Editing FN FAL (section)

== Military adoption ==
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{{See also|L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle#Production and use}}
[[File:Soldadosargesperandodesembarco.jpg|thumb|right|Argentine soldiers armed with FAL during the Falklands War (1982).]]

The FAL has been used by over 90 countries, and some seven million have been produced.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Soft Security Threats & Europe|last=Aldis|first=Anne|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|pages=83}}</ref><ref name="hogg2002" /> The FAL was originally made by [[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]] (FN) in Liège, Belgium, but it has also been made under license in fifteen countries.<ref name=Bourne>{{cite book|last=Bourne|first=Mike|title=Arming Conflict: The Proliferation of Small Arms|date=2007|pages=66–67|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan|location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-0-230-01933-1}}</ref> As of August 2006, new examples were still being produced by at least four different manufacturers worldwide.<ref name="Survey">{{cite web|title=Multiplying the Sources: Licensed and Unlicensed Military Production|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-01-O-EN.pdf|location=Geneva
|publisher=[[Small Arms Survey]]|date=2007|access-date=21 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223193229/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-01-O-EN.pdf|archive-date=23 December 2016}}</ref>

A distinct sub-family was the Commonwealth inch-dimensioned versions that were manufactured in the United Kingdom and Australia (as the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle or SLR), and in Canada as the C1. The standard metric-dimensioned FAL was manufactured in South Africa (where it was known as the ''R1''), Brazil, Israel, Austria and Argentina. Both the SLR and FAL were also produced without license by India.<ref name="Survey-2">{{cite web|title=Legacies of War in the Company of Peace: Firearms in Nepal|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/NAVA-IB2-Legacies-of-War.pdf|location=Geneva|publisher=[[Small Arms Survey]]|date=May 2013|access-date=21 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708052928/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/NAVA-IB2-Legacies-of-War.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=Small1>{{cite book|author=Graduate Institute of International Studies|title=Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied|date=2003|pages=97–113|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-925175-9}}</ref>

The Dutch company Armtech built the L1A1 SAS, a carbine variant of the L1A1 with a barrel length of 290&nbsp;mm (11.4 inches).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2600/2649.htm|title=Armtech FAL SAS|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518040911/http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2600/2649.htm|archive-date=18 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Argentina ===
[[File:Two Argentina soldiers with FN FAL.jpg|thumb|Argentine soldiers with FAL rifles.]]

Argentine FALs saw action during the [[Falklands War]], and in different peacekeeping operations such as in Cyprus and the former Yugoslavia. Argentine FALs are known to have been exported to Bolivia (in 1971),<ref name=":0">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=18}}</ref> Colombia,<ref name=":0" /> Croatia (during the [[wars in former Yugoslavia]] during the 1990s), Honduras,<ref name=":0" /> Peru,<ref name=":0" /> and Uruguay.<ref name=":0" />

=== Brazil ===
Along with the IA2, MD-2 and MD-3 assault rifles, Brazil produces the M964A1/Pelopes (Special Operations Platoon), with a 16.5" barrel, 3-point sling and a [[Picatinny rail]] with a [[tactical flashlight]] and sight.<ref>BASTOS, Carlos Stephani. [http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/defesa/fts/FAL.pdf FAL M964A1/Pelopes 7,62: Aproveitando melhor o que se tem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012151728/http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/defesa/fts/FAL.pdf |date=2016-10-12 }} (in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]). [[Federal University of Juiz de Fora]].</ref>

