FN F2000, Belgian Assault Rifle

The FN F2000 is an individual 5.56mm weapon system, developed at the turn of the 21st century by the Belgian armament manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal. The F2000 made its debut in March 2001 at the IDEX defense exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

F2000
Type	Bullpup Assault rifle
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
Used by	See Users
Wars	Operation Astute, War in Afghanistan
Production history
Designer	Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Designed	1995–2001
Manufacturer	Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Produced	2001–present
Variants	F2000 Tactical, F2000 S, FS2000
Specifications
Weight	F2000: 3.8 kg (8.38 lb) F2000 Tactical: 3.6 kg (7.9 lb)
Length	690 mm (27.2 in)
Barrel length	400 mm (15.7 in)
Cartridge	5.56x45mm NATO
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	850 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s (2,953 ft/s)
Effective range	500 m
Feed system	30-round detachable STANAG magazine
Sights	1.6x magnified telescopic sight, notch back-up sight

The FN F2000 is a modular weapon system; its principle component is a compact 5.56x45mm NATO-caliber assault rifle configured in a bullpup layout. The F2000 is a selective fire weapon operating from a closed rotary bolt.

The rifle consists of two main assemblies: the barrel receiver group and the frame, joined together with a pin located above the oversized trigger guard. The barrel group has an integral MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny 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.

F2000 Tactical

The F2000 Tactical railed variant is similar to the standard model, but it lacks the optical sight, and comes instead with an extended top receiver MIL-STD-1913 rail with flip-up iron sights.

FS2000

The FS2000 is a civilian-legal, semi-automatic version of the F2000 that first became available in June 2006. The FS2000 Tactical model is equipped with an extended barrel with a permanently attached flash suppressor 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 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. A small number of the early models featured a stepped barrel contour as well as a demilled 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.

A variant of the FS2000, called the FS2000 Standard, is equipped with the factory F2000 1.6x magnification optic and sight cover. It does not contain the grenade launcher computer. The FS2000 Standard arrived in the US civilian market in December 2007.