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Infantry Weapons
French Army selects HK416 to replace FAMAS
Nicholas de Larrinaga, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
27 September 2016
The French Army's new service rifle will be the Heckler & Koch HK416F, the French defence procurement agency (the DGA) announced on 23 September.
France has selected the HK416F as its new service rifle. (Heckler & Koch)
France has selected the HK416F as its new service rifle. (Heckler & Koch)
France has a long history of firearms innovations yet this has withered on the vine, with the HK416F set to be the first French standard-issue rifle bought from abroad. Not only will the German rifle be the first foreign rifle used by France, but the selection also sees the French Army turn its back on bullpup rifle designs.
The HK416F is to replace the French Army's existing FAMAS bullpup assault rifles, which first entered service in 1979. According to the DGA the first deliveries of HK416F rifles are due to begin in 2017, and will run for over ten years.
France's military programming law (LPM), calls for the delivery of 100,000 new service rifles by 2019. France currently possesses about 400,000 FAMAS rifles in both the F1 version and upgraded G1 variant. Cuts to the size of the French Army mean that few HK416F will likely be purchased than current FAMAS stocks however. The initial contract with Heckler & Koch is expected to include 5,340 rifles plus parts and accessories.
The DGA launched the effort to replace the FAMAS - the Arme Individuelle Future (AIF) programme - in May 2014. This tender called for the delivery of 90,000 new rifles, half of which would be in a short-barrelled configuration (AIF Courte). The DGA was evaluating five foreign bidders at its test site in Bourges when IHS Jane's visited in April. Purchasing a foreign rifle had become inevitable after the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne (MAS) factory closed in 2002, two years after FAMAS production finally ended.
The 'F' designation for the HK416 is not a standard one and likely refers to French-specified alterations to the base model.
French Army selects HK416 to replace FAMAS
Nicholas de Larrinaga, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
27 September 2016
The French Army's new service rifle will be the Heckler & Koch HK416F, the French defence procurement agency (the DGA) announced on 23 September.
France has selected the HK416F as its new service rifle. (Heckler & Koch)
France has selected the HK416F as its new service rifle. (Heckler & Koch)
France has a long history of firearms innovations yet this has withered on the vine, with the HK416F set to be the first French standard-issue rifle bought from abroad. Not only will the German rifle be the first foreign rifle used by France, but the selection also sees the French Army turn its back on bullpup rifle designs.
The HK416F is to replace the French Army's existing FAMAS bullpup assault rifles, which first entered service in 1979. According to the DGA the first deliveries of HK416F rifles are due to begin in 2017, and will run for over ten years.
France's military programming law (LPM), calls for the delivery of 100,000 new service rifles by 2019. France currently possesses about 400,000 FAMAS rifles in both the F1 version and upgraded G1 variant. Cuts to the size of the French Army mean that few HK416F will likely be purchased than current FAMAS stocks however. The initial contract with Heckler & Koch is expected to include 5,340 rifles plus parts and accessories.
The DGA launched the effort to replace the FAMAS - the Arme Individuelle Future (AIF) programme - in May 2014. This tender called for the delivery of 90,000 new rifles, half of which would be in a short-barrelled configuration (AIF Courte). The DGA was evaluating five foreign bidders at its test site in Bourges when IHS Jane's visited in April. Purchasing a foreign rifle had become inevitable after the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne (MAS) factory closed in 2002, two years after FAMAS production finally ended.
The 'F' designation for the HK416 is not a standard one and likely refers to French-specified alterations to the base model.
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