The Brazilian Army officially used the FAP (''Fuzil Automático Pesado'', or heavy automatic rifle) as its squad automatic weapon until 2013/2014, when the [[FN Minimi]] was adopted to replace it. The Marine Corps and Air Force also adopted the Minimi to replace the FAP.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.defesanet.com.br/armas/noticia/12737/FN-MINIMI-%E2%80%93-EB-aposenta-o-FAP-e-adota-a--FN-Mini-Mitrailleuse/|title=FN MINIMI – EB aposenta o FAP e adota a FN Mini Mitrailleuse|date=2013-10-20|access-date=2016-10-11|via=DefesaNet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012225501/http://www.defesanet.com.br/armas/noticia/12737/FN-MINIMI-%E2%80%93-EB-aposenta-o-FAP-e-adota-a--FN-Mini-Mitrailleuse/|archive-date=2016-10-12|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Transposição do Rio Santa Maria - RS (9919223523).jpg|thumb|[[Brazilian Army]] conscripts using the FAL in [[Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul|Santa Maria]], [[Rio Grande do Sul]].]]

IMBEL also produced a semi-automatic version of the FAL for [[Springfield Armory, Inc.]] (not to be confused with the [[Springfield Armory|US military Springfield Armory]]), which was marketed in the US as the SAR-48 (standard model)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thearmorylife.com/full-auto-fal-the-select-fire-springfield-sar-48/ | title=Full-Auto FAL: The Select-Fire Springfield SAR-48 | date=30 December 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514034816/https://www.thearmorylife.com/full-auto-fal-the-select-fire-springfield-sar-48/|archive-date=May 14, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2530 | title=The FN-FAL Rifle | date=December 2001|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922153650/http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2530|archive-date=September 22, 2021 }}</ref> and SAR-4800 (made after 1989 with some military features removed to comply with new legislation), starting in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/springfields-sar-4800-fal-in-5-56mm/ | title=Springfield's SAR-4800 FAL…in 5.56mm | date=20 November 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155246/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/springfields-sar-4800-fal-in-5-56mm/|archive-date=December 2, 2022 }}</ref> IMBEL-made receivers have been much in demand among American gunsmiths building FALs from "parts kits".

IMBEL in 2014 offered the FAL in 9 versions:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imbel.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=31&lang=en|title=Fuzil 7,62 M964 (FAL)|author=Administrator|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151503/http://www.imbel.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=31&lang=en|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

* M964, the standard length semi-auto and full auto.
* M964 MD1, short barrel semi-auto and full auto.
* M964 MD2, standard length semi-auto only.
* M964 MD3, short barrel semi-auto only.
* M964A1, folding stock standard barrel semi-auto and full auto.
* M964A1 MD1, folding stock short barrel semi-auto and full auto.
* M964A1 MD2, folding stock standard barrel semi-auto only.
* M964A1 MD3, folding stock short barrel semi-auto only.
* M964A1/Pelopes, short barrel semi-auto and full auto with Picatinny rail.

=== Germany ===
[[File:West German FN FAL.jpg|thumb|upright|Two West German [[Fahnenjunker|cadets]] on a joint exercise in 1960. [[West Germany]] used the FN FAL designated as G1.]]

The first German FALs were from an order placed in late 1955 or early 1956, for several thousand FN FAL so-called "Canada" models with wood furniture and the prong flash hider. These weapons were intended for the ''[[German Federal Police|Bundesgrenzschutz]]'' (border guard) and not the newly formed ''[[Bundeswehr]]'' (army), which at the time used M1 Garands and M1/M2 carbines. In November 1956, however, [[West Germany]] ordered 100,000 additional FALs, designated the G1, for the army. FN made the rifles between April 1957 and May 1958. The G1 user modifications included light metal handguards and an integral folding bipod, similarly to the Austrian version.<ref name=":9">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=16}}</ref> Neither Germany nor Austria adopted the heavy-barreled FAL, instead using the [[MG 3 machine gun|MG3]] (the modernized [[MG 42|MG42]] in 7.62×51mm NATO) as its [[General-purpose machine gun|general purpose machine gun]] (GPMG).<ref name=":9" />

