Way back in the early 20th Century, the world’s armies were generally equipped with bolt-action rifles in calibers of around .30 in — exemplified by rounds such as the U.S. .30-06, the British .303 and the German 7.92x57mm – which offered a range (effective or so) of around 1,000 meters. This remained virtually unchanged during WWI, but rifleman theory began to be modified in WWII. Not only were semi-automatic rifles introduced by the U.S. (the M1 Garand), the Soviet Union (SVT-40), and Germany (G43), but the German Wehrmacht later also broke new ground with the service introduction of its new family of MP-44/StG-44 assault rifles and the corresponding 7.92x33mm “KurzPatrone” round. The Russians soon followed suit with their AK-47/AKM rifles in 7.62x39mm caliber. Post WWII rifle cartridge evolution included the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm round in the mid-1950s, followed by the U.S. choice of the smaller 5.56x45mm M193 cartridge for the AR-15/M16 rifle which debuted in combat a decade later during the Vietnam War. The early 1980s saw NATO adopting the slightly-modified SS109 (M855) 5.56x45mm round it had chosen as standard for rifle use. Then, the “five-five-six” quickly became the caliber of choice of almost every military force in countries outside the Soviet
area of influence.

Pretty much like a great number of the world’s armies, the Exército Brasileiro (Brazilian Army) was widely equipped with 7x57mm bolt-action Mauser rifles of different origins (CZ, DWM, FN, Mauser, Oviedo) during the earlier periods of the 20th Century. In the mid-1930s, the service’s Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory), located in the city of the same name in the Minas Gerais State, started the local manufacture of the Mauser M1908/34 rifle, a 200 mm shorter variant of the omnipresent 1908 model that was locally called the “Mosquetão” (Musketoon). While fighting alongside U.S. 5th Army forces in the Italian front in World War II, however, troops of the Força Expedicionária Brasileira (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) were armed with M1903 Springfield and M1 Garand rifles, plus M1918 BARs and Browning M1917/M1919 machine guns. Following the conflict, the Army not only kept all those weapons but immense supplies of .30-06 ammo as well, which prompted it to decide to abandon the older 7x57mm cartridge as its standard round. Local rifle production followed suit, and Fábrica de Itajubá soon introduced its Mq .30 M1949 and a later Mq .30 M954 bolt-action rifles, both in .30-06.

This 1984-85 prototype marked the shift to the FAL tilting-block breech locking system for the IMBEL 5.56x45mm rifle venture and the use of the characteristic tubular folding stock of the larger-caliber gun. Note the short wooden handguard and the unprotected gas cylinder.

In the early 1950s, an attempt was made at the Itajubá facilities to make a Brazilian variant of the German G43 semi-automatic rifle chambered to the U.S. round, this resulting in a very small batch of the so-called Mosquetão Semi/Automático .30 Modelo 1954 (Mq S/Aut. .30 M954) for test purposes, the guns apparently employing a BAR-type 20-round detachable box magazine. Another similar G43 conversion, which received no designation, was also made by the Army’s Arsenal de Guerra do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro War Arsenal), but both ventures were unsuccessful for reasons never clearly explained.

The official adoption of the 7.62x51mm cartridge by NATO in 1954 was a clear indication of what would happen in most Western nations in the decades to come. Exactly ten years later, in 1964, the Brazilian Army announced not only its shift to that round but also the choice of the FN FAL rifle to equip its troops, and this would include full local manufacture of the Belgian gun. This, of course, would be carried out by Fábrica de Itajubá, and activities began in August of that year to get the program started. This involved the acceptance of an initial batch of 48,000 complete FALs, 2,000 units in KDCs (Knocked Down Components), and 2,000 FAPs (Fuzis Autmáticos Pesados, Heavy Automatic Rifles), the heavy-barrel SAW model), plus ammunition, rifle grenades, production tooling, technical drawings, etc. On May 5, 1977, State-owned IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil was created, and two months later the Itajubá Factory was incorporated to the new company as Filial Número 5 – Fábrica de Itajubá. Full nationalization of the Fz 7,62 M964 (fixed stock) and Fz 7,62 M964A1 (foldable stock) FALs had been achieved in 1973, the type also having been adopted by the Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy) and its Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Corps) in 1978 as a replacement of their FN SAFN-49s in .30-06 caliber that had been in service since 1957. For the record, the Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force) adopted the 5.45x45mm Hecker & Koch HK33 in rifle and carbine variants in the very early 1970s, becoming one of the first international users of this German weapon.

The 1983 Fz 5.56 IMBEL MD1 compared to a standard fixed-stock FAL.

Mention should also be made of the Mq 7.62 M968, the so-called Mosque-FAL, a Fábrica de Itajubá conversion of the local Mausers to the 7.62x51mm caliber that also incorporated modified sights (FAL-type, rear; G3-type, front), a standard FAL 22-mm flash hider fitted to the 415 mm barrel, a folded-down bolt handle, and a rubber buttplate. Thousands of those rifles were made in Itajubá, and found their way into Brazilian Army second-line units, mainly those involved in training.

The first move towards a Fábrica de Itajubá-made 5.56×45 mm rifle materialized in mid-1983, when the company completed the prototype of a selective-fire rifle chambered to that round, the Fz 5.56 IMBEL MD1, that had been designed and built by the company’s Oficina de Protótipos (Prototypes Workshop). Not surprisingly, it incorporated more than a few FAL components, the fixed stock and grip/trigger group being the more evident. However, the gas-operated piston system parted from the Belgian rifle’s tilting breechblock component, and employed a rotary bolt with multiple locking lugs, the 20-round steel magazine being a proprietary type. The gun featured a redesigned lower receiver fitted with a stamped magazine housing, as well as a perforated jacket that involved both the gas tube and part of the 464 mm-long barrel, which was fitted with a NATO-standard 22mm flash hider. Loaded weight was about 4 kg, heavy all right, but weight reduction along the development phase was a goal of the small design team. The author had a chance to fire that single prototype at the factory range in June 1983, and pretty much liked how it handled and worked. Its moderate cyclic rate of fire of roughly 700 rounds per minute plus the relatively high weight (for the caliber at hand) was a plus when it came to controllability in full auto.

