fabrique nationale d herstal formerly called fabrique nationale type s.a. industry firearms founded july 3 1889 ; 127 years ago 1889 07 03 founder leopold ii henri pieper headquarters herstal li ge li ge wallonia belgium area served worldwide key people jean s bastien belle president john browning alexandre galopin dieudonne saive products firearms ammunitions parent herstal group website www.fnherstal.com belgium www.fnamerica.com us fabrique nationale d herstal french for national factory of herstal self identified as fn herstal and often referred to as fabrique nationale or simply fn is a leading firearms manufacturer located in herstal belgium and is owned by the holding company herstal group which is owned by the regional government of wallonia . 1 it is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in europe . 2 fn is a subsidiary of the belgian herstal group which also owns u.s. repeating arms company winchester and browning arms company . 1 fn herstal is the parent company of two united states entities fn manufacturing and fnh usa . 1 fn manufacturing located in columbia south carolina is the manufacturing branch of fn herstal in the united states producing firearms such as the m249 and m240 machine guns and m16 rifle among others . 1 fnh usa located in mclean virginia is the sales and marketing branch of fn herstal in the united states . 1 view of the factory site firearms designed and or manufactured by fn include the browning hi power pistol five seven pistol fal rifle fnc rifle f2000 rifle p90 submachine gun m2 browning machine gun mag machine gun and minimi machine gun 1 all of which have been very successful for the company . 3 fn herstal s firearms are used by the armed forces of over 100 nations . 4 contents 1 history 2 fn herstal weapons 2.1 handguns 2.2 submachine guns 2.3 rifles 2.3.1 bolt action rifles 2.4 machine guns 2.5 shotguns 2.6 helicopter and aircraft weapon systems 2.7 miscellaneous 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit 1913 fn motorcycle with four cylinder in line engine and shaft drive fn browning hi power pistol fn originated in the small city of herstal near li ge . the fabrique nationale d armes de guerre french for national factory of weapons of war was established in 1889 to manufacture 150 000 mauser model 89 rifles ordered by the belgian government . 1 fn was co founded by the major arms makers of the li ge region with henri pieper of anciens etablissements pieper being the driving force and the primary shareholder of the new company . in 1897 the company entered into a long lasting relationship with john moses browning a well known firearms designer . 1 fn was an important manufacturer of motor vehicles in belgium a development championed by alexandre galopin as managing director . cars were produced in herstal in the early 1900s until 1935 . production of fn motorcycles continued until 1965 and production of trucks until 1970 . 5 in 1973 fn changed its name to reflect a product line diversified far beyond just weapons of war adopting the current name of fabrique nationale d herstal . 6 one of fabrique nationale s handguns a model 1910 semi automatic pistol in 9 17mm .380 acp serial number 19074 was one of four weapons that were taken from the assassins of archduke franz ferdinand of austria although it is unknown which of the four weapons actually fired the fatal round . john moses browning began development of the browning gp35 high power sometimes written as hi power pistol the gp standing for grande puissance or high power in french . however the weapon was finalized by dieudonn saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after browning s death . the fn manufacturing llc plant in columbia south carolina is part of the military division of fn . it is primarily responsible for the production of u.s. military weapons such as m16 rifles m249 light machine guns m240 machine guns and m2 machine guns . 1 fn herstal weapons edit fn five seven pistol with 5.7 28mm cartridges fn p90 submachine gun fn fnc rifle equipped with bayonet u.s. sailor fires an m240b a u.s. version of the fn mag adopted for infantry use in the 1990s early m249 manufacture of fn minimi u.s. marine aiming fn 303 fitted with holographic weapon sight fn 5.7 28mm cartridges as used in p90 submachine gun and five seven pistol handguns edit barracuda double action multi caliber revolver that can be switched between three calibers 9 19mm parabellum .38 special and .357 magnum by changing parts of the cylinder . five seven lightweight polymer framed pistol with a 20 round magazine capacity and designed to use fn s 5.7 28mm cartridge . in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world . 7 fnp series series of polymer framed pistols offered in 9 19mm parabellum .357 sig .40 s & w and .45 acp . fnx series updated and reengineered version of the fnp series pistol in 9 19mm parabellum .40 s & w and .45 acp . fns series polymer striker fired pistols in 9 19mm parabellum and 40 s & w. forty nine pistol chambered for 9 19mm parabellum and .40 s & w. browning hi power single action pistol chambered for 9 19mm parabellum and .40 s & w. one of the most widely used military pistols of all time having been used by the armed forces of over 50 nations . 3 8 hp da 9 19mm parabellum pistol double action variant of the browning hi power . m1900 .32 acp blowback semi automatic pistol . m1903 blowback semi automatic pistol chambered for .32 acp and 9 20mm long browning . m1905 .25 acp vest pocket blowback semi automatic pistol . m1910 single action pistol chambered for .32 acp and .380 acp . submachine guns edit p90 ambidextrous bullpup personal defense weapon with a top mounted 50 round magazine and chambered for fn s 5.7 28mm cartridge . in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world . 