FAMAS rifles seem to be the most French thing ever - it is hard to imagine one outside of L'hexagone. Yet, being a prominent post-colonial power, France managed to spread their weapons across the globe, even though in miniscule numbers. In this article we explore all known cases which are confirmed with the photographic evidence.
While not being as popular an export as some other European rifles, FAMAS still saw some exports worldwide. Note - I only include countries for whom I could source pictures, hence this thread does not cover all foreign FAMAS users.
Chad
Naturally, because of French political and military influence over former colonies, FAMAS saw rather limited, but still notable use within African countries, For example in Chad, FAMAS rifles were used by the Presidental Guard and Army SOF around the early 2010s.
Cameroon
Cameroon Armed Forces was another user of FAMAS around the late 2000s, however since then those rifles have been replaced by AR platforms, and TAR-21/VHS-2 bullpup assault rifles.
FAMAS in Gabon
France is one of the largest military suppliers of the small African nation of Gabon, hence large number of FAMAS rifles are still used by all branches of the Gabonese military, including the Army, Navy, and National Gendarmerie.
Djibouti
Djibouti, once a loyal customer of French military hardware, also imported relatively large numbers of FAMAS rifles, though overshadowed by 7.62 AK platforms, French bullpups can still be seen used by different branches.
Senegal
Though mainly using AR-15 and AK platforms, Senegal also issued a small number of FAMAS rifles, mostly (or exclusively) to the National Gendarmerie.
Central African Republic, Togo and Ivory Coast
Some sources also mention the Central African Republic, Togo and Ivory Coast as FAMAS users, however, I could not find any reference pictures.
Vanuatu
One of the most obscure users of FAMAS would be Vanuatu, a micronation of just 300,000 inhabitants located in the South Pacific Ocean. Vanuatu Mobile Forces, which has 300 volunteer members takes the role of a military, FAMAS is the standard-issue rifle for VMF.
Thailand
Switching to Asia, a tiny number of FAMAS rifles were in service with the Royal Thai Armed Forces, most likely to special units around the early 2010s. Most likely they are out of service by now.
Indonesia
Again, a small number of such rifles were also acquired by Indonesia and issued to specific units of the Indonesian Army Special Forces Command, most likely being out of service by the mid-2010s.
Philippines
It seems a small number of FAMAS rifles were also in service with the Philippine National Police and Marine Corps, however, I could not find any additional details.
Venezuela
FAMAS seems to have found its way to Venezuela as well, however, I could not find any additional details about this.
Argentine
Argentine Marines seem to have liked FAMAS rifles since they were bought in several small batches throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were mostly issued to the Argentine Amphibious Commandos Group. Argentine if one of the very rare foreign users of the G2 variant.
Papua New Guinea
Another obscure user of FAMAS would be Papua New Guinea, such rifles were spotted during the 2012 Papua New Guinea Defence Force mutiny. Most likely those rifles were sourced from Vanuatu, which received 350 FAMAS F1s in 1994.
Suriname
Another South-American user of FAMAS would be Suriname, which received several hundred such rifles, most likely in the F1 variant as aid from France in September 2023.
Cambodia
FAMAS rifles were also spotted used in Cambodia during the 1997 coup in the country.
Serbia
Serbia also has an inventory of FAMAS rifles, as claimed they were captured from French troops during the 1990s Yugoslav Wars. They were issued to Serbian Police SOF at least until the late 2000s.
Ukraine
Around late 2023, France supplied a moderate amount of FAMAS F1 "Valorisé" rifles to Ukraine. Some were captured by Russian forces as well. For more details about FAMAS in Ukraine, you can read The Armourers Bench or watch their video.
Please note that once again this thread can be missing some entries, I composed this thread in only 2-3 hours so in case of mistakes or any additional information, feel free to reply.
The article was compiled by B-AREV
Comments