This FIL-97 rifle, while introducing a polymer-made foldable stock, still retained typical FAL components, such as the pistol grip/trigger assembly and the synthetic handguard. The FILC-97 carbine, on the other hand, broke new ground in the general configuration department.

It should be pointed out that the initial development of this weapon did not come as a result of a possible local army intention of a general move to the smaller caliber, but rather of an in-house study that showed that this might be a trend in the future. Official interest eventually came in the form of a Brazilian Army Staff document of 1986 (Objetivos Básicos Operacionais 39/86, Basic Operational Targets 39/86) which stated that a 5.56x45mm rifle would be needed as the basic weapon for the 1 Batalhão de Operações Especiais (1st Special Operations Battalion) that had been created three years earlier. However, the unit’s reduced size of about 600 men at that time meant that a possible Army purchase would be comparatively small and would not justify the considerable R&D costs involved in creating an entirely new weapon.

With the obvious goal of reducing development time and costs, however, IMBEL’s management later modified its objective. Instead of developing a rifle using some M964/M964A1 components, it was decided to go ahead and build a whole FAL in 5.56x45mm, and this included the use of the original tilting block breech locking system. In fact, virtually all tooling and basic reference drawings for the 7.62x51mm model could be used with little or no changes. A prototype of the new rifle was completed in 1985, and this employed the well-known tubular folding stock the of the so-called “PARA” version of the FAL. No thermal protection was provided for the gas cylinder nor for most of the weapon’s barrel, but a short wooden handguard taken from the heavy-barrel version (squad automatic weapon) of the Belgian gun was fitted. The dedicated 20-round magazine was kept, and this appeared to be the general way that the factory had chosen for the weapon’s evolution.

A major evolutionary step came in the form of the MD97 models which featured a rotary-bolt breech locking system and a light-allow receiver. The selective-fire MD97L rifle (437 mm barrel) was supplied in limited numbers to the Brazilian Army for field evaluation purposes, while the semi-auto MD97LC carbine (330 mm barrel) was adopted by some state police agencies, including the Brasília-based Força Nacional de Segurança Pública (National Public Security Force).

Still keeping the original Fz 5.56 IMBEL MD1 designation, the gun was certified in April 1989 and cleared for production by the Brazilian Army as the M989, but it was not, in fact, officially adopted. Very small batches for demonstration and evaluation purposes were made, and these hardly differed from a PARA-FAL, featuring the very same foldable stock, synthetic handguard, pistol grip, trigger guard, knob-type cocking handle, sights, fire selector lever, flash hider, etc. With an optional foldable bipod fitted and a full 20-round magazine in place, the MD1 weighed 4.9 kg. One helluva heavyweight for a five-five-six!

The next evolutionary step took form in the early 1990s with the MD2/MD2A1 models (foldable stock, selective fire/semi-auto only) and the MD3/MD3A1 variants (fixed stock, selective fire/semi-auto only), but the initial market response made the FAL-type tubular folding stock the usual choice of operators. A rifle in this configuration was officially tested at the Campo de Provas da Marambaia (Marambaia Proving Grounds), in Rio de Janeiro, receiving its ReTEx – Relatório Técnico Experimental (Experimental Technical Report) No. 1364/91 on March 13, 1991, which cleared the way to production and sales. Following some local and foreign demonstrations, the MD2 received a number of orders, this including batches for some Brazilian Army BILs – Batalhões de Infantaria Leve (Light Infantry Battalions), while the semi-auto MD2A1 found its way into the armories of several state LE agencies, the Rio de Janeiro Public Security Department (Civil and Military Police) having purchased 1,050 examples in 1995, for example. As delivered, the rifles had a 453 mm barrel, an overall length of 1030 mm (764 mm, with the stock folded), and a loaded (30 rounds) weight of 4.85 kg, still a hefty gun for the caliber. At this point, however, STANAG-compatible magazines were used rather than the earlier dedicated type.

In 1995, the Brazilian Army issued Requisitos Operacionais Básicos (Basic Operational Requirements) No. 06/95 in which new parameters for a 5.56x45mm rifle were established, which included a 3.8 kg weight limit and a three-round burst facility. And things began to get better that year, when a young and enthusiastic Brazilian Army engineering officer, Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Paulo Augusto Capetti Porto, joined IMBEL. Some of his ideas began to take shape in the so-called MD97 family, with members available both in rifle (MD97L) and semi-auto carbine (MD97LC) versions. The latter eventually received a substantial order for 3,000+ copies to equip the Força Nacional de Segurança Pública (National Public Security Force), a nationwide LE agency with headquarters in Brasília, the nation’s capital, which deploys whenever and wherever an emergency situation arises in any state. Series manufacture of the MD97LC carbine began in 2004, while a small batch of selective-fire MD97L rifles was handed over to the Brazilian Army for troop evaluation. This was carried out by the CAEx – Centro de Avaliação do Exército (Army Evaluation Center) and by some units, such as the Bda Op Esp – Brigada de Operações Especiais (Special Operations Brigade). Evaluation tests were also carried out by the Air Force and the Navy/Marine Corps, but no orders were received.

This particular example of the semi-auto IA2, photographed in April 2015, displays a number of changes, such as a much-redesigned foldable buttstock (adjustable in length), a hand support forward of the magazine housing, and a duplicated fire-selector lever on the right side.