The Germans were satisfied with the FAL and wished to produce it under license.<ref name=":9" /> The Belgians, however, refused. Being subject to two German occupations in the space of two generations ([[German occupation of Belgium during World War I|1914–1918]] and [[German occupation of Belgium during World War II|1940–1945]]), the Belgians insisted on the Germans purchasing only FN-made FALs.<ref name=":9" /> Under the German occupation during World War II, FN was taken over by the major German arms manufacturer ''[[Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken]]'' (DWM), its directors arrested, and the assembly lines run by [[German occupation of Belgium during World War II#Deportation and forced labour|slave labour]] after only 10% of the Belgian factory workers showed up when ordered to do so.<ref name=":9" />

After the [[Operation Overlord|Normandy landings]], the Germans stripped the FN factories of everything useful and sent it back to augment German industries, destroying what they couldn't carry.<ref name=":9" /> FN tried to recoup its losses immediately after liberation near the end of 1944 by refurbishing Allied weapons and producing cheap, easily produced spare parts such as tank tracks.<ref name=":9" /> To make matters worse, the Germans tried to destroy the FN factory with [[V-1 flying bomb|V1 flying bombs]], achieving two direct hits.<ref name=":9" /> The memories of the Nazi occupation were still far too fresh in 1956.<ref name=":9" />

Based on political and economical considerations, but also national pride,<ref name=":10">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=17}}</ref> the Germans aimed at a weapon they could produce domestically and turned their sights to the Spanish [[CETME rifle|CETME Modelo 58]] rifle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Europe|url=http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/weapons/index.php/tour-by-region/europe/europe/firearm-379/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427012535/http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/weapons/index.php/tour-by-region/europe/europe/firearm-379/index.html|archive-date=2017-04-27|access-date=2017-06-26|website=web.prm.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> Working with the Germans, the Spanish adopted the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge, and a slightly modified version of the CETME went on to be manufactured in [[West Germany]] by [[Heckler & Koch]] (H&K) as the [[Heckler & Koch G3|G3]] rifle, beginning production in 1959. The G3 would become the second most popular battle rifle in the Free World, "used by some 50 nations and license-manufactured in a dozen".<ref name=":10" /> Without the G3, the FAL may have completely dominated the militaries of the West during the Cold War.<ref name=":10" />

The G1 featured a pressed metal handguard identical to the ones used on the Austrian Stg. 58, as well as the Dutch and Greek FALs, this being slightly slimmer than the standard wood or plastic handguards, and featuring horizontal lines running almost their entire length. G1s were also fitted with a unique removable prong flash hider, adding another external distinction. Of note is the fact that the G1 was the first FAL variant with the 3&nbsp;mm lower sights specifically requested by Germany, previous versions having the taller Commonwealth-type sights also seen on Israeli models. The German FAL had access to high quality Hensoldt Optische Werk F-series scopes with Zeiss-equivalent optics; having 4x magnification, with a 24&nbsp;mm (0.94&nbsp;in) objective lens.<ref>{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=29}}</ref>

The majority of the German G1 rifles were sold as surplus to the [[Turkish Land Forces|Turkish Army]] in the mid-1960's, and some G1s found their way to [[Rhodesia]] and [[Portuguese Colonial War|Portugal]].<ref name=":10" />{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=43}}<ref name=":11" />

=== Israel ===
[[File:Israeli Heavy Barrel FAL, note the hinged buttplate.jpg|thumb|Israeli Heavy Barrel FAL. Note the hinged butt plate.]]

After the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Forces]] (IDF) had to overcome several [[Military logistics|logistics problems]] which were a result of the wide variety of old firearms that were in service, such as the German [[Karabiner 98k|Mauser Kar 98k]] and some British [[Lee–Enfield]] rifles. In 1955 the IDF adopted the [[Israel Military Industries|IMI]]-produced [[Uzi]] submachine gun and the FN FAL in order to standardize their infantry armament;<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=21}}</ref> with the FAL being designated ''Rov've Mitta'enn'' or ''Romat'' (רומ"ט),<ref name=":1" /> abbreviation of "Self-Loading Rifle".

