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Weapons Wednesdays - FAMAS Assault Rifle

May. 21 1:13 PM by Dylan Duarte

A Foxhound Soldier wielding the FAMAS

The FAMAS assault rifle was heavily featured in the first Metal Gear Solid outing. While it's anything but subtle, it was a very powerful component of Snake's arsenal and was your go-to weapon when you needed heavy-duty firepower. Plus, it's just fun to say. FAMAS! Hit the jump to learn all about it.

The FAMAS originated in France. The name stands for Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne, which translates to Saint-Etienne arms factory assault rifle. The arms factory is a member of Nexter, a French Government-owned weapons manufacturer.

The first FAMAS prototype was completed in 1971 for the French military, but due to production problems, a replacement weapon had to be used until enough rifles could be produced. The French military officially adopted the FAMAS as their standard assault rifle in 1978, a title it still holds today.

A living, breathing person wielding the FAMAS

The rifle first saw action during Operation Manta in Chad, where the French military intervened in the Chadian-Libyan conflict. It was then used in Kuwait during the Gulf War. It performed excellently in both situations.

The FAMAS is a bullpup assault rifle, meaning that the action (system used for loading) and magazine are located behind the trigger. Another popular bullpup style rifle is the Steyr AUG. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_AUG) The rifle's rate of fire is controlled by a switch behind the magazine well. You can select safe, single shot, or automatic fire. Another selector is located behind the magazine; here you can select whether or not automatic fire is fully automatic or in three-round burts. The rifle weighs a little under ten pounds and uses 25-round magazines with the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge. It has an effective range of 300 meters.

Source: Wikipedia

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