The main design improvement in the MD97s was the use of a rotary bolt whose radial lugs locked directly to a barrel extension rather than to the lower receiver, as required by the FAL tilting block, permitting the use of light alloy materials in the somewhat redesigned lower. This resulted in some weight saving, the MD97LC carbine coming down to reasonable 3.3 kg, empty, while the rifle was 0.3 kg heavier. The cold-hammered, chrome-plated 330 mm (440 mm, for the MD97L rifle) barrel was rifled with a 1:10 in (1:254 mm) pitch so that both M193 and SS109 rounds could be fired with adequate ballistic performance. Respective muzzle velocities were 840 and 920 m/s. Barrel life was officially quoted as being over 5,000 rounds fired, but some prototypes eventually passed the 8,500 mark. Characteristic FAL components were still to be found here and there, including the pistol grip/trigger assembly, the foldable stock, and the handguard (shortened in LC carbine). Picatinny rails began to find their way to the top cover of the gun’s receiver, some of full length but most in the form of two in-line short units.

However, the MD97 family was still far from being what the Brazilian Army, the main potential client in view, wanted. While series production was under way to meet the Força Nacional and a few other local police forces orders, the design minds at the Itajubá Factory were not idle. Still under the strong leadership and personal participation of the head of the R&D Office, Captain Capetti, some interesting ideas turned into several working prototypes in 1997. They were generally designated FIL-97 (Fuzil Imbel Leve, Light Imbel Rifle) and FILC-97 (Fuzil Imbel Leve Curto, Short Light Imbel Rifle), a carbine-type variant.

This short foldable-stock FILC-97 prototype features a trigger guard for all the fingers of the firing hand, a short cylindrical handguard and a raised structure for, say, electro-optical sights. The weapon’s iron sights were used through openings in the so-called carry handle.

The initial selective-fire FIL-97 rifle, while keeping a FAL pistol grip/trigger assembly and the same handguard, introduced a new synthetic foldable stock, while a Picatinny rail was added to the top of the gun, which kept the original iron sights. More radical changes were found in a FILC-97 carbine variant of the same period. Although it presented a similar polymer right-side folding stock, a redesigned handguard of the same material was fitted, and this incorporated a rearward-folding foregrip. In addition to that, the gun featured a raised metal structure to accept optional optical sights, but the iron sights could still be used all the time thanks to the openings that existed on the front and rear ends of the, well, “carry handle”. Another distinguishing feature of that carbine was the pistol grip design that incorporated a full-size trigger guard that protected all the fingers of the firing hand.

Several other prototypes of both FIL and FILC variants incorporating varied ergonomic characteristics were made and tested at that time, and some are depicted in the accompanying photos. However, R&D funds were pretty much limited and did not allow full in-house development of a genuine IMBEL 5.56×45 assault rifle, a situation that was to persist for ten more years or so. In fact, it was only in 2008-2009 that the company appeared to seriously commit itself to the rifle program by adequately investing in personnel qualification and modernization of its production equipment. Emphasis was also placed on establishing comprehensive in-house test facilities, including environmental (sand, mud, water, hot/cold weather) conditions. All that had the aim of allowing the development and series manufacture of a rifle that would, at the very last, meet Brazilian Army’s ROB – Requisitos Operacionais Básicos (Basic Operational Requirements) and, at a later stage, Ministry of Defense’s ROC – Requisitos Operacionais Conjuntos (Joint Operational Requirements) for the three services, Army, Navy, and Air Force.

To all intents and purposes, the semi-auto IA2 seen here is the same selective-fire rifle called a “carbine” by IMBEL for internal marketing reasons. The all-black finish is typical for the weapons delivered to and in use by Brazilian LE agencies.

In mid-2010, some prototype photos and computer-generated images of the officially-called Fuzil de Assalto 5.56 IA2 began to emerge, complemented by the news that small batches were being completed for preliminary demonstrations and trials with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. Pre-productions examples were fully displayed in April of the following year during the LAAD 2011 defense exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, these already incorporating visible modifications (notably, in the foldable polymer stock) from the earlier prototypes. On December 15, 2011, the Ministry of Defense issued Rule No. 3885-MD establishing the joint operational requirements for a common Fz Lv Cal 5.56 mm (Fuzil Leve Calibre 5.56 mm, or Light Rifle Caliber 5.56 mm) for the Brazilian Armed Forces. In 2012, extensive demonstrations of the semi-auto-only version of the rifle were carried out aiming at local police forces, while an initial production batch of 1,500 guns began to be delivered to the Brazilian Army for more comprehensive evaluation tests with 15 units in 11 different states. In October of that year, twenty IA2s were handed over to the Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Corps) for the same purpose. A major breakthrough in the IMBEL rifle program was reached on October 23, 2013, when the Army issued Document No. 211-EME announcing the official adoption of the selective-fire rifle. Two thousand additional guns were delivered to the Army in 2014. In additional to these, the semi-auto IA2 has been adopted by a number of civil and military police forces, including those of the states of Bahia, Ceará, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Piaui, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sergipe, and São Paulo. In all, about 6,000 copies of both models had been made and delivered by December, 2014.

In its current form, the Fuzil de Assalto 5.56 IA2 operates with a pretty conventional gas piston/seven-lug rotary bolt system offering selective fire (semi-auto and full-auto, only) capability. For the record, the earliest versions were fitted with a three-round burst mechanism, but this was eventually omitted from the design as a result of extensive troop trials in the Amazon region having shown that this mechanical device was prone to malfunctions when used in severe environmental conditions. So, it seems that adequate troop fire training will prevail over extra gears, springs, and cams fitted inside the gun. Although featuring the same barrel length of 330 mm (350 mm, flash hider included), the semi-auto-only LE model is called by IMBEL Carabina 5.56 IA2, both models sharing the same dimensions and weights. The explanation appears to be that the local military authorities, whom the LE agencies depend on to get a green light for armament purchases, used to be somewhat reluctant to allow the police to buy “rifles”, but would generally agree to let them have “carbines”… The cold-forged steel barrel has four RH grooves and is rifled to 1:254mm (1:10 in). Overall and folded stock lengths are 850 and 600 mm, while the empty weight with the factory-made steel 30-round STANAG magazine is 3.6 kg (3.4 kg, no magazine fitted).

