FN Herstal has increased weapons production by 1.5 times

Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Belgian small arms manufacturer FN Herstal has increased its production of machine guns by 1.5 times. The company demonstrated how the world’s best machine guns are manufactured.

Financial Times correspondents who visited the company’s plant near Liege, Belgium, reported on this.

The war in Ukraine has renewed interest in traditional small arms after years of counterterrorism operations, shifting priorities to machine guns, which play an important role in trench warfare.

“Today, the most important segment for us is machine guns. This is understandable,” Julien Comper, CEO, stated, adding that demand has shifted from global customers to NATO and European countries.

The company’s 7.62 mm FN Mag machine guns, also known by the American designation M240, are in high demand. During the Cold War, each of these machine guns was handmade. Today, however, the Belgian state-owned manufacturer has switched to using high-tech robotics. But one thing has remained the same: key parts are still produced by hand.

Workers assemble metal parts made on CNC machines, handling each part by hand before it becomes part of the FN Mag’s construction. Therefore, the production line moves at the speed of the workers.

“You can do a lot with machines, but at some point you need the expertise of people,” Henry De Harenne, a representative of Herstal, shared. “They know exactly what to check for, where defects might be.”

“Two or three years ago, we were producing about 3000 [FN Minimis per year]. Now we produce about 4,500 a year,” Bris Granjan, a 23-year-old factory worker, said, as he assembles an FN Minimi handgun. It takes him about two hours to complete one machine gun.

Julien Comper explained that his company was able to increase production by using the existing infrastructure, which is currently operating at its capacity limit. FN Herstal faced problems when it came to additional investments.

“What is the new normal that we have to get used to? If the needs are going to be greater in the future, we need to have as clear a vision as possible to be able to make the necessary investments ”, the company’s CEO pointed out.

One example is the production of the FN Evolys, a new generation ultra-light machine gun, some versions of which weigh as little as 5.5 kilograms and are now being produced in small batches using 3D printing. The company wanted to launch a full-fledged production line with high-tech machines, but is not ready to invest in it due to the lack of a “firm” order for a large number of products.

Comper said that despite the EU’s announcement of plans to increase defense spending, he needs more certainty in the market over the next five to ten years.

“When we get certainty about the plans for the future, other obstacles, such as material and human resources, can be solved,” he shared, noting that this will have a ‘cascading effect’ on production.

At the same time, the Belgian government is biased against the European project of lending €150 billion to EU member states for arms purchases, as Belgium already has a large public debt.

Comper believes that an alternative to this could be joint European contracts that would help FN Herstal reach the required production volumes. He added that the European defense market is currently too fragmented, with each country attempting to “rebuild its own local defense industry.”

In 2023, the Belgian government signed an agreement with FN Herstal to supply ammunition and maintain weapons worth approximately €1.3 billion over the next 20 years. Other governments, including France, are negotiating to join the initiative.

Another way to expand is to merge with another company. The Belgian arms manufacturer, which already owns the American company Browning, is in talks to buy French ammunition manufacturer Sofisport and is looking at other companies.

The deal with Sofisport is expected to be finalized by the end of June, pending regulatory approval, Compère noted. It plans to keep production locally.