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| FN F2000 | |
|---|---|
 F2000 S of theSlovenian Army | |
| Type | Bullpupassault rifle Semi-automatic rifle (FS2000) |
| Place of origin | Belgium |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2001–present |
| Used by | SeeUsers |
| Wars | SeeConflicts |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1995–2001 |
| Manufacturer | FN Herstal |
| Produced | 2001–present |
| Variants | SeeVariants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | |
| Length | |
| Barrel length | |
| Width | 81.3 mm (3.20 in)[3] |
| Height | 259.1 mm (10.20 in)[3] |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO[5] |
| Action | Gas-operated,rotating bolt[5] |
| Rate of fire | 850 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 900 m/s (2,953 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 500 m (550 yd) |
| Maximum firing range | 900 m (980 yd) |
| Feed system | Detachablebox magazines; capacities:
|
| Sights | 1.6× magnified telescopic sight, notch back-up sight |
TheFN F2000 is a5.56×45mm NATObullpuprifle, designed byFN Herstal in Belgium.[5] Its compact bullpup design includes a telescopic sight, a non-adjustable fixed notch and front blade secondary sight. The weapon has fully ambidextrous controls, allowed by a unique ejection system, ejecting spent cartridge casings forward and to the right side of the weapon, through a tube running above the barrel. The F2000 made its debut in March 2001 at theIDEX defence exhibition held inAbu Dhabi, in theUnited Arab Emirates.
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The F2000 is a modular weapon system; its principal component is a compact5.56×45mm NATO-caliberassault rifle in abullpup configuration. The F2000 is aselective fire weapon operating from aclosed bolt.
The rifle consists of two main assemblies: the barreledreceiver group and the frame, coupled together by means of an axis pin located above the trigger guard. The barrel group has an integral MIL-STD-1913Picatinny rail used to mount optical sights. The frame or lower receiver contains the trigger group, the bolt and bolt carrier assembly, return mechanism and magazine well. A removable handguard is installed in front of the trigger which completes and encloses the trigger guard.
The F2000 is a gas-operated, fully automatic andambidextrous bullpup rifle. Both the safety system and trigger mechanism were adopted from theP90personal defense weapon; the selector toggle is a rotating disc located below the trigger. The fire selector doubles as the weapon's manual safety and secures the firearm against accidental discharge (the selector/safety disc has 3 settings: "S" safe, "1"semi-automatic mode, "A" fully automatic fire). The "safe" setting disables the trigger. The hammers, group pins, and springs are steel while all other components are nylon injection molding. The shell of the rifle is made of composite materials.
The F2000 is fed from standardNATO boxmagazines (STANAG 4179) with a 30-round cartridge capacity using5.56×45mm ammunition. The magazine catch/release button is installed symmetrically in the pistol grip, in front of the magazine; the magazine catch is operated by an oversized actuator useful when wearingNBC gloves. The F2000 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.
The rifle does not have a hold-open device; the bolt does not stay back after the last round is fired. The charging handle is placed on the left side of the receiver, just above the hand guard, and can be operated by left-handed shooters. There are no access points for the possible ingress of dirt or debris; the charging handle slot is sealed.
The weapon's primary sight is a telescopic sight with a fixed 1.6× magnification (the reticle also enables use in low-light conditions) contained in a plastic housing above the receiver (mounted on the MIL-STD-1913 rail), the secondary sight is a non-adjustable fixed notch and front blade, molded into the optical sight housing cover. The sight cover and sight module can be quickly removed to reveal the Picatinny rail.
The rifle's chromed hammer-forgedsteel barrel is stated to retain accuracy after 20,000 normal (non-sustained) rounds. The barrel also features aflash suppressor with an angled cut at the tip which directs the muzzle blast upward, compensating for muzzle rise. The F2000 has an optionalbayonet lug mounted near the muzzle, and an adjustable gas regulator with two settings: "normal" for standard ammunition meeting NATO specifications, and "adverse", used to send an increased volume of gas into the system to ensure proper functioning when fouled or when using low-pressure ammunition.
Thisselective fire weapon is agas-operated design utilizing a short-stroke piston system driven by propellant gases diverted into the gas cylinder through a port in the barrel; it fires from a closed bolt position. The weapon is locked with a rotating bolt which features 6 radial locking lugs, a spring-poweredextractor and ejector. Thechamber, bolt, and ejector mechanism can be accessed by flipping up a hinged inspection cover in the receiver, behind the optical sight housing.
The F2000 uses a unique ejection system, ejecting spent cartridge casings forward and to the right side of the weapon, through a tube running above the barrel. This method of ejection provides for fully ambidextrous operation; the rifle can be used without any modification by both right and left-handed shooters. This ejection pattern was achieved by using a swiveling polymer tray, which intercepts the empty casing from the bolt face immediately after disengaging from the extractor. As the empty casing is extracted it is held while the rocker assembly tilts to lift it above and clear of the feed path as the next round is stripped from the magazine by the bolt head. The casing is fed into the tray located in a cavity in the receiver wall, which then pivots the cartridge case and directs it into a chute (above the barrel); the case is discarded from the tilting tray by being impacted by a pin on the moving bolt carrier upon its forward return. Only when the ejection tube contains more than five cases is the first of them ejected forward through a port just behind and to the right of the muzzle. Any cases remaining after firing has ceased, can be cleared by tilting the rifle muzzle down.
This system is patent protected (patent number 5675924 dated 14 October 1997 by René Predazzer[6] and patent 6389725 from February 25, 2000, author Charles Denuit).[7] The ambidexterity provided by forward ejection is its most obvious benefit, and removes many of the tactical and user difficulties (such as lack of ambidexterity, and gas and debris released in close proximity to the shooter's face, as in theSA80 orOC-14) that bullpup designs usually create.
