FN Herstal

Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, or FN Herstal, is a prolific small arms manufacturing company located in Belgium. It also specializes in integrated weapon systems, among which the aircraft/helicopter-borne 7.62 mm and .50 caliber machine guns are probablt the most well known. The company was founded in 1889 under the banner Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and has been manufacturing light weapons designed for military and civilian use for over a century now. While it is primarily known as a firearm production company, FN Herstal had earlier also manufactured cars and motorcycles. Its first armament contract was awarded by the Belgian government, which required FN Herstal to mass-produce bolt-action Mauser rifles.

FN Herstal has expanded considerably since its incorporation and today owns other significant firearm manufacturing units, including the Winchester-based U.S. Repeating Arms Company. The Utah-based Browning Arms Company, established in 1927, is now also a fully owned subsidiary of FN Herstal. In fact, the company now has nine offices in Europe, North America and Asia. It presently has an overall employee strength of over 1300. While it does not yet number among the world’s top 100 armament manufacturers, FN Herstal does have some significant market victories to its name.

The FN FAL automatic rifle – one of the company’s bestselling products, is under licensed manufacture in Brazil, Israel, India, Mexico, South Africa and Venezuela and four other countries. All its subsidiaries manufacture firearms under the FN Herstal label, and also under Browning and Winchester. Their products, which include pistols, rifles, machine guns, submachine guns as well as various kinds of ammunition and gun mounts, are widely used by militaries and law enforcement agencies all over the world. Over a hundred military departments regularly purchase firearms from the company

One of the hottest sellers to roll off FN Herstals’ production line today are the 5.56 MINIMI machine gun, which is a standard issue weapon for armed forces and special forces units in 45 countries. The modular and extremely flexible F2000 5.56 caliber Integrated Weapon System is yet another product that sees widespread utilization in military operations and personal defense.

FN Herstal has also been extremely innovative in the ‘less lethal’ concept in weapon systems, which aims at neutralizing opponents without inflicting permanent or terminal damage. NATO requires ‘less lethal’ weapon systems to be ‘explicitly designed and developed to incapacitate or repel personnel, with a low probability of fatality or permanent injury, or to disable equipment, with minimal undesired damage or impact on the environment’. FN Herstal has made some major contributions in this field,, with one of the most noteworthy of its indigenous systems being the FN303 Less Lethal Launcher. This product is now extensively employed in peacekeeping, surveillance and general location protection initiatives and meets all of NATO’s stringent requirements.

FN Herstal’s saga of success seems to be an ongoing one. The company was recently awarded a significant contract by the US Navy and Marine Corps – this involves the manufacture of aircraft-borne M3M .50 caliber machine guns. Meanwhile, more than 1000 aircraft of various descriptions now pack FN Herstal’s 7.62mm or .50 caliber machine guns. It has also been given a contract by the Belgian Police Zone of Genk to supply it with full and medium-sized polymer-framed FNP9 Pistols. In addition, the company signed a cooperation agreement with Fiocchi Munizioni S.p.A. of Italy in 2005. Under this agreement, FN Herstal has licensed Fiocchi Munizioni to manufacture 5.7 x 28 mm ammunition, which is in turn marketed by FN Herstal. This initiative has already been launched in Italy and will soon be launched in America, too.

FN Herstal recently had an opportunity to flaunt its extensive market presence and range of products at the Latin America Aero and Defense Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This event took place last year between the 26th and 29th of April. Among the displayed products were the F2000 5.56 caliber Integrated Weapon System, the MAG 7.62 and MINIMI 5.56 machine guns, the P90 submachine gun, the Five-seven pistol, its range of 9mm pistols (such as the MK3, FNP9-Medium and BDA9) and, of course, the famousFN303 Less Lethal Launcher.