The FAL version ordered by the IDF came in two basic variants, both regular and heavy-barrel (squad automatic rifle/ light machine gun), and were chambered in 7.62mm NATO. The Israeli heavy barrel FAL (or FALO) was designated the ''Makle'a Kal'', or ''Makleon'',<ref name=":1" /> having a standard handguard improved with a perforated metal sleeve around the heavy barrel, and a wooden handguard with a heat shield.<ref name=":2">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=67}}</ref> The folding bipod being directly attached to the barrel.<ref name=":2" /> The Israeli Makleon was fed by a 20-round magazine.<ref name=":3">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=66}}</ref>

[[File:Operation Inferno. XXI.jpg|thumb|Paratroopers fighting on the outskirts of the town of [[Karameh]] during [[Battle of Karameh|Operation Inferno]], 21 March 1968. A paratrooper with a [[Light machine gun|Makleon]] is in position while a [[Rifle grenade|rifle-grenadier]] is to his right.]]

Analysing the Israeli campaign of 1956 in the Sinai, during the [[Suez Crisis]], [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[S.L.A. Marshall|SLA Marshall]] noted of the Makleon:<blockquote>By Israeli training practice, when the light machine guns are used as fire base to cover the forward movement of the rest of the section, they should not operate at more than two hundred yards' [183m] maximum range from the target. To cut that distance by half is considered better. In the attack, LMGs are rated as highly expendable items and are shoved far front. When the section rushes the enemy position under cover of the LMG fire, one rifleman stays behind to protect the gunners.<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>Marshall also notes the advantage of both rifle and LMG ammunition being interchangeable, with the squad carrying sixty 20-round magazines, with 1,200 rounds in total.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Marshall|first=S. L. A.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13515139|title=Sinai victory : command decisions in history's shortest war : Israel's hundred-hour conquest of Egypt east of Suez, autumn, 1956|publisher=Battery Press|year=1958|isbn=0-89839-085-0|location=Nashville|pages=241|oclc=13515139}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=48}}</ref>

The Israeli FALs were originally produced as selective-fire rifles, though later light-barrel rifle versions were altered to semi-automatic fire only.<ref name=":1" /> The first rifles were Belgian-made, with Israel later licence-producing the weapons and its magazines.<ref name=":1" /> The Israeli models are recognizable by a distinctive handguard with a forward perforated sheet metal section. Israeli-made magazines were made in the same FN standard of steel, finished with durable black enamel paint, and bearing two Hebrew characters stamped into the metal on one side.<ref>{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=24}}</ref>

The IDF always emphasized the used of rifle grenades, integrating its usage into their doctrine of night assaults.<ref name=":6" /> Approaching enemy positions within rifle-grenade range, initiating the assault with a volley of grenades onto the enemy positions intended to stun and suppress the defenders, while being immediately followed by the infantry assault while the enemy was shaken.<ref name=":6" />

<blockquote>Israel's infantry prefers the rifle-fired antitank grenade to the bazooka for shock effect on a group or bunker. At night, if the section should run into an ambush, the grenadier fires, and all the others rush straight in, not firing.<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>

[[File:IDF Paratroopers FN rifles 1965-06-05.jpg|thumb|[[Paratroopers Brigade|IDF Paratroopers]] with FN FAL rifles during a training march, 5 June 1965.]]

Initially, Israel manufactured a copy of the [[ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenade|Energa]] [[rifle grenade]], that would be surpassed by more recent designs still in production.<ref name=":7">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=49}}</ref> Of particular note is the [[BT/AT 52]],<ref name=":7" /> an IMI version of the BT rifle grenade derived from the earlier MA/AT 52 model. It can be fired both from 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons, which share the same-diameter muzzle device, with a maximum range of 300&nbsp;m (328yd) from 7.62mm guns. The BT/AT 52 is often seen in photographs with the FAL.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bukvoed.livejournal.com/274610.html?thread=2172850 |title=Images of Israeli use of rifle grenades from 1956 onwards|date = 24 October 2014| access-date = 22 April 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923155340/https://bukvoed.livejournal.com/274610.html?thread=2172850|archive-date=September 23, 2020}}</ref>

