This is a Norwegian issue HK416
The Firearm Blog has posted a story that the French Army is preparing to drop the home grown FAMAS (Fusil d’Assaut de la Manufacture d’Armes de Saint-Étienne) F1 bullpup design in use since the 70s for the piston driven HK416. Due to their unofficial source they have advised all to treat it as rumor for now.
FAMAS F1
One interesting factoid about the FAMAS is that the French have to use steel cases ammo with it due to its delayed blowback design that is is too rough on brass cases.
Tags: France, Heckler & Koch, The Firearm Blog
The smartest move the French have made since the Battle of Austerlitz.
I envision thousands of these laying on the ground all over the battlefield…footprints headed in the opposite direction of combat.
Which leaves the carbines free for the taking!
All the French military who have died supporting the war on terror, thank you for your comment.
HK 416 is only used by some SF units in France. But nothing more.
We won’t know the next rifle before 2015.
I know a couple of SOF units who use it already. I must admit that I thought the solicitation to replace the FAMAS would not be until 2013.
Le HK-416 is only for SOCom-like forces use and GIGN. 100 SCAR-L were purchase for French pathfinders. A few are used by the RAID police CT-team for oversea deployements.
The FAMAS will be the rule until 2015. The FELIN one for infantry. The F1 one for non-infantry troops.
Joshua
your remark is an insult to the french soldiers who fought side by side with you for the better part of the last 10 years, and who are proud and happy to do so.
Any ‘official’ announcement in August in France would be highly unusual. It is holiday time for the French procurement people, and for the HK staff in Germany, too.
TO: Joshua,
That’s a dumbass comment, deserves to be deleted.
You’ve obviously never worked with the French.
Let’s not forget either that a new procurement will most certainly be put through a tender, which means that HK would only be one of the contender, along with FN, beretta and others…
Be interesting to see if there;s local assembly and which barrel length – NOR opted for the 16″
FAMAS can shoot soft metal cased ammo, it just doesn’t like that (like the others fluted chamber rifles). The main problem with it is the barrel twist rate (about 1:12 for the F1) that can’t stabilized heavier bullets (ss109 type bullets).
HK416 is not the cheaper/better short stroke assault rifle available but if the armée de terre chose it, it’s certainly because the armée de l’air (air force) adopted it, and also because of the hk417 which replaces the frf2 as DMR.
PS: Joshua, be a nice guy and push you in the face for me.
punch is better than push
Once more: both Armée de Terre and Armée de l’air did not adopte HK-416 yet.
Some HK-417 were purchase as an hemergency because of the age of the FR-F2. But, like the FAMAS, the requirement is not published.