The announcement comes from FN UK: the company has been awarded the Police Primary Carbine System Framework Agreement with the FN 15 Advanced Semi-Automatic Rifle (ASR) in 5.56 NATO. This means that all UK police forces are now able to acquire the approved FN 15 ASR weapon as part of the PPCS framework. The latter is a seven-year multi-force framework procurement agreement managed by the UK Metropolitan Police whose primary purpose is to standardize the supply of carbines and accessories (including a Multi-Functional Aiming Laser – MFAL).
Besides the FN 15 ASR, other five 5.56 NATO carbine platforms have been approved under the established framework agreement. These include: KAC KS-1, Glock GR-115, Beretta NARP, IWI Tavor, Colt Canada C8. Each individual UK police unit will be able to procure one of the mentioned weapon systems according to its needs.
FN 15 ASR: tailored for law enforcement
Originally introduced into the US commercial market in 2014 as the FN 15, over the years the product offering has expanded to specific law enforcement configurations as well as select-fire configurations (FN 16) with over 130,000 produced and shipped to law enforcement agencies, federal agencies and commercial customers. The FN 15 ASR was developed by FN for the needs of Law Enforcement Officers – the program was accelerated to meet the timelines for the UK Police tender.
In detail, the FN 15 ASR barrel has the same hard chrome lining used on FN's belt-fed machine guns and offers the highest level of durability due to the hammer forging process and FN’s proprietary 21CrMoV5-11 steel. Moreover, every carbine is subject to extensive quality checks, including visual and functional inspections during final assembly.
“This is a great opportunity for FN to reach into the UK law enforcement market with a newly developed product, tailored to their requirements,” commented Michelle Cantoni, CEO of FN UK. “As the sole manufacturer in the UK of assault rifles and machine guns we are proud to empower those who serve, defend and protect us with the most dependable security solutions.”
For more information please visit the FN website.
