The FAMAE SAF is a

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

produced and manufactured by

FAMAE FAMAE (''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'', "Factories and Workshops of the Army") is a Chilean state-owned firearms manufacturer. Its products are used by the Chilean armed forces and the ''Carabineros'' police force. The company produces ...

(''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'') since 1993. Since 1999, Taurus have produced the SAF under license in .40 S&W for Brazilian law enforcement. Semi-automatic-only variants manufactured by FAMAE are mostly marketed for sale in Canada.

Design

The SAF is a blowback-operated select-fire submachine gun, firing from a

closed bolt A semi or full-automatic firearm which is said to fire from a closed bolt or closed breech is one where, when ready to fire, a round is in the chamber and the bolt and working parts are forward ''in battery''. When the trigger is pulled, the ...

. It is based on the Swiss

SIG SG 540 The SG 540 is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the early 1970s by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG, currently SAN Swiss Arms AG) of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Neuhausen, Switzerland as a private venture primarily destined for ...

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

which was produced under license in Chile in the 1980s. The design is a shortened version of the SIG 540 rifle, but the rifle's

rotating bolt Rotating bolt is a method of locking the breech (or rear barrel) of a firearm closed for firing. Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse developed the first rotating bolt firearm, the "Dreyse needle gun", in 1836. The Dreyse locked using the bolt handle ra ...

has been replaced with a simple blowback bolt. The SAF also has a bolt hold-open catch that engages after the final shot. Otherwise, the receiver, stock, fore-end, trigger/hammer assembly and floating firing pin design are from the SIG 540. (It also retains the folding trigger guard for winter glove use.) The upper and lower receiver as well as the trigger guard are steel, and the pistol-grip and handguards are all made from polymer. The ambidextrous safety/fire selector switch, as well as the interchangeability with SIG 552/553 handguards are a feature found on the latest versions. Older versions used their own handguards. The 9mm magazines use a transparent plastic made from polymer, allowing the number of available rounds to be determined visually. The magazine is fitted with protruding lugs on one side and corresponding slots on the other, allowing two or three magazines to be clipped together for a quicker magazine change. The .40 S&W magazines are made of steel and hold 30 rounds. The selector has four settings: safe, single shot, 3-round burst and

fully automatic An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firear ...

. Some models were made in a semi-auto only configuration for law enforcement and civilian customers.

Variants

The SAF is manufactured in four different variants: standard configuration with a fixed polymer buttstock, standard configuration with a left-side-folding tubular metal buttstock, SAF SD, which used an integral

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

and folding buttstock, and the Mini-SAF. The SAF SD is a suppressed variant with a slightly longer barrel length of . It has a lowered fire rate of 980 rpm and a muzzle velocity of 300m/s. The Mini-SAF is a more compact variant, at only long. It has a short barrel, no shoulder stock (although the left-side-folding tubular metal buttstock of the standard SAF can be attached), and a vertical foregrip. The Mini-SAF can use the standard 30-round magazines, but comes with special 20-round magazines for a smaller profile. All versions have post-front-sights with adjustable elevation, and aperture-rear-sights, adjustable for windage. The SAF-200 is a modernised variant, which is being tested by FAMAE and the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

. It includes a new retractable and foldable stock, a new handguard and

Picatinny rails The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mountin ...

provided for modern optics and lateral attachments. The rails are optional for the other SAF variants, but is standard on the SAF-200.

Users

* : In service Airport Security Police and Mendoza Provincial Police. * : In service Federal Highway Police and

Military Police of São Paulo State The Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo (''São Paulo State Military Police'') is a military law enforcement agency of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the largest state police force in Brazil. According to São Paulo state law, the a ...

. * : In service with the

Chilean Armed Forces The Chilean Armed Forces () is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Minister of Defence. In recent ...

and police.Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns''. Salamander Books Ltd. . * : Service in The National Civilian Police. * : Was used by the National Republican Guard.

References

{{FAMAE FAMAE 9mm Parabellum submachine guns .40 S&W submachine guns Submachine guns of Chile