This FILC-97 light carbine prototype is fitted with the same folding stock of the rifle, but other details depart broadly from the FAL, as in the case of the pistol grip with a full-size trigger guard, the short handguard, the foldable vertical grip, and the raised structure for the fitting of optical/electronic sights.

As expected from any current weapon of its class, extensive use of polymers is found in the IA2, such as in the non-adjustable, right-side-folding stock, the pistol grip, and the three-piece handguard, where Picatinny rails can be added in the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-o’clock positions, in addition to the top receiver’s rail. The more-inclined FAL pistol grip for long used in all the earlier IMBEL 5.56×45 mm rifle attempts has given way to a redesigned model, its hollow being used for the storage of a cleaning kit. For the rifles being delivered to the Brazilian Army the polymer parts come in green, while those aimed at the local LE market are black. In fact, any color specified by a client can be provided by the manufacturer. Special attention was given to provide the handguard with adequate thermal protection, a problem that characterized the earlier MD97s which became very uncomfortable to hold after consecutively firing about six 30-round magazines in full-auto, when the hand contact zone reached about 54 degrees Celsius. New heat insulation materials used in the IA2 have reduced this to reasonable 38 degrees Celsius, with a slight temperature increase after firing 240 rounds in rock-and-roll. Water immersion tests have also shown the weapon to possess satisfactory functioning under most conditions, even being fired immediately after emerging, although at least five seconds of water drainage is recommended. Comprehensive environmental tests at extreme low (-40 degrees Celsius during four hours) and high temperatures, in addition to sand and mud exposure, have been successfully carried out. Preliminary rifle certification for the pilot batch was obtained on October 1, 2013, while that for the full technical and operational evaluation aspects, completed in December, 2014, are expected for early-2015.

Firing procedures with the IA2 are pretty straightforward. IMBEL has opted to supply the rifle with 30-round steel magazines of its manufacture for higher resistance and reliability, although any STANAG (AR-15/M16) model can be used. Magazine release from its well is achieved either by pressing inwards a protected button located on the right side at the junction of the upper and lower receivers or by pressing forward a lever at the rear of the magazine housing. The cocking knob, an FAL type, is on the left side and does not reciprocate when the gun is fired. If you are a right-handed shooter, you’ll find the fire selector lever conveniently located on the left side within easy reach of your thumb, immediately above the pistol grip. Some guns, however, have been fitted with a selector lever duplicated on the right side, apparently, a Brazilian Navy/Marine Corps requirement for a future purchase. Settings are “S” (Safety), up; “I” (Intermittent, or Semi-auto), slightly down; and, not available in the LE carbine, “A” (Automatic), slightly under 180 degrees, forward. Cyclic rate of fire is around 750 rounds per minute. The rifle version comes with a bayonet lug where IMBEL’s FC-IA2 (178 mm blade) or FC-Amz (247 mm blade) bayonet knives can be attached.

Seen here in the hands of Rio de Janeiro Military Police troopers in training, the MD2A1 shifted to the use of STANAG-type 30-round magazines, while still keeping the FAL tilting-block breech locking system.

A brand-new IMBEL IA2 rifle in the hands of a Brazilian Army Parachutist Infantry Brigade officer, the weapon’s polymer components green color having been a choice of that service.

During the 1970s, Brazil’s Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory), part of the Government-owned IMBEL – Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil S.A. conglomerate, investigated a number of 9x19mm submachine gun designs in different configurations, none of them having passed the prototype phase. Although those early guns, in general, worked properly, the engineers of the Oficina de Protótipos (Prototypes Workshop) were also aiming at a design that not only performed adequately, but one that would also be economical to be series manufactured. In early 1979, it just so happened that IMBEL had already reached full nationalization of the Fabrique Nationale FAL rifle production in Brazil, with over 200,000 examples of the locally-designated Fz 7.62 M964 (solid stock) and M964A1 (foldable stock) versions of the well-known Belgian rifle having already been manufactured at the facilities located in Itajubá, Minas Gerais State. So, it was only a matter of short time until they came up with the idea of using off-the-shelf FAL parts (unchanged and/or slightly modified) in their subgun designs so that development time could be abbreviated and production costs reduced.

The first of such ventures was designated in-house as the M979 from the year the project began and the prototype emerged, but it was generally known simply as the “Falzinho” (Little Fal). Its more evident external physical relation to the rifle could be seen in the use of the same synthetic pistol grip, trigger guard and the trigger itself, but a closer look at its insides would reveal some other minor parts of common use. In addition to that, the upper and lower receiver (firing mechanism housing) swung open FAL-like to initiate the field stripping process. The method of operation was conventional blowback firing from the open breech position with the firing pin machined on the bolt head. The external portion of the 215 mm barrel that extended out of the upper receiver was fitted with a perforated metal jacket to act as a protection against possible burns to the shooter in case of overheating. Typical of the Number 1 prototype was its right-side folding stock, a straight, thin metal tube with a simple synthetic buttplate. The non-reciprocating aluminum cocking handle, right on top of the gun, was machined into a U-shape so as not to interfere with the use of the protected iron sights.

Author firing an MD2A1, which had a cyclic rate of fire of around 700 rounds per minute.

