Manufacturer catalog

FN Herstal

FN Herstal is the Belgian defence and security manufacturer behind a long-running small-arms and integrated weapon-systems line, including FN MAG, FN Minimi, FN M2HB-QCB, and the legacy FN FAL family. Its Herstal-based operation remains central to the FN Browning Group's defence-and-security division and its portable-weapons, ammunition, aiming, training, and technology-transfer portfolio.

9 weapons

FN Herstal traces its origins to 1889 in Herstal, Belgium, where the company began as Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and built a reputation around small arms, ammunition, and later integrated weapon systems. The modern company remains rooted in Herstal even as its parent group has been renamed FN Browning Group.

The FN Browning Group organizes its activities around defence and security, hunting, and sports shooting, with the defence-and-security division designing, manufacturing, and marketing products for armed forces and law-enforcement agencies primarily under the FN brand. FN Herstal's current official portfolio spans portable weapons, integrated weapon systems, aiming equipment, training systems, ammunition, and transfer-of-technology programs.

small armsmachine gunsammunitionintegrated weapon systemstechnology transfer

Notable Systems

FN MAG general-purpose machine gun, 7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun, Infantry Weapons

FN MAG

7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun

FN Herstal identifies the FN MAG as its original 7.62x51mm general-purpose machine gun and one of its long-running product families.

Sources: FN MAG
FN Minimi light machine gun, 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun, Infantry Weapons

FN MINIMI 5.56 Mk3

5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun

FN Herstal presents the FN MINIMI 5.56 Mk3 as its modern light machine gun line, adopted on all continents and evolved for current soldier requirements.

Sources: FN MINIMI 5.56 MK3

FN M2HB-QCB Mk2

FN Herstal markets the FN M2HB-QCB Mk2 as its upgraded .50-caliber heavy machine gun with quick-change barrel features.

Sources: FN M2HB-QCB Mk2

Manufacturer History

  1. Company origins in Herstal

    FN Herstal's official history traces the company to 1889 in Herstal, when the business began as Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and focused on military small arms.

    Sources: Herstal Origins

  2. Parent group is renamed

    FN Herstal's parent company announced that the Herstal Group was officially changing its name to FN Browning Group, keeping the defence-and-security business centered on the FN brand.

    Sources: FN Browning Rebrand, FN Browning Group

  3. First 2024 activity report

    FN Browning Group published its 2024 activity report, highlighting the broader industrial group context that now frames FN Herstal's operations.

    Sources: FN Browning Group

  4. FN Herstal posts record turnover

    FN Browning Group reported record 2025 performance and said subsidiary FN Herstal achieved its highest-ever turnover, reaching EUR 422 million with a 19.5 percent EBITDA margin.

    Sources: 2025 Record Results

Predecessors
Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre
Subsidiaries
FN AmericaFN UKNoptel
Website links
Official websiteAbout usContactDefence solutionsMachine gunsFN Browning Group

FN Herstal remains the operating defence-and-security brand in the FN Browning Group; legacy names such as Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and Herstal Group appear in historical and corporate sources.