The Israeli FAL first saw action in relatively small quantities during the [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956, being the standard-issue rifle in the [[Six-Day War]] in June 1967, the [[War of Attrition]] of 1967–1970. During the [[Yom Kippur War]] of October 1973, the FAL was still in front-line service as the standard Israeli rifle, though increasing criticism eventually led to the phasing-out of the weapon. Israeli forces were primarily mechanized in nature; the long, heavy FAL slowed deployment drills, and proved exceedingly difficult to maneuver within the confines of a vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/6/06junnl.html |url-status=live |title=Newsletter – June 2006 |publisher=South African Military History Society |access-date=15 January 2025 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509100608/http://samilitaryhistory.org/6/06junnl.html|archive-date=9 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="Performer1">Bodinson, Holt, "Century's Golani Sporter: The Israeli-designed AK Hybrid is a Solid Performer", ''[[Guns (magazine)|Guns]]'', July 2007</ref> Additionally, Israeli forces experienced occasional jamming of the FAL due to heavy sand and dust ingress endemic to Middle Eastern desert warfare.<ref name=":8"/>

With the soldiers traveling in open-topped halftracks in fast-paced operations, with tank tracks filling the air with clouds of dust filled with fine grit, soldiers would jump from the half-tracks to hit the sand, finding the rifles filthy at the moment of contact.<ref name=":8">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|p=50}}</ref> In such lightning-fast mobile warfare, the men would hardly have time to eat, sleep or clean their rifles.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="Performer1" /> Though the IDF evaluated a few modified FAL rifles with 'sand clearance' slots in the bolt carrier and receiver (which were already part of the Commonwealth L1A1/C1A1 design), malfunction rates did not significantly improve.<ref name="Magazine1">"Weapons Wizard Israeli Galili", ''[[Soldier of Fortune (magazine)|Soldier of Fortune]]'', March 1982</ref>  The Israeli FAL was eventually replaced from 1972 onwards<ref name=":1" /> by the [[M16 rifle|M16]] and in 1974 by the [[IMI Galil|Galil]].<ref name="Performer1" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name="Magazine1" /> The FAL remained in production in Israel into the 1980s.<ref name=":0" />

=== Portugal ===
During the colonial war in Angola, [[Portuguese Guinea|Guinea]] and Mozambique (the [[Portuguese Colonial War|Ultramar War]]), the FAL was used by the Portuguese alongside the [[Heckler & Koch G3|HK G3]] and the [[ArmaLite AR-10|AR10]]. In Portuguese service, the FN FAL was designated ''Espingarda Automática 7,62&nbsp;mm FN m/962''. Those were Belgian-made FN FAL and German G1 rifles, and they became favoured by special forces units such as the ''Caçadores Especiais'' ("Special Hunters/Rangers").<ref name=":11">{{harvnb|Cashner|2013|pp=46–47}}</ref>