One of the modules developed for the F2000 system is a proprietary lightweight 40 mm underslungGL1 grenade launcher (empty weight 1 kg) that uses standard low-velocity40×46mm grenades.[8] The launcher is a single-shot breech-loaded reversepump-action weapon with a barrel that slides forward for loading and unloading (like theM203 grenade launcher), locked by axial rotation of the barrel.[9]
The grenade launcher's trigger is installed directly under the F2000's trigger so that it can be manipulated without removing the shooting hand from the rifle's pistol grip.[10] The double-action trigger lets the operator "try again" if the grenade's percussion type primer doesn't ignite. The breech release button is found on the left side of the launcher body, like on the M203. The grenade launcher comes with a basic flip-up ladder sight, but it was intended to be used with a specially designed optoelectronic fire control system designated FCS, developed in cooperation with the Finnish company Noptel.
The aiming module is installed in place of the standard optical sight and becomes the weapon's primary sight when mounted, but its main purpose is to accurately determine and indicate the range of a grenade target. The module is powered by a 9 V battery pack, installed in the stock, behind the magazine well. The power pack is also intended to power any other tactical accessories or systems that could be introduced. The FCS integrates a low-power laser rangefinder (precise to within ± 1 m), a day-time aiming channel with an electronically projected reticle, a measured range display reading and a diode elevation adjustment indicator.
The fire control system calculates a firing solution manifested by the barrel's angle of elevation using target range information from the laser rangefinder (the rangefinder is activated by pushing a button on the pistol grip, below the trigger), corrected manually by the shooter through a push-button interface (add/subtract buttons) on the FCS top cover to take account for head or tail winds that could affect the desired range. The F2000 FCS also contains software with the ballistic properties of up to six types of 40 mm grenades and can be reprogrammed to take advantage of future munition improvements. Batteries for the FCS are located in the bottom of the buttstock.
After obtaining a range measurement, the distance to the target is displayed on aliquid crystal screen and the elevation diode flashes red. Once a correct elevation has been achieved by tilting the rifle, the diode changes color to green indicating the weapon is ready to fire.[citation needed]
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TheF2000 Tactical railed variant is similar to the standard model, but it lacks the integrated optical sight, instead being replaced by an extended top receiver MIL-STD-1913 rail with flip-up iron sights[11] allowing forpicatinny rail accessories to be fitted.
TheF2000 Tactical TR variant is similar to the F2000 Tactical model, but includes a triple rail handguard for add-on accessories.
Intended for civilian ownership, theFS2000 is asemi-automatic version of the F2000 that first became available in June 2006. TheFS2000 Tactical model is equipped with an extended barrel with a permanently attached muzzle brake and a 1:7 in right hand twist rifling rate; the bayonet lug was not included on the FS2000 rifles. The lower hand guard can be removed in the same manner as the F2000 to accept the same variety of accessories. It comes with aPicatinny rail optic rail along with backupiron sights. The rear flip-up National Match-sized aperture is adjustable for windage, while the removable front sight is adjustable for elevation.[12] A small number of the early models featured a stepped barrel contour as well as a demilled bayonet lug.[12] Measurements on the stepped barrel's rifling were as long as the non-stepped barrel, revealing that the stepped barrel is not simply a shorter F2000 military barrel with an extended muzzle brake which is similar to thePS90.[12]
A variant of the FS2000, called theFS2000 Standard, is equipped with the factory F2000 1.6× magnification optic and sight cover.[13]
A version of the F2000 modified for the Slovenian Army. It incorporates an elevated upperPicatinny rail that also doubles as a carrying handle.[14]
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The FN F2000 has been used in the following conflicts:
Belgium: Used by theSpecial Forces Group of theBelgian Armed ForcesLand Component.[17][18]
East Timor: In use with VIP protection units[19] andNational Police of East Timor.[20]
India: Used by theSpecial Protection Group[21] andNational Security Guard.[22]
Libya: Purchased 367 F2000 rifles along with other assorted lethal andnon-lethal weapon systems fromFN Herstal in 2008, and deliveries commenced in 2009.[23] In the2011 Libyan Civil War, Libyan rebel forces captured a number of these weapons from forces loyal to the Gaddafi government.[24]
Pakistan: Used bySpecial Service Wing (SSW) and thePakistan Army.[25][26]
Peru: Special forces[25] and the Peruvian Marine Corps.[27]
Poland: In limited use by theGROMspecial forces group.[28][29]
Saudi Arabia: TheSaudi Arabian National Guard purchased 55,000 rifles in 2005.[30][31]
Slovenia: In June 2006, theSlovenian Ministry of Defence signed a contract with FN Herstal involving the acquisition of 6,500 F2000 rifles as the new standard service rifle for theSlovenian Army (Slovenska vojska) along with the 40 mm GL1 grenade launcher.[32][33] This is arguably the first confirmed large-scale adoption for this rifle by a European andNATO member country. The Slovenian army ultimately purchased 14,000 rifles.[34]In the years 2023-25, it was decided that the Slovenian Armed Forces will adopt a new standard assault rifle. The new rifle is theFN SCAR. The F2000S is expected to go into reserve use. The first new rifles arrived in 2025.[1]
Spain: Used by G.E.O, the Spanish National Police Special Operations group. Many of them are equipped with the GL1 grenade launcher.[35]
Ukraine: Donated in 2022 by Belgium as a response for theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[16][36][37]
Hamas: Used by theal-Quds Brigades, former Libyan stock.[38][39][40]
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