The M979 was subsequently re-designated Sub Mtr 9 IMBEL MD1 (solid FAL stock) and Sub Mtr 9 IMBEL MD1A1 (reshaped metal folding stock), and received gradual design changes here and there, while maintaining the basic fixed firing pin bolt. The earliest prototypes employed a machined upper receiver with a pressed steel cover on it, but following examples adopted a single stamped receiver with 1.2 mm thick walls. This resulted in an overall empty gun weight reduction of 300 grams to about 3.6 kg and a cut from 43 to 19 workshop operations to make it. The wooden handguard was reshaped in contour and received wider longitudinal grooves instead of the earlier, narrower transversal grooves. Overall length was 730 mm, reduced to 495 mm with the stock folded. At least one MD1 prototype featured a small button-type cocking piece. This earliest FAL-based submachine gun performed pretty well, to the point that IMBEL decided to submit it to official Brazilian Army product (not acceptance) certification tests at the Campo de Provas da Marambaia (Marambaia Proving Grounds), in Rio de Janeiro, where it was approved.

The primary aim of the Itajubá Factory people was to employ as many FAL components as possible so as to reduce development time and eventual series production costs of their gun as much as possible. So, in 1981, the Sub Mtr 9 MD2 (solid buttstock) and the Sub Mtr 9 MD2A1 (foldable metal stock) appeared. The new experimental guns employed 90 parts (or about 80 per cent of their components) common to the FAL, with emphasis on the whole lower receiver, including the firing mechanism and the three-position fire selector. This turned them into the closed-breech weapons, which was a bonus when it came to more precise semiautomatic fire. Two lengths were available for the hard-chromed barrels (four grooves, RH rifling, pitch 1:254 mm), 160 mm (muzzle velocity: 360 m/s) and 211 mm (muzzle velocity: 400 m/s), mounted to the gun via a screw-on nut. The longer barrel was usually fitted with an external perforated sleeve and a flash hider, this having the same external dimensions of that of the FAL and, thus, allowing the fitting of the rifle’s bayonet. Although the practical usefulness of such an item to an SMG is open to question, the manufacturer stated at the time that this was actually a requirement from one of the potential costumers (apparently for guard duties), so this accessory was made available. Another visible FAL-related item was the protecting structure for the fixed (100 m) aperture rear sight. The front sight was a post well protected by large steel ears, radius being a generous 310 mm. Also coming from the rifle was the non-reciprocating cocking piece, that small variant that lies flat under spring tension when not pulled out by the operator.

The Number 1 prototype of the M979, the first Fábrica de Itajubá submachine gun to employ FAL components, such as the pistol grip and trigger group, minus the firing mechanism. The blowback weapon still had the firing pin machined to the bolt head and fired from the open breech position.

The MD2A1 could be termed as the ‘compact’ variant, with its plain 160 mm barrel with no thermal sleeve or flash hider barely protruding past the mounting nut. Overall length was 680 mm, and this was reduced to 435 mm when the simple metal buttstock was folded to the right side. Empty weight without magazine was 3.2 kg. The fixed-stock MD2 with the 211 mm barrel had an overall length of 600 mm and weighed 4.2 kg without magazine. Twenty- and thirty-round magazines were available with loaded weights of 420 and 600 grams respectively, these being of the two-position feed type and featured inspection windows at the 10-, 20- and 30-round positions. As both SMGs had the same basic components, their modular design allowed, of course, that ‘hybrid’ models were configured, such as an MD2 with the shorter barrel or an MD2A1 with the longer barrel. Another option was the use of the more robust standard PARA-FAL foldable stock, though this was heavier and more expensive to manufacture.

A semiautomatic carbine version with a longer barrel (401 mm) was also made, this being intended to eventually enter the U.S. commercial market. Called the Ca 9 IMBEL MD1, it was particularly smart-looking due to its perforated thermal jacket and flash hider. The gun was 940 mm long and weighed 3.9 kg. Another viable option for law enforcement agencies that used semi-auto, pistol-caliber carbines would the fitting of the 211 mm barrel. Although the longer barrel gave a higher muzzle velocity (439 m/s) than that of the MD2’s (400 m/s), the difference in terminal velocity became smaller as the range increased, mainly so passing the 100 meters, a more than reasonable range for the caliber involved.

The widely redesigned MD2 employed about 60 per cent of parts common to (and interchangeable with) the FAL and fired with the bolt in the closed position with the rifle’s hammer/striker mechanism. Note the small cocking handle that lay flat on the left side when not in use.

Field stripping of all models was straightforward and pretty much the same as that of the FAL rifle, requiring no tools as it should be expected. After removing the magazine and checking that the chamber was unloaded, the take-down lever on the rear left side of the body was rotated down and anti-clockwise, the lower and upper receivers swinging away from each other, opening the gun. The 530 g hard-chromed bolt and the return spring, together with its guide rod, could then be slid out of the receiver. The barrel was removed from the receiver forward end by unscrewing its mounting nut; no further disassembly being required for basic cleaning/maintenance, although the two main structures could easily be fully separated by the removal of a single mounting pin.

All in all, all of these FAL-based 9x19mm weapons performed adequately and could well be placed in series production with no great efforts at IMBEL’s facilities. It just so happened that in the early 1980s the international market was already somewhat crowded with submachine gun offerings, and the eventual local orders from the armed and police forces did not seem to justify the full go-ahead for this unique and little-publicized program carried out by a bunch of creative
Brazilian designers.

A field-stripped MD1 semiautomatic carbine.

MD1A1 showing the iron sights (fixed aperture and post) and the large characteristic non-reciprocating aluminum cocking piece. The wide U-shaped center allowed unrestricted use of the sights.

Comparative view of an MD1 (top) with a later MD2A1, this one fitted with a PARA-FAL foldable stock and a slightly longer (222 mm) barrel with no perforated thermal sleeve or flash hider. Its rear sight assembly, though of a different shape, also comes from the rifle. For the record, the Belgian gun also uses different, unprotected rear sights (sliding U-notch, aperture or rotating disc.)