=== Rhodesia ===
Like most British dependencies in the postwar era, [[Southern Rhodesia]] adopted the Commonwealth pattern [[L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle|L1A1 SLR]] by the early 1960s.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=15}} Southern Rhodesia contributed small military contingents to aid British counter-insurgency operations during the [[Malayan Emergency]] and the [[Aden Emergency]], and adopted the L1A1 as its standard infantry rifle around that time.<ref name="COIN">{{cite book|title=Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare|last=Wood|first=JRT|date=2008|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-281-3|editor1-last=Malkasian|editor1-first=Carter|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/counterinsurgenc00dani/page/189 189–342]|editor2-last=Marston|editor2-first=Daniel|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/counterinsurgenc00dani/page/189}}</ref> As a result of its participation in those conflicts, the [[Rhodesian Security Forces]] inherited the British emphasis on long-range marksmanship and the use of riflemen in small units as the primary cornerstone of major counter-insurgency campaigns.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=35}} The standard small unit of the security forces, which included the Southern Rhodesian Army as well as various paramilitary police and internal security  divisions, was the stick; this consisted of four riflemen, each armed with SLRs, and a machine gunner carrying an [[FN MAG]].{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=42}} The United Kingdom continued to export L1A1s to Southern Rhodesia until that country issued a [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|unilateral declaration of independence]] as [[Rhodesia]] in 1965.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=15}} Rhodesia subsequently became subject to a British arms embargo and the SLRs were largely relegated to reserve army and police units.<ref name="Fireforce">{{cite book |last=Chris Cocks|title=Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry|edition=July 1, 2001|pages=139–141 |publisher=Covos Day|isbn= 1-919874-32-1|date=2002-04-03}}</ref>

During the [[Rhodesian Bush War]], the Rhodesian Security Forces turned to a sympathetic [[South Africa]] as a major supplier of arms. South Africa already manufactured a metric-pattern FAL under licence as the R1, and transferred a number of these rifles to Rhodesia.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=43}} Rhodesia also acquired FAL variants illicitly on the international black market, including original FN rifles from Belgium<ref name="Impasse">{{cite book|title=A matter of weeks rather than months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith: Sanctions, Aborted Settlements and War 1965–1969|last=Wood|first=J R T|date=April 2008|location=Victoria, British Columbia|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4251-4807-2|page=191}}</ref> and G1s from West Germany.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=43}} Many of the FAL derivatives in Rhodesian service were fitted with custom muzzle brakes to reduce recoil on fully automatic fire.<ref name="Fireforce" />

The heavy Rhodesian emphasis on individual marksmanship and the ballistic qualities of the 7.62×51mm round often allowed outnumbered Rhodesian patrols to fight their way through larger groups of insurgents from the [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA) or [[Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army]] (ZIPRA), both of which were equipped primarily with Kalashnikov-pattern automatic rifles such as the [[AK-47]] and [[AKM]].{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=46}} Rhodesian troops were trained to fire directly into the insurgents' cover whenever an ambush was encountered, shooting their FALs in bursts that were deliberately aimed low and graduating their fire upwards.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=46}} Their 7.62×51mm ammunition could penetrate thick bush and tree trunks more readily than the [[7.62×39mm]] cartridge used in the AK-47, and was more successful at killing the enemy combatants in cover.{{sfn|Cashner|2013|p=46}}

Following [[1980 Southern Rhodesian general election|general elections in 1980]] which brought the former insurgent leadership to power, the country finally achieved internationally recognised independence as [[Zimbabwe]], and the Rhodesian Security Forces were amalgamated with ZANLA and ZIPRA.<ref name="zimstudy">{{citation |last=Nelson |first=Harold |title=Zimbabwe: a country study |publisher=The American University (Washington, D.C.) |year=1983 |isbn=0-16-001598-7}}</ref> As the Zimbabwean government had inherited vast stockpiles of 7.62×51mm ammunition from the Rhodesian era, it initially ordered the insurgents' small arms to be placed into reserve storage and confirmed the FAL as the standard service rifle of the new [[Zimbabwe Defence Forces]] (ZDF).<ref name="zimstudy" /> However, a successful sabotage action carried out against the preexisting stockpiles of 7.62×51mm ammunition, possibly by disgruntled Rhodesian service members or South African special forces, negated this factor.<ref name="zimstudy" /> The ZDF responded by bringing the insurgent weapons out of storage to complement the FAL, and gradually phased out the weapon type in favour of Kalashnikov rifles to simplify maintenance and logistics.<ref name="zimstudy" />

=== South Africa ===
The FAL was produced under licence<ref name="worldpolicy2000" /> in South Africa by [[Lyttleton Engineering Works]], where it is known as the R1. After a competition between the German [[Heckler & Koch G3|G3]] rifle, the Armalite [[AR-10]], and the FN FAL, the [[South African Defence Force]] adopted three main variants of the FAL: a rifle with the designation R1, a "lightweight" variant of the FN FAL 50.64 with folding butt, fabricated locally under the designation R2, and a model designed for police use not capable of automatic fire under the designation R3.<ref>Ezell, 1988, p. 328</ref> 200,000 were destroyed in UN-sponsored "Operation Mouflon" in 2001.