7 uzi built under license from israel military industries . rifles edit browning 22 semi auto rifle .22 lr .22 short . takedown rifle . production began in 1914 and continued through 1974 in belgium . cal carabine automatique l g re 5.56 45mm nato assault rifle . f2000 5.56 45mm nato bullpup assault rifle part of a system with a computerized sight and 40mm grenade launcher or 12 gauge shotgun . fs2000 semi automatic sporting version of the f2000 rifle . fal fusil automatique l ger 7.62 51mm nato battle rifle . one of the most widely used rifles in history having been used by over 90 nations . 9 fnar semi automatic rifle chambered in 7.62 51mm nato . fnc fabrique nationale carabine 5.56 45mm nato assault rifle . m16 5.56 45mm nato rifle produced under license by colt defense via a u.s. government contract since 1991 by fnh usa . m4a1 5.56 45mm nato rifle produced under contract from the u.s. government since 2013 by fnh usa . 10 mle 1930 belgian variant of the browning m1918 chambered in 7.65 53mm belgian mauser . model 1949 semi automatic rifle chambered in .30 06 springfield 7.92 57mm mauser 7.62 51mm nato and 7 57mm mauser . ps90 semi automatic sporting carbine version of the p90 submachine gun . scar sof combat assault rifle modular assault battle rifle system with dedicated versions in 5.56 45mm nato and 7.62 51mm nato . bolt action rifles edit ballista modular .338 lapua magnum long range sniper rifle that is convertible to .308 winchester or .300 winchester magnum calibers . karabiner 98k 7.92 57mm mauser bolt action rifle produced post world war ii . model 1924 model 1930 carbine and rifle based on the mauser 98 carbine . model 1950 .30 06 springfield bolt action rifle ; updated version of the model 1930 . model 30 11 7.62 51mm nato bolt action sniper rifle developed from fn built mauser karabiner 98k rifles . pbr patrol bolt rifle ; 7.62 51mm nato bolt action rifle intended for police patrol cruisers . spr special police rifle ; bolt action sniper rifle based on the winchester model 70 chambered in 7.62 51mm nato and .300 winchester magnum intended for fbi and swat teams . tsr tactical sports rifle based on the spr . machine guns edit brg 15 experimental heavy machine gun chambered in 15.5 115mm . m2hb .50 bmg 12.7 99mm nato heavy machine gun produced under license . mag mitrailleuse d appui general 7.62 51mm nato general purpose machine gun . used by more than 80 nations and made under licence in countries such as argentina egypt india singapore the united kingdom and the united states . 9 minimi mini mitrailleuse 5.56 45mm nato light machine gun . in service in over 75 nations and used in the united states as the m249 saw . 11 mk 48 variant of the m249 light machine gun . 12 chambered in 7.62 51mm nato and developed to meet a united states special forces requirement . 12 model 1930 bar licence built version of the m1918 bar rechambered for the 7.92 57mm mauser cartridge . m3p a belt fed heavy machine gun which is a modernized form of the m2 browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun . it is intended for vehicle watercraft and aircraft mounting . 13 shotguns edit p 12 12 gauge pump action shotgun with 18 inch barrel and 5 round capacity . slp self loading police 12 gauge gas operated semi automatic shotgun offered in four different models with various barrel lengths sight options and capacities . introduced in 2008 and named 2009 shotgun of the year by american rifleman magazine . 14 tps tactical police shotgun 12 gauge pump action shotgun with 5 or 8 round capacity . it is an upgraded version of the winchester repeating arms company winchester 1300 . browning auto 5 recoil operated semi automatic shotgun with 5 round capacity designed by john browning . helicopter and aircraft weapon systems edit fn hmp250 heavy machine gun pod . it is a system featuring a .50 cal fn m3p machine gun a 250 round ammunition box and a links and cases collector . 15 fn hmp400 heavy machine gun pod . it is a system featuring a .50 cal fn m3p machine gun a 400 round ammunition box capacity and a links or links and cases collector . 15 fn rmp rocket machine gun pod . it is system comprising a 12.7 mm .50 caliber fn m3p machine gun a nato standard 2.75 inch 70mm 3 tube rocket launcher and a 400 round machine gun ammunition box . 16 miscellaneous edit 5.56 45mm ss109 nato standard 5.56 45mm cartridge . 1 5.7 28mm small caliber high velocity cartridge designed for use with the fn p90 submachine gun and fn five seven pistol . 17 eglm 40mm ergonomic grenade launcher module designed for the fn scar . fn 303 less lethal 17 mm multi shot projectile launcher . 18 fn 303 p pistol version of the less lethal fn 303 launcher . 19 fn telgren telescoping shoot through rifle grenade . see also edit arms industry list of modern armament manufacturers references edit a b c d e f g h i j herstal group about us . fn herstal . retrieved 2010 06 24 . les armes belges un business juteux in french . la derni re heure dhnet . december 31 2012 . retrieved november 1 2013 . a b miller david 2001 . the illustrated directory of 20th century guns . salamander books ltd. isbn 1 84065 245 4 . report profiling the small arms industry world policy institute research project . world policy institute . november 2000 . retrieved 2010 07 15