FARA 83
Encyclopedia
The FARA 83 or FAA 81, "Argentine Automatic Rifle" was a rifle locally designed and developed for the Argentine Army
in the 1980s.
. The DGFM (General Government Directorate for Military Procurements, or Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares) ordered a replacement be designed for the FMAP FSL, an FN FAL
license-built in Argentina. The prototype
was completed in 1981, but production didn't start until 1984, and continued until 1990.
By the late 1980s, under Carlos Menem
's tenure as president, the country was undergoing economic difficulties. The economic crisis severely limited the production of modern weapons. This factor forced President Menem to cancel several projects, including the Condor I and Condor II
, the FARA 83, and SAIA 90. He was also forced to close armament factories, including TAMSE (Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado), which was responsible for the TAM tanks and Domecq Garcia Shipyard (the only submarine-related shipyard). Production of the rifle ground to a halt after 1193 rifles had been completed, however, it was resumed in 1990; it is unknown how many rifles were made, but for the most part the Argentine Armed Forces are still armed with the FSL-FAL rifle, while the FARA 83 being a secondary weapon.
. Features include a folding buttstock and tritium
sights for aiming in low light conditions; the rifle uses a proprietary 30 round Beretta AR70 magazines(early issue), and has a trigger group that enables semi-automatic and fully automatic fire.
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
in the 1980s.
Development
The FAA project started in the early 1980s, when the government was still controlled by the National Reorganization ProcessNational Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
. The DGFM (General Government Directorate for Military Procurements, or Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares) ordered a replacement be designed for the FMAP FSL, an FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
license-built in Argentina. The prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
was completed in 1981, but production didn't start until 1984, and continued until 1990.
By the late 1980s, under Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
's tenure as president, the country was undergoing economic difficulties. The economic crisis severely limited the production of modern weapons. This factor forced President Menem to cancel several projects, including the Condor I and Condor II
Condor missile
The Argentine Condor missile program started in the 1970s as a multinational space research program with significant contract work being performed by German company MBB ....
, the FARA 83, and SAIA 90. He was also forced to close armament factories, including TAMSE (Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado), which was responsible for the TAM tanks and Domecq Garcia Shipyard (the only submarine-related shipyard). Production of the rifle ground to a halt after 1193 rifles had been completed, however, it was resumed in 1990; it is unknown how many rifles were made, but for the most part the Argentine Armed Forces are still armed with the FSL-FAL rifle, while the FARA 83 being a secondary weapon.
Main characteristics
The FARA-83 was mostly inspired by the Israeli GalilIMI Galil
The Galil is a family of Israeli small arms designed by Yisrael Galil and Yaacov Lior in the late 1960s and produced by Israel Military Industries Ltd of Ramat HaSharon...
. Features include a folding buttstock and tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
sights for aiming in low light conditions; the rifle uses a proprietary 30 round Beretta AR70 magazines(early issue), and has a trigger group that enables semi-automatic and fully automatic fire.