A number of other variants of the R1 were built, the R1 HB, which had a heavy barrel and bipod, the R1 Sniper, which could be fitted with a scope and the R1 Para Carbine, which used a Single Point IR sight and had a shorter barrel.<ref>Small Arms Illustrated, 2010</ref> R1 was standard issue in the SADF until the introduction of the [[Vektor R4|R4]] in the early 1980s. Still used by the SANDF as a designated marksman rifle.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} The first South African-produced rifle, serial numbered 200001, was presented to the then Prime Minister, [[Hendrik Verwoerd]], by Armscor and is now on view at the [[South African National Museum of Military History]] in [[Johannesburg]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the FN-F.A.L. Rifle in South Africa|url=http://www.saaaca.org.za/?page_id=916|website=Southern African Arms and Ammunition Collectors Association|access-date=23 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123141639/http://www.saaaca.org.za/?page_id=916|archive-date=23 November 2015}}</ref>

=== Syria ===
[[File:Al-Siddiq Battalions FN FAL eastern Ghouta.png|thumb|A fighter of the Siddiq Battalions fires a scoped FN FAL at [[Syrian Armed Forces]] in the town of [[Otaybah, Syria|Otaybah]], eastern [[Ghouta]], 2013.]]

Syria adopted the FN FAL in 1956. 12,000 rifles were bought in 1957.{{sfn|Jenzen-Jones|Spleeters|2015|p=7}} The Syrian state produced 7.62×51mm cartridges{{sfn|Jenzen-Jones|Spleeters|2015|p=7}} and is reported to have acquired FALs from other sources. During the [[Syrian Civil War]], FALs from various sources, including Israel, were used by governmental forces, rebels, [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) and [[People's Protection Units|Kurdish forces]].{{sfn|Jenzen-Jones|Spleeters|2015|p=7}} The [[Syrian Arab Army]] and loyalist paramilitary forces used it as a designated marksman rifle.<ref name="104th Brigade">{{cite news|title=La 104ème brigade de la Garde républicaine syrienne, troupe d'élite et étendard du régime de Damas|url=http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/la-104eme-brigade-de-la-garde-republicaine-troupe-elite-regime-damas-combats-alep-ghouta-deir-ezzor-bachar-al-assad-issam-zahreddine-etat-islamique-arm%C3%A9e-syrienne-artillerie-druze-daech-forces-speciales|date=20 March 2017|language=fr|work=[[France-Soir]]|access-date=4 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019004114/http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/la-104eme-brigade-de-la-garde-republicaine-troupe-elite-regime-damas-combats-alep-ghouta-deir-ezzor-bachar-al-assad-issam-zahreddine-etat-islamique-arm%C3%A9e-syrienne-artillerie-druze-daech-forces-speciales|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> At the end of 2012, the use of [[.308 Winchester]] cartridges may have caused these FALs to malfunction, thus reducing the popularity of the weapon.{{sfn|Jenzen-Jones|Spleeters|2015|p=23}}

=== United States ===
{{Main|T48 rifle}}

[[File:Century Arms FN FAL.jpg|thumb|[[Century International Arms|Century Arms]] FAL rifle built from an [[L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle|L1A1]] parts kit.]]

