New Variant FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle Trigger Guard

The FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle was originally designed for the export market, but it was adopted by the French military as its new assault rifle was adopted in the summer of 1997. Mechanically, the FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle is the same as the earlier F1, but the barrel’s rifling is optimized to strike a balance between what is needed for the newer 5.56mm NATO SS-109 ammunition and older M-193 ammunition. In addition, the FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle uses standard US/NATO magazines instead of the proprietary 25-round magazines of the earlier version; it cannot even accept the F1’s 25-round magazine.

The trigger guard is redesigned to allow even fingerless mittens, and the selector lever is inside this trigger guard in front of the trigger. The carrying handle can mount all NATO/US optics. The FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle can mount a bayonet either on top of or below the barrel, so that it can be used whether or not a grenade launcher is fitted. The ability to use most 40mm grenade launchers is also new; the F1 could only use rifle grenades. (Before the G2, there was a G1, which was an intermediate design that was essentially an F1 with the large trigger guard of the G2.)

FA-MAS G2 Assault Rifle

The FAMAS G2 Assault Rifle also has, in the same manner as the F1, a short version; in fact, there are two short versions, the G2 Assault Rifle Commando with a 15.94-inch barrel and the G2 Submachinegun with a 12.6-inch barrel. As with the Famas F1 Commando Assault rifle, the FAMAS G2 Commando Assault Rifle  cannot fire rifle grenades, and also does not have a bipod or a bayonet lug. The G2 Submachinegun also loses those features, but gains a compact muzzle brake/flash suppressor. A further variant of the Famas G2 is the Famas G2 Sniper, with a 24.41-inch heavy barrel, the carrying handle moved to the side of the receiver (and reversible) and replaced with a MIL-STD-1913 rail, and a more robust folding bipod. It is intended more as a designated marksman weapon rather than as an actual sniper rifle, and the cost of any scope is not included below. All three of these versions are in quite limited issue, generally used only by special operations units.

Variant FA-MAS G2 Assault Rifle

An experimental enhanced version called the FELIN was in limited production starting in 2000. The FELIN is used primarily to test new optics or other devices. The most notable differences between the FELIN and the standard G2 Rifle is that the carrying handle is replaced with a flat Picatinny rail optics mount, the weapon has electronics to feed information to a helmet-mounted sight, and an
experimental IFF device is included. As of 2006, the FELIN is still being used only in weapons trials and it is not intended to ever be an issue weapon. (The FELIN will be covered in an entry to be added in the future, when I can acquire more information.)

Two other limited-production versions of FAMAS G2 AssaultRifle were introduced in 2000, though they too are officially considered testbed weapons, and it is unknown if any have seen operational or combat testing. They are, however, considered more likely to see service, either as the weapons they are as newer versions of the FA-MAS incorporating their improvements. The first of these versions is the Low-Profile FA-MAS; this is very much like the standard G2, but incorporates numerous improvements including a new bipod which is not only lighter (it actually looks rather spindly, but is said to be stronger than a standard F1/G2 bipod),but can be adjusted to a limited extent for height and cant.

Famas G2 with Telescopic, Laser, Day night

What gives the rifle its "Low-Profile" moniker is its redesigned carrying handle and upper receiver; it is less than half the height of a standard FA-MAS carrying handle, and topped with a MIL-STD-1913 rail for the primary optics and is also equipped with folding backup sights. The Low-Profile FA-MAS also has folding grenade sights on the side of the carrying handle (these sights may be moved for left- or right-handed shooters), for use when rifle grenades are being fired or a grenade launcher is mounted.

The Upgraded FAMAS Assault Rifle builds on the Low-Profile FA-MAS. The carrying handle is eliminated completely, with a MIL-STD-1913 rail being mounted directly on a slow raised block atop the receiver. The Upgraded FA-MAS is equipped with an optical sight that gives the shooter 4x magnification with an illuminated reticule, a small reflex-type sight, and a laser aiming module able to function in IR or visible beam mode. Along with these are the same backup iron sights and grenade sights as the Low-Profile FA-MAS. (Weight stats below for the Low-Profile FA-MAS and Upgraded FA-MAS are estimates only.)

For the most part, this was the weapon that the forces of the above countries’ militaries went to war with. In addition, an emergency order was made by Luxembourg shortly after the Twilight War started (though given the size of Luxembourg’s military, this was still a very small order); when the French made their unsuccessful invasion of Luxembourg, those F1s were used against French troops. In addition, examples of the Famas F1 Assault rifle were sometimes found in the hands of captured or killed troops of Iraq’s Republican Guard, though when or if the French sold those weapons to the Iraqis is unknown. The FA-MAS Commando was used exclusively by French special operations units, including the Foreign Legion’s 2nd REP. The G2 was issued to units of the French armed forces in the summer of 1997. Most of the G2s that were issued were given to units that were headed for the "Dead Zone" on the Franco-German border. The FELIN does not exist in the Twilight 2000 world.

As France became more and more involved in world politics and peacekeeping missions, the FA-MAS became familiar all over the globe. In particular, the interests of US civilians was piqued by the unusual look of the FA-MAS, and bought many of the Civilian or Export/Police versions. The FELIN is found in larger numbers and is undergoing extensive field and combat testing by French special ops units.