
- MAS / Nexter
- Country
- France
- Year
- 1978
- Category
- Assault rifle
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 5.56×45 mm NATO
- Muzzle velocity
- 960 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~1000 rpm
- Effective range
- 450 m
- Maximum range
- 3200 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 488 mm
- Overall length
- 757 mm
- Empty weight
- 3.61 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Lever-delayed blowback
- Bolt / action
- Delayed semi-rigid bolt
Feed
- System
- Proprietary 25-round magazine (STANAG on G2)
- Standard capacity
- 25 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
The FAMAS (Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne) F1 was developed from 1967 by engineer Paul Tellié at the MAS factory in Saint-Étienne as the standard bullpup assault rifle of the French Army.
After extended trials it was officially adopted in 1978, replacing the MAS-49/56 in 7.5×54 mm French caliber.
Design
It adopts a compact bullpup configuration with integral carrying handle and tower sights, chambered in 5.56×45 mm NATO. Notable is its lever-delayed blowback action.
The FAMAS F1 uses only proprietary 25-round magazines and steel-cased ammunition, incompatible with the STANAG standard.
Operational service
Nicknamed 'Le Clairon' (the bugle) for its silhouette, it equipped the French Army for over forty years, taking part in operations in Chad, the Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan and Mali.
The later F1 Export and G2 versions (STANAG-compatible, 1994) were also produced for export, with limited commercial success.
Legacy
In 2017 the French Army began replacing the FAMAS with the German HK416 F, gradually concluding forty years of service.
It remains one of the most recognizable bullpup rifles ever produced, a symbol of late-20th-century military France.
Variants
Main users
France · Djibouti · Senegal · United Arab Emirates
Key components
- ●Stock — Shoulder rest.
- ●Receiver — Weapon body with internal mechanisms.
- ●Grip — Primary grip.
- ●Magazine — Cartridge feed.
- ●Barrel — Guides the projectile.