Manufacturer Sources

  • FN Herstal HomePublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports FN Herstal as a Belgium-based designer and manufacturer of innovative defence and security solutions centered on small arms and ammunition. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • About usPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports FN Herstal's current corporate identity, its position within FN Browning Group, and its global defence-and-security small-arms focus. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • ContactPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the headquarters address at Voie de Liège 33, B-4040 Herstal, Belgium, and the company's Belgian base. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Herstal OriginsPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the company's 1889 origins in Herstal, Belgium, and its long-running heritage in firearms and industrial innovation. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • FN Browning RebrandPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the 2024 parent-group rename from Herstal Group to FN Browning Group and the continuity of FN Herstal within that structure. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • 2023 Financial ResultsPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports FN Browning Group's 2023 financial context, FN Herstal's subsidiary status, and the statement that the group's shareholder is Wallonie Entreprendre, which is owned by the Walloon Region. | Accessed: 2026-07-04
  • 2025 Record ResultsPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports current FN Browning Group performance context, FN Herstal's record 2025 turnover, and the defence-and-security division's contribution to group results. | Accessed: 2026-07-04
  • FN Browning GroupPublisher: FN Browning Group | Note: Supports the current group context, defense-and-security division, and the fact that FN Herstal sits within a broader FN-branded corporate structure. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Our GroupPublisher: FN Browning Group | Note: Supports the group heritage narrative and current organizational framing for FN Herstal under the FN Browning Group umbrella. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • FN MAGPublisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the FN MAG product family as an original FN Herstal design and manufacture, plus its general-purpose machine-gun role. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • FN MINIMI 5.56 MK3Publisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the FN MINIMI 5.56 Mk3 product family, official manufacturer background, and the light-machine-gun role. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • FN M2HB-QCB Mk2Publisher: FN Herstal | Note: Supports the FN M2HB-QCB Mk2 product family, official manufacturer background, and the .50-caliber heavy machine-gun role. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • UFA Belgium FN HerstalPublisher: UFA Belgium | Note: Supports FN Herstal's Belgian address, product scope, 1889 heritage, and the directory's statement that FN America, FNH UK and Noptel are linked as subsidiaries. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • FN Herstal Logo ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and reuse terms for the FN Herstal logo; Commons identifies the source as FN Herstal and marks the simple text logo as public domain. | Accessed: 2026-07-04

Produced weapons

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

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FN Minimi light machine gun, 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun, Infantry Weapons2017 Battle of Marawi, 2014 War Against the Islamic State +2 moreFN Minimi light machine gun5.56x45mm NATO light machine gunBuilt in: Belgium / United StatesThe FN Minimi is a Belgian belt-fed light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale for squad automatic fire, with 5.56 mm NATO models widely fielded as national variants such as the U.S. M249, Canadian C9, and Australian F89. In the 2014 Yemen Civil War, Amnesty International reported Belgian Minimis deployed by The Giants Brigades, tying the weapon to UAE-backed coalition-aligned ground forces around the Hodeidah offensive.
FN FAL, 7.62 mm battle rifle, Infantry Weapons2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, 2017 Battle of Marawi +3 moreFN FAL7.62 mm battle rifleBuilt in: Belgium; licensed production in multiple countriesThe FN FAL is a Belgian 7.62 x 51 mm NATO battle rifle designed at Fabrique Nationale after World War II and adopted or license-produced across many Cold War armies. The cataloged record spans state service, licensed Commonwealth and Argentine derivatives, and later illicit or captured rifles documented in conflicts from the Falklands to Marawi, Boko Haram operations, Haiti, and the Islamic State fight.
FN MAG general-purpose machine gun, 7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun, Infantry Weapons2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, 2014 War Against the Islamic State +1 moreFN MAG general-purpose machine gun7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gunBuilt in: Belgium / United States / United KingdomThe FN MAG is FN Herstal's Belgian 7.62x51mm NATO belt-fed general-purpose machine gun family, fielded from infantry bipods, tripods, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and boats. The catalog record connects the MAG and its M240/L7A2/MAG 58 designations to directly sourced conflict evidence: surrendered Boko Haram-held stocks in Nigeria, coalition base-defense training during Operation Inherent Resolve, and Afghan special-operations weapons training during the War in Afghanistan.

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, 5.56x45mm NATO small-arms cartridge, Munitions2014 Russia-Ukraine War, 2001 War in Afghanistan +1 more5.56x45mm NATO cartridge5.56x45mm NATO small-arms cartridgeBuilt in: Belgium / multiple countriesThe 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge is the NATO-standard small-arms cartridge family built around FN Herstal's SS109 lineage, standardized by NATO in 1980 and produced by many ammunition makers. This entry tracks both its technical family context and direct conflict evidence, including Canadian 5.56 mm ammunition supplied for Ukraine, U.S. Army M855A1 fielding in Afghanistan, and 5.56 x 45 mm ammunition recovered from Islamic State forces in Iraq.

Category

Support Equipment

Transport, logistics, recovery, command, engineering, and other enabling equipment.

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