FN F2000

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F2000

Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Belgium
Specifications
Weight	3.6 kg (8 lb) empty 4.6 kg (10 lb) with grenade launcher
Length	694 mm (27.3 in)
Barrel length	400 mm (15.6 in)

Cartridge	5.56 mm NATO (STANAG 4172)
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	850 rounds/min
Effective range	500 m
Feed system	20/30-round AR-15/STANAG box magazine

The F2000 is an assault rifle manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN Herstal).^[1]

1 Overview
2 Variants
- 2.1 F2000 Tactical
- 2.2 FS2000
3 Usage around the world
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Overview

The F2000 was first introduced to the public in 2001 as a versatile yet compact rifle.^[2] It has a short-stroke gas piston system with an adjustable gas regulator, and fires the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO cartridge from AR-15 magazines. Due to the bullpup arrangement, it is compact yet with a long barrel for accurate firing, although it is slightly heavier than most carbines, such as the G36K or the M4. It features forward ejection of spent shells and a P90-style ambidextrous fire selector, and the charging handle is fully adjustable for right or left handed users.

The standard F2000 comes with a plastic forward handguard and an optical sight with 1.6x magnification. The sight cover and sight itself can be removed to reveal a Picatinny rail. The forward handguard can be removed to equip a variety of accessories such as laser aiming modules (LAM), 40 mm grenade launcher with push-button safety, 12-gauge shotgun, M303 less-lethal launcher, or the triple rail found on the F2000 Tactical. The optical sight can be replaced with a special computerized fire control system designed for the 40mm grenade launcher. The fire control computer makes firing regular grenades much easier, though it cannot fire smart grenades. There is an Israeli system that uses the M203 and computerized sight to fire 40 mm airburst grenades. Neither of these should be confused with the 20 mm and 25 mm grenades of the U.S. OICW program.

The F2000 platform has a bayonet lug mounted near the muzzle, and has an adjustable gas regulator with two settings: "normal" for standard ammunition meeting SAAMI or NATO specifications, and "adverse" to send more gas into the system to ensure proper functioning when fouled or when using out of spec ammunition. The chamber, rotating breech block, and ejector mechanisms can be accessed by flipping up the access cover, or known affectionately by many operators of the F2000 as the “toilet seat” cover. Spent cases are shifted into the ejection chute by the polymer ejector mechanism.

[edit] Variants

[edit] F2000 Tactical

Similar to the standard model, but it comes without the optical sight, and comes standard with a triple rail forward handguard and backup iron sights, similar to the ones used on the FS2000.

[edit] FS2000

A FS2000 with an attached scope.

A civilian-legal, semi-automatic version of the F2000 that first became available in June 2006. The FS2000 is equipped with a 17.4-inch barrel with a permanently attached flash suppressor and 1/7 right hand twist rifling; the bayonet lug was not included on the FS2000 carbines. The FS2000 has an overall length of 29.1 inches and weighs 7.6 pounds when empty. Compared to the M4 Carbine with a fully collapsed stock (29.75" and 6.49 lb empty), the FS2000 is slightly shorter and heavier. The trigger pull was found to vary between 6-11 lbf. 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. The FS2000 is not configured from the factory to have a drop-free magazine system due to the friction from the removable dust gaskets. The magazine needs to be pulled out manually. It should also be noted that the rifle does not have a hold open device...the bolt does not stay rearward after the last round is fired. A small number of the early models featured a stepped barrel contour as well as a de-milled bayonet lug. A measurement of the stepped barrel's rifling was 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. FN Herstal has recalled approximately four hundred early FS2000 carbines in July 2006^[3] due to the heavier military firing pins causing slam fires with commercial ammunition. The fixed carbines are equipped with a reduced mass firing pin, captured firing pin spring, and a revised bolt. Some users have experienced light primer strikes and short-stroking with the recalled parts using certain types of ammunition.

There is some speculation that FN Herstal plans to release a variant of the FS2000 with the factory F2000 1.6x magnification scope, and does not include the grenade launcher firing computer.

[edit] Usage around the world

A Norwegian soldier with the F2000.

The F2000 rifle is a relatively new weapon system and yet unproven in actual widespread military service. Reports from limited trial and service usage are scarce. Only recently has the F2000 rifle slowly began to be seriously considered by some countries:

The F2000 rifle has been used by the Belgian Army Special Forces Group since 2004 and is a potential successor to the FN FNC currently used by the Belgian Armed Forces as a standard assault rifle.
Peruvian special forces supposedly are actively using the F2000 rifle.
The Chilean Army Special Forces ("Fuerzas Especiales") use the F2000 rifle with the FN P90.
Saudi Arabia is rumored to have signed a contract with FN Herstal in 2005 for 50,000 F2000 rifles to complement their P90s.
In June 2006, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia signed a contract with FN Herstal to purchase 6,500 F2000 rifles as a new standard combat rifle for the Slovenian Armed Forces. This is arguably the first confirmed large-scale adoption for this rifle from a European and NATO member country.
In 2006, the Norwegian Armed Forces started assessing several assault rifles for their new standard combat rifle, among them the F2000.
In the 2006 Operation Astute, peacemaker-forces led by the Australian Defence Forces confiscated several of the weapons from the Timorese police forces. It is not known how the rifles came into the hands of the police forces.