The Ca 9 IMBEL MD1 9x19mm semiautomatic carbine.

Two MD2 and MD2A1 prototypes. The gun on top has a 211 mm barrel and a perforated sleeve with no flash hider that extends past the muzzle, while the example below, using a PARA-FAL folding stock, is fitted with an a longer (222 mm) barrel with a re-shaped mounting nut. Both rear sight structures are FAL-originated.

Author testing the Ca 9 IMBEL MD1.

From the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, Argentina, like many of the world’s countries, was primarily equipped with bolt-action Mauser rifles acquired directly from DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken) beginning with the M1891 (about 180,000 units) and followed by the M1909 (about 130,000 units purchased in the 1909-1911 period), all in the 7.65x53mm chambering, the so-called Argentine Mauser round. The local Arsenal Esteban de Luca (a.k.a. Fábrica de Fusiles de Buenos Aires) started producing replacement parts for the rifles, including barrels, in 1915. Between 1947 and 1959 or so, state-owned Fabricaciones Militares locally produced about 20,000 shorter (556 mm barrel) Engineers/Cavalry carbine variants of the standard rifle (this had a 740 mm barrel) at its Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles “Domingo Matheu” (Domingo Matheu Small Arms Military Factory), in Rosario, Santa Fé Province. For the record, the different Mauser models remained in Argentine Army use until gradually replaced by the 7.62x51mm FN FAL from mid-1957. Following the delivery of initial Belgium-made batches, local manufacture at the Domingo Matheu Factory started in 1959, when 500 examples were completed, but production output would eventually reach about 10,000 units per year. It is estimated that 120,000 FALs were manufactured in Argentina before production finally stopped in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Shortly after World War II, when the U.S. M1 Garand, the Soviet SVT series, and the German G43 and StG44 had shown the new shape and fashion of the infantryman’s rifle, the Argentine Army thought it was also about time to follow suit, if possible, involving local manufacturers. Since the country lacked the basic technical knowledge involving the design and production of semi-auto weaponry, external inspiration was required. This came in the form of the German StG 44 assault rifle that somehow found its way to that South American country in around 1947. Using a reverse-engineering process, personnel from CITEFA – Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las Fuerzas Armadas (Armed Forces Institute for Scientific and Technical Research) in association with those of Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles “Domingo Matheu” produced their local clone of the Sturmgeweher, which received the designation CAM 1. At the same time, Army’s Fábrica Militar de Cartuchos “San Lorenzo” (San Lorenzo Military Factory of Cartridges), also in the Santa Fé Province, tooled up for the production of the 7.92x33mm round used in the rifle, and some test batches came out for use in the unknown number of CAM 1 prototypes that eventually emerged from the Domingo Matheu Factory. For unknown reasons, however, plans for the full-scale manufacture of the rifle gradually came to an end in about 1953-54.

Rare photograph of the Argentine CAM 1 rifle, the reverse-engineered clone of the German StG 44 assault rifle made by FMAP-DM in Rosario, Santa Fé Province. The 7.92x33mm round seen on the detached 30-round magazine was locally produced by Fábrica de Militar de Cartuchos “San Lorenzo”, also in Santa Fé.

Another attempt also dating to the early-1950s apparently came from the Argentine Navy with the reported technical support of H.A.F.D.A.S.A. – Hispano Argentina Fábrica de Automóbiles S.A., a small Buenos Aires-based manufacturer of submachine guns and semiautomatic pistol-caliber carbines. This eventually materialized in the form of a modified M1 Garand rifle in 7.65x53mm caliber, of which at least one prototype was completed by Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles “Domingo Matheu” in 1953. The most noticeable external features of what was simply called the Fusil Semiautomático (Semiautomatic Rifle) were an elaborate aluminum handguard with vertical ventilation openings lengthwise and revised, slimmer contours for the shoulder stock.

It is also reported that the Argentine Air Force had earlier played around with the idea of a local manufacturing program of Melvin Johnson’s M1941 semiautomatic rifle, some mention of a so-called M1947 (a semi-auto carbine derived from the M1941 machine gun) for Argentina having occasionally emerged. It would take about two decades for a new move towards an indigenous rifle project to get started in that South American nation.

Dimensions and head stamp of the Argentine 7.92x33mm cartridge made by FMC-SL for the CAM 1 assault rifle.

In 1975, the Estado Mayor General del Ejército (Army General Staff) sent to the FMAP-DM the preliminary technical requirements for a 5.56x45mm FAA (Fusil de Asalto Argentino, or Argentine Assault Rifle). Design responsibility was given to a team headed by Enrique Chichizola, and by 1977 the basic parameters of what was called “Proyeto Código 10.0187” had been defined. In mid-1979, after about seven months of actual building work, the first of five test prototypes was completed.

With numerous modifications dictated both by the early test program and by consecutive changes in the official requirements, a pre-production batch of approximately 50 units was completed at the Domingo Matheu Factory; the guns being subsequently delivered for actual evaluation and field testing by Army units, with emphasis on those so-called “special” outfits such as airborne, commando, and mountain troops. This took place in the 1982-1983 period. After having been called the FAA, the gun was later named FAA 81 and, finally, FARA 83 (Fusil de Asalto República Argentina 1983). It is estimated that, all in all, only a few hundred examples of the rifle were completed before the program was cancelled by the President Carlos Menen administration in the mid-1980s because of insufficient funds available.

Enrique Chichizola headed the design team that created the FAA/FAA 81/FARA 83 rifle. He is seen here holding one of the prototypes at FMAP-DM in February, 1990.