Following World War II and the establishment of the NATO alliance, there was pressure to adopt a standard rifle, alliance-wide. The FAL was originally designed to handle intermediate cartridges, but in an attempt to secure US favor for the rifle, the FAL was redesigned to use the newly developed 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The US tested several variants of the FAL to replace the M1 Garand. These rifles were tested against the T44, essentially an updated version of the basic Garand design.<ref name="STE">Stevens, R. Blake, ''The FAL Rifle'', Collector Grade Publications, {{ISBN|0-88935-168-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-88935-168-4}} (1993)</ref> Despite the T44 and T48 performing similarly in trials,<ref name="STE" /> the T44 was, for several reasons, selected and the US formally adopted the T44 as the [[M14 rifle|M14 service rifle]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

During the late 1980s and 1990s, many countries decommissioned the FAL from their armories and sold them ''en masse'' to United States importers as surplus. The rifles were imported to the United States as fully automatic guns. Once in the U.S., the FALs were "de-militarized" (upper receiver destroyed) to eliminate the rifles' character as an automatic rifle, as stipulated by the [[Gun Control Act of 1968]]. GCA 68 currently prohibits the importation of foreign-made full-automatic rifles prior to the enactment of the Gun Control Act. Semiautomatic versions of the same firearm were legal to import until the Semiautomatic Assault Rifle Ban of 1989.

Thousands of the resulting "parts kits" were sold at generally low prices ($90 – $250) to hobbyists. The hobbyists rebuilt the parts kits to legal and functional semi-automatic rifles on new semi-automatic upper receivers. FAL rifles are still commercially available from a few domestic firms in semi-auto configuration: Enterprise Arms, DSArms, and [[Century International Arms]]. Century Arms created a semi-automatic version L1A1 with an [[IMBEL]] upper receiver and surplus British [[Royal Small Arms Factory|Enfield]] inch-pattern parts, while DSArms used Steyr-style metric-pattern FAL designs. This standard-metric difference means the Century Arms and DSArms firearms are not made from fully interchangeable batches of parts.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

=== Venezuela ===
Venezuela placed an order for 5,000 FN-made FAL rifles in 1954, in the 7×49.15mm Optimum 2 caliber.<ref name=":0" /> This [[.280 British#Variants|7×49mm]], also known as 7&nbsp;mm Liviano or 7&nbsp;mm Venezuelan, is essentially a [[7×57mm]] round shortened to intermediate length and closer to being a true intermediate round than the 7.62×51mm NATO.<ref name=":0" /> This unusual caliber was jointly developed by Venezuelan and Belgian engineers motivated by a global move towards intermediate calibers. The Venezuelans, who had been exclusively using the 7×57mm round in their light and medium weapons since the turn of the 20th century, felt it was a perfect platform on which to base a calibre tailored to the particular rigours of the Venezuelan terrain. Eventually the plan was dropped despite having ordered millions of rounds and thousands of weapons on this caliber. As the Cold War escalated, the military command felt it necessary to align with NATO on geopolitical grounds despite not being a member, resulting in the adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The 5,000 rifles of the first batch were rebarrelled to 7.62×51mm.<ref name=":0" />

When marching victoriously into Havana in 1959, Fidel Castro was carrying an FN-made Venezuelan FAL in 7&nbsp;mm Liviano.<ref name=":3" />

Until recently, the FAL was the main service rifle of the Venezuelan army, made under license by [[CAVIM]].<ref name="CAVIM">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/asmp/library/articles/PIR_Winter_2007_Recurrent.pdf|title=A Recurrent Latin American Nightmare|access-date=2010-04-01|publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]]|author=Pablo Dreyfus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613045713/http://fas.org/asmp/library/articles/PIR_Winter_2007_Recurrent.pdf|archive-date=2010-06-13|url-status=live}}</ref> Venezuela has bought 100,000 [[AK-103]] assault rifles from Russia in order to replace the old FALs.<ref name="CAVIM" /> Although the full shipment arrived by the end of 2006, the FAL will remain in service with the Venezuelan Reserve Forces and the Territorial Guard.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}