FN SCAR
rifle family by FN
The FN SCAR (SOF (Special Operations Forces) Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consists of two main types. The SCAR-L, for "light", is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO and the SCAR-H, for "heavy", is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Both types are available in Close Quarters Combat (CQC), Standard (STD), and Long Barrel (LB) variants.
In early 2004, SOCOM issued a solicitation for a family of Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifles, the so-called SCAR, designed around two different calibers but featuring high commonality of parts and identical ergonomics. The SCAR system completed low rate initial production testing in June 2007. After some delays, the first rifles began to be issued to operational units in April 2009, and a battalion of the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment was the first large unit deployed into combat with 600 of the rifles in 2009.
The U.S. Special Operations Command later cancelled their purchase of the SCAR-L and planned to remove the rifle from their inventory by 2013. However, they will continue to purchase the SCAR-H version, and also plan to purchase 5.56mm conversion kits for the SCAR-H, allowing it to substitute for the SCAR-L. As of 2015, the SCAR was in service in over 20 countries.
On October 16, 2025, FN America announced that it had completed the final production run of all civilian-market SCAR rifles, with the exception of the SCAR 15P. The company stated that spare parts, including barrel assemblies, magazines, and other accessories, would remain available for a "period of time." FN America also confirmed that service support for existing owners would continue during this "period of time." The announcement indicated that additional information regarding future FN products would be released ahead of the 2026 SHOT Show.
The public source identifies “FN SCAR” as rifle family by FN. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around SCAR, rifle and family.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q27671. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2013.
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This entry incorporates text from “FN SCAR” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.