The FAMAE SAF is a

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, 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 describe its design concept as an autom ...

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 Military of Chile, Chilean armed forces and the ''Carabineros de Chile, Carabinero ...

(''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 Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...

submachine gun, firing from a

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

. It is based on the Swiss

SIG SG 540 Sig used as a name may refer to: *Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (lo ...

assault rifle 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 r ...

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 holds 30 rounds. The selector has four settings: safe, single shot, 3-round burst and

fully automatic An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...

. 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 muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit ...

and folding buttstock, and the Mini-SAF. The SAF SD is a suppressed variant, it has 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 ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and a ...

. It includes a new retractable and foldable stock, a new handguard and Picatinny rails 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 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 law enforcement agency (Military Police (Brazil)) of the military kind in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the largest state police force in the count ...

. * : In service with the

Chilean Armed Forces The Chilean Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) 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 Mi ...

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

References

{{FAMAE FAMAE 9mm Parabellum submachine guns Weapons of Chile