Along its evolutionary period, the modifications applied to the Argentine assault rifle resulted in numerous technical specifications changes. Basically, it was a selective-fire weapon (about 700-750 rounds per minute in full auto) and was gas-operated with a pretty conventional piston/rod/bolt carrier configuration, breech locking being provided by a two-lug rotating bolt. The 452 mm long barrel (six RH grooves, pitch 1:9 in) was adequate both to the common M193 round of that time and to the new SS109 cartridge that was finding its way into the military market. Feed was provided by proprietary steel-made 30-round magazines, but it was planned to have them replaced by AR-15/M16 models for future large-scale production weapons.

The rifle’s body was made primarily of steel stampings, the upper and lower receivers articulating away from each other at about half way the length. The first prototype had a foldable wooden stock, but this subsequently gave way to a synthetic unit with a small internal compartment that housed cleaning material. However, most weapons made for the troop evaluation program were fitted with a tubular metal stock based on that used in the Para-FAL rifle, plus the addition of a plastic cheek rest in which the cleaning kit was accommodated.

A FARA 83 partially stripped for field maintenance. The plastic hand guard incorporated a perforated metal jacket for external ventilation of the barrel and thermal insulation.

The final FARA 83 specifications are as follows: length overall, 1,000 mm; length with the stock folded, 745 mm; height over magazine, 260 mm; weight with empty magazine, 4.16 kg; weight with full magazine, 4.52; weight of optional foldable bipod, 0.4 kg.

As a postscript, in 1989-90 Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles “Domingo Matheu” made another attempt to give the Argentine Army a 5.56x45mm rifle. This took the form of a modified 7.62x51mm Para-FAL rifle re-barreled for the new round and fed by 30-round Steyr AUG plastic magazines. Although this worked adequately, the program did not mature enough to enter production. Maybe because the resulting rifle was too heavy for the caliber involved.

Prototype Number 00015 sporting a cylindrical plastic hand guard and the cocking piece to the right side. The foldable metal bipod doubled as a wire cutter, adding about 400 grams to the gun’s weight.

Comparative drawings of the first FAA prototype (top) with a later development model. Significant changes will be found in the shape of the upper receiver, the position of the cocking handle (from 90 degrees left to 45 degrees right forward), the shape of the hand guard, etc.

As Latin America’s largest country and with a population of 200 million souls, Brazil faces massive defense problems.  Although it does not have to cope with any imminent threat from overseas or any of the ten bordering nations, properly watching and defending 8.5 million square kilometers of land territory and an unbroken coastline of just about 7,500 kilometers long (corresponding to 3.5 million square kilometers of territorial waters) requires substantial effort from the three independent military services, the Exército Brasileiro (Army), the Força Aérea Brasileira (Air Force), and the Marinha do Brasil (Navy).  This last branch, in addition to the expected operation of patrol vessels, warships and submarines, also possesses an air arm (the Força Aeronaval) equipped with both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and boasts having and operating the Southern Hemisphere’s sole aircraft carrier, the 33,000 ton A12 São Paulo, the former French Navy Foch, acquired in 2000.  The Navy also has a very effective Marine Corps, the Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (CFN), now 205 years old.

Its historical origins are traced back to March 7, 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Family was fleeing from an invasion of Portugal by French troops under Napoleon and landed in Rio de Janeiro, thus transferring to its Brazilian colony the seat of the entire Portuguese Kingdom.  The royalty was specifically escorted in that historic trip by members of Portugal’s Brigada Real da Marinha (Navy Royal Brigade), who are considered as the original nucleus of today’s CFN.  Actual combat actions took place in the following year, when Portugal’s Prince Regent Dom João formally declared war on France as a retaliation and ordered the invasion of French Guiana, north of Brazil.  A joint force of 700 ground troops crossing the border from Pará State was joined by a small, three-ship (two Portuguese, one supporting British vessel) naval force from Rio de Janeiro.  From the sea, a landing force consisting mainly of sailor-soldiers from the Brigada Real da Marinha attacked the capital city, Caiena, which fell in January, 1809.  This has, then, been considered the historical baptism of fire of what would become Brazil’s Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais.

Members of Tonelero Battalion’s GERR team (the 3a. Companhia de Operações Especiais) train a hostage rescue mission primarily armed with suppressed 9x19mm H&K MP5SD submachine guns.

Along the two centuries of its life, the Brazilian Marine Corps has received several names, such as Corpo de Artilharia da Marinha (Navy Artillery Corps), Batalhão Naval (Naval Battalion), and, since 1932, Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais.  During WWII, the Marines were given the task of establishing a Destacamento (Detachment) at the small Trindade Island, the easternmost Brazilian territory located in the South Atlantic 1,160 kilometers from the coast.  The idea was to prevent it from being transformed into a base for German U-boats; at the time pretty active in torpedoing and sinking Brazilian and Allied shipping in that region.  Also during the war, a number of Companhias Regionais (Regional Companies) were established along the Brazilian coastline – these later becoming larger Grupamentos de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Groups).  However, it was only in the 1950s that the CFN began to structure itself to become a real amphibious landing force, gradually acquiring the necessary material and specialized training, those coming mainly from the United States.  Along the five subsequent decades, the Brazilian Marine Corps has evolved into an effective, albeit relatively small, force fully capable of meeting not only local defense requirements, but also able to answer basic international commitments.

The British-made 7.62x51mm Parker-Hale M85 bolt-action rifle is the basic sniper weapon of the Brazilian Marines.

