#FNMinimi

FN Hersal has a new variant of its famous FN Minimi Mk3. The new variant has a longer one-piece top rail, to be able to accommodate two optics in-line. A lot of FN Herstal’s customers have a need to mount a red dot with a magnifier, or a day optic with night vision or thermals for 24-hour use. A single rail will improve repeatability and accuracy. The new Minimi has a small folding backup rear peep sight integrated into the rail.

Photo Of The Day – we’re looking at Norwegian soldiers belonging to the eFP Battlegroup Lithuania, as they’re using their Heckler & Koch 416N. Norway was among the first countries to start using the HK416, already in 2008.

Some lovely and clean images of the FN Minimi in action by NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Lithuania, perfect for TFB’s Photo Of The Day. You see both the 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm NATO versions, and even with blanks in the belt.

Andres Industries is a medium-sized German company based in Berlin with a lot of interesting products for thermal imaging. Many NATO member states are now modernizing their night combat capabilities, and that goes for the Czech Armed Forces as well. Above you can see one of their upgraded FN-Minimis.

After seeing a considerable number of Colt Canada C7 rifles and C8 carbines being used in Ukraine, I decided to investigate their origins reaching out to various Ministries of Defense to enquire if they had provided the rifles. The Canadian Ministry of National Defence not only confirmed that they had provided various small arms but their spokesperson was also kind enough to confirm some of the types of small arms and light weapons which Canada has transferred to Ukraine since February. 

The Slovenian National Police Force’s tactical police unit is known as Specialna Enota Policije (SEP), which translates as “Special Police Unit.” The SEP is used to carry out counterterrorism operations and other risky jobs that are too dangerous or challenging for the ordinary police force. They’re known as the “Red Panthers” and can be seen here using the Heckler & Koch HK416A5, G28 and G28 Patrol. Further down you will also see the rather peculiar FN F2000S.

Norway’s Armed Forces have been using the FN Minimi Light Machine Gun (in 5,56×45 NATO) since the late 80s. Recently they awarded FN Herstal another contract to supply up to 4,000 FN Minimi 7.62 Mk3 Light Machine Guns, a movement up in caliber as you can see. In this Photo Of The Day, we see the Telemark Battalion conducting a live-fire exercise with various firearms of the Norwegian Army.

Photo Of The Day: The M249 Light Machine Gun is made in the United States by FN Manufacturing LLC in Columbia, South Carolina. Here we can see it in action in the exercise Cold Response, spitting out those 5.56mm bullets at a high rate of fire.

A Norwegian soldier with the FN Minimi in Bamako, Mali. One of the purposes of TFB’s Photo Of The Day is to broaden the audience for the excellent work done by professionals in combat photography. A perfect picture may take everything from a split second to months of planning, and it would be sad to see that kind of work go unnoticed.

Some use reindeer and some use K9 Belgian Malinois to travel in the snow. In our Photo Of The Day, we have Norwegian Coastal Rangers conducting an air mobile operation together with the Royal Norwegian Air Force 339 Squadron. This happened during exercise Arctic Hawk in Northern Norway. Apart from the dog, you can see weapons like the Heckler & Koch HK416N and the FN Minimi.

Today we have pictures from the Russian-Pakistani Friendship shooting competition from 2018. The results were a draw, but we’re left with images of interesting firearms.

The FN Minimi on full-automatic fire is always a pleasure to see in pictures, not to mention in real-life. Developed by Ernest Vervier, it is widely adopted and used by more than 75 countries. The U.S. Army calls it the M249 SAW light machine gun. The Para version, with a short barrel and a telescopic buttstock, is used by the French Army, and here by the 35e régiment d’infanterie.

If there was a French version of the movie Apocalypse Now (1979), perhaps this would be one of the scenes. I guess the action of the FAMAS wouldn’t rock any kind of canoe, but I wonder how much the recoil of that machine gun would make the boat go in the opposite direction? In this Photo Of The Day, we can see the machine guns of France in action.

The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment Sales Authority recently released a booklet containing arms and equipment which is to be sold off and disposed. This includes SIG Sauer pistols, FN light machine guns, aircraft, armoured vehicles and a large ship!

The Norwegian Army and their Home Guard must be among the most well-equipped armies and forces in the world, and they have plenty of good combat photographers as well. It’s only natural that we see them quite often in TFB’s Photo Of The Day.