FN F2000 rifles equipped with GL1 (source: Yemeni social media via ARES CONMAT Database).

Belgian FN Herstal F2000 Rifles Captured by Houthi Forces in Yemen

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In May 2019, a Belgian news outlet, VRT, reported that the Saudi National Guard were using FN Herstal F2000 bullpup self-loading rifles in Yemen. With ongoing combat between the Arab Coalition and Houthi-aligned forces, it was all but inevitable that some of these exotic-looking polymer-encased weapons would be captured or seized.

The first confirmed sighting of an F2000 in Yemen is believed to date from March 2018, when Houthi forces, fighting in the same border area, were seen recovering an F2000 from a Saudi outpost. The weapon was fitted with the GL1 (also known as the LG1), a under-barrel grenade launcher.

Figure 1.1 Close up of the FN F2000 rifles equipped with GL1 (source: Yemeni social media via ARES CONMAT Database).

In June 2019, two further examples, both fitted with the GL1 under-barrel grenade launchers were captured by Houthi forces during a battle with Saudi mechanised infantry on the Saudi/Yemeni border, near Najran. These rifles were displayed on social media alongside more mundane small arms and light weapons, hand grenades, night vision equipment, and uniforms bearing National Guard insignia.

Figure 1.2 A screencap from a March 2018, video of Yemeni Houthi with captured FN F2000, with GL1 (source:  official Houthi media via ARES CONMAT Database).

The FN Herstal F2000 is a select-fire self-loading rifle in a bullpup configuration, chambered for the 5.56 × 45 mm cartridge. It was developed by FN Herstal in the late 1990s and marketed from 2001. The rifle makes extensive use of polymer throughout, and has ambidextrous operating controls and, unusually, ejects fired cartridge cases forward of the weapon, through an ejection chute parallel to the barrel.

It is not known definitively how many F2000 rifles or GL1 grenade launchers were sold to Saudi Arabia, but some sources have reported that 55,000 were approved for export from Belgium. As of August 2018, both weapons had been removed from the FN website, and appear to have followed the US FS2000 variant in being discontinued from the product range. The GL1 has been replaced by the FN40GL Mk2.

Technical Specifications

F2000 Standard
Calibre: 5.56 × 45 mm
Overall length: 690 mm
Barrel length: 400 mm
Weight: 3.8 kg (w/ empty magazine)
Feed device: 30-round detachable box magazine
Muzzle velocity (V0): 900 m/s
Cyclic rate: 850 rpm

LG1 (GL1)
Calibre: 40 × 46SR mm
Overall length of rifle with LG1: 727 mm
Barrel length: 230 mm
Weight (empty): 1.2 kg
Feed device: None (single-loaded)
Muzzle velocity (V0): 76 m/s

Sources

ARES. 2019. Conflict Materiel (CONMAT) Database. Confidential. Perth: Armament Research Services (ARES).

FN Herstal (Fabrique Nationale Herstal). 2015a. ‘FN 200 Standard’. Archived web page.

FN Herstal (Fabrique Nationale Herstal). 2015b. ‘FN GL1’. Archived web page.

Jenzen-Jones. 2016. A Tale of Two Rifles: The Proliferation of F2000 and AK-103 self-loading rifl­es exported to Libya in 2004–2009. Perth: Armament Research Services (ARES). <http://armamentresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ARES-Research-Report-No.-5-A-Tale-of-Two-Rifles.pdf>

VRT NWS. 2019. ‘Saudis using Belgian weapons in Yemen’. 8 May. <https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2019/05/08/saudis-using-belgian-weapons-in-yemen/>.

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