FN F2000

FN F2000
Production information
Country of origin	Belgium
Manufacturer(s)	FN Herstal
Designer(s)	Charles Denuit René Predazzer
Year(s) designed	1995 – 2001
Production began	2001
Technical specifications
Weapon type	Assault rifle
Caliber	5.56×45mm NATO
Action	Gas operated, Rotating bolt with 7 lugs
Length	694mm (27.32 inches)
Barrel length	400mm (15.75 inches)
Weight	3.6 kg empty (standard), 4.6 kg empty (w/ GL-1 grenade launcher)
Feed system	20 rounds or 30 rounds
Cyclic rate	850 RPM
Maximum effective range	500m
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s

The FN F2000 is gas-operated 5.56mm NATO bullpup rifle developed by FN Herstal and first produced in 2001. Its safety and trigger mechanisms are derived from the FN P90.

Design details

The F2000 was designed to be ambidextrous (only the charging handle is not), and uses a patented ejection system to avoid the ejection, noise and gas release issues of a conventional bullpup. Rather than throwing spent brass from one or other side of the receiver, the F2000 shifts cartridges into an ejection chute that goes to the front end of the weapon, ejecting from a port above the barrel (similar forward-ejecting systems are used for some much larger weapons such as IFV guns and naval cannons). This chute contains five casings at a time and will often eject all of them at once when filled, leading to distinctive sprays of multiple casings which do not necessarily match what the weapon is doing at the time.

While it might appear to mount some kind of computerized scope, the F2000's actual sight is a low-power conventional optic that is often mocked as looking like a BB gun sight, with the plastic shroud over it simply a cover. An actual computerized sight with a built-in rangefinder for the GL-1 is also available.

One issue with the F2000 is that the action is not particularly accessible, with the only way to check the chamber being a small flip-up cover affectionately known as the "toilet seat," and clearing jams often requiring field-stripping. The rifle also features a rubber dust gasket around the magazine well designed to prevent dirt from entering the weapon while a magazine is inserted, but this has several drawbacks. The magazine will not drop free from the rifle when the release is pressed and must be manually pulled out, it can be hard to tell if a magazine is seated correctly, and because the gaskets are designed to conform to the shape of the standard M16 magazine, many aftermarket magazines (particularly PMAGs) will not physically fit in the gun. 

Variants

FN F2000

Standard military select-fire version with a factory-fitted 1.6x optic mounted on a rail covered with a polymer shroud. 

FN F2000 Tactical

Select fire version with a raised flat-top rail, not factory-fitted with an optic. The TR version has an added tri-rail on the handguard for accessories. A variant designed for the Slovenian army, the F2000 S, has the rail raised up off the top of the weapon with a gap underneath so it can be used as a carry handle.

FN FS2000

Civilian, semi-auto only version of FN F2000, available as the FS2000 Standard with original 1.6x scope and cover or as the FS2000 Tactical for the flat-top version. The later FS2000 CQB has a tri-rail that replaces the entire handguard rather then being mounted to the front of it. The primary visual difference between the FS2000 and the F2000 is the pinned muzzle device, which has a different flash hider, slightly extends the barrel, and is not compatible with a bayonet. Discontinued in 2013 due to poor sales.