FN FAL

The FN FAL is a Belgian battle rifle designed by Dieudonne Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal, introduced in 1951 and entering wide production from 1953 in 7.62x51mm NATO caliber with a gas-operated action and tilting breechblock. More than 90 countries adopted the rifle during the Cold War, and its ubiquity among NATO and allied forces earned it the nickname the right arm of the free world. Approximately 7 million FN FAL rifles were produced, and Commonwealth nations built their own licensed variant known as the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The United States was a notable holdout among NATO members, choosing the domestically designed M14 rifle instead of adopting the FAL.