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Fabrique Nationale FNS

2011 MODERN

History of Fabrique Nationale FNS

The FNS is a traditional FN America semi-automatic pistol for military, law enforcement and commercial use. The series was launched in 2011 and continues production today (2018). Its global operators include several U.S. law enforcement agencies and the Liege Police Service in Belgium.

FNS is based on the FNX double-acting/single-acting model from early 2009.

The FNS features a signature exterior design with ribbed full-length rails, under-barrel accessory rails (MIL-STD-1913) and patterned grips. Internally, it is based on a double-action (DAO), striker system that operates via a short recoil, locking breech/disconnect.

Feeding is via a 10-, 12-, 14- or 17-round spring magazine inserted into the bottom of the gun - although the amount of ammunition depends on the model/magazine (10- and 17-round magazines are typical for 9mm formats). The base model has an overall length of 7.25 inches and a 4-inch barrel. Manual safety is optional, while both the slide release and magazine release are ambidextrous to accommodate right- and left-handed shooters. The slide and barrel assembly (the latter is cold forged) are made of stainless steel, while lightweight but strong polymers are used in the rest of the construction of this pistol. The straps are interchangeable to suit the shooter's needs.

A mounted darkroom indicator is included for quick notification of darkroom status, and front and rear sights are available - as a standard fixed 3-point sight or as an optional fixed 3-point night vision.

FNS is currently (2018) sold as: FNS-9, FNS-9 Compact, FNS-9 Compact FDE, FNS-9 Longslide, FNS-40, FNS-40 Compact and FNS-40 Longslide - Indicates that each Names of different qualities of each model (0.40 caliber, compact size, extended slide, etc...). The collection comes in 9 x 19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W flavours.

The compact shape facilitates concealed carry for shooters who need this quality, while the long slider shape offers a longer 5" barrel and extended slider for competitive shooting.