The first official assignment abroad took place in 1965 when Brazilian Marines participated in the Inter-American Peace Force that was sent to the Dominican Republic by the Organization of American States to stabilize that Caribbean nation after a pro-Communist revolt broke out in April.  In the same year, a United Nations Peace Mission Force in charge of supervising border disputes between India and Pakistan had CFN members acting there.  Thirty years later, in 1995, Brazilian marines were once again sent overseas at U.N. service, this time as members of UNAVEM, the United Nations Angola Verification Mission.  Subsequent activities on behalf of the U.N. took them to such countries as El Salvador, Bosnia, Honduras, Mozambique, Rwanda, Peru, and Ecuador.  Following a 2004 decision, Brazilian forces (Army and Marine Corps) have actively been participating in the MINUSTAH, a multi-nation, 7,000-people strong U.N. Stabilization Force in Haiti, and this includes the general command of the force.

A Marine armed with a 12-ga. Mossberg 590 shotgun kicks open a door for the rest of his assault team to enter.

Current Organization and Weapons
At present with an all-volunteer strength of about 23,000, the Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais headquarters is located at the historical São José Fortress, in Rio de Janeiro, having under its direct supervision the CMatFN (Comando de Material, Materiel Command) and the CPesFN (Comando de Pessoal, Personnel Command).  This is responsible for the major training organizations; all located in the Rio de Janeiro State area, such as the CIAMPA – Centro de Instrução Almirante Milcíades P. Alves, where about 1,400 recruits a year receive basic training during 17 weeks.  More specialized training is the responsibility of the CIASC – Centro de Instrução Almirante Sylvio de Camargo, this including amphibious warfare techniques and a tough Curso Especial de Comandos Anfíbios (Amphibious Commandos Special Course), among others.  More practical training in a realistic waterborne operations environment is carried out by CADIM – Centro de Adestramento da Ilha da Marambaia, at the nearby Sepetiba Bay.  Basic marine training is also provided at seven other Grupamentos de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Groups) located in Salvador (Bahia State), Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), Belém (Pará), Rio Grande (Rio Grande do Sul), Ladário (Mato Grosso do Sul), Manaus (Amazonas), and Brasília (Federal District).

In a world of high-tech weapons, low-tech (but highly lethal) gear is still in use, as shown by this Brazilian Marine Commando practicing sentinel-suppressing… with a machete.

Subordinated to Brazilian Navy’s CON – Comando de Operações Navais (Naval Operations Command) comes the FFE – Força de Fuzileiros da Esquadra (Fleet Marine Force), established in 1957 and directly in charge of the operational aspects.  Under its command is the DivAnf – Divisão Anfíbia (Amphibious Division), under which jurisdiction are three Batalhões de Infantaria de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Infantry Battalions), the 1 BtlInfFuzNav (Batalhão Riachuelo), the 2 BtlInfFuzNav (Batalhão Humaitá), and the 3 BtlInfFuzNav (Paissandu).  Current individual armament is the 9x19mm Taurus PT92AF pistol (being complemented by the newer PT24/7G2) and the 5.56x45mm Colt M16A2 rifle, mobile fire support being provided by 7.62x51mm FN MAG machine gun and the lighter 5.56x45mm FN Minimi, while the 12.7x99mm (.50 cal.) Browning M2HB is still around for heavier duties.  Heavier fire support for the infantry is provided by 60mm (Brandt M-60) and 81mm (M29A1) mortars, while anti-armor defense rests with Swedish-made AT-4 launchers (range 300 meters) and RBS 56 BILL missiles (range 2,200 meters).  The first pre-series batch of Brazilian-made Mectron MSS 1.2 AC anti-tank missiles was delivered to the marines late in 2012.  This state-of-the-art weapon system is laser-guided and has an effective range of 3,000 meters.  The Taurus MT-9A 9x19mm submachine gun is generally used by marine police units and in second-line guard duties.  The 7.62x51mm FAL rifle remains in limited use for guard use.

Also subordinated to the FFE is the crack BtlOpEspFuzNav – Batalhão de Operações Especiais de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Special Operations Battalion), generally called the Tonelero Battalion after a battle fought in 1851 by members of Brazilian Navy’s Batalhão Naval, ancestor of the CFN, in a war against Uruguay and Argentina.  At present, this unit consists of a Companhia de Comando e Serviço (Command and Services Company) and three Companhias de Operações Especiais (Special Operations Companies).  1a. CiaOpEsp specializes in recon actions, 2a. CiaOpEsp focuses on commando-type activities and 3a. CiaOpEsp (also called the GERR, or Grupo Especial de Retomada e Resgate), whose specialty is hostage rescue and re-taking of special objectives.  Basic Tonelero armament is the Colt M4 carbine and the FN Minimi Para light machine gun, supplemented by such more specialized types such as the Heckler & Koch MP5SD suppressed submachine gun, the same manufacturer’s MP5KA4 stockless model, the IMI Mini-Uzi SMG (all of these in 9x19mm), and the 12-ga Mossberg Model 590 shotgun.  The British-made Parker-Hale M85 7.62×51 bolt-action sniper rifle is now being replaced by the similarly-chambered French-made PGM Ultima Ratio bolt-action rifle, while anti-materiel duties are carried out by the .50 cal PGM Hecate II.  Close range fire support is provided by 60mm Commando mortars.

Crew of a 120mm mortar of the Batalhão de Artilharia (Artillery Battalion) in position to fire it. The weapons are Israeli-made Soltam K-6/A3 models, being towable by light vehicles and easily carried under-slung by helicopters.

In the Amazon region, the Brazilian marines count on a specialized Batalhão de Operações Ribeirinhas (Riverine Operations Battalion) based in Manaus, but this is under the direct supervision of the Navy’s 9th Naval District, and thus, under CON – Comando de Operações Navais.

In addition to the already-mentioned infantry units, the Divisão Anfíbia is responsible for additional battalions.  The BtlArtFuzNav (Batalhão de Artilharia de Fuzileiros Navais, Artillery Battalion), equipped with British-made 105mm L118 Light Gun howitzers (maximum range 17.2 km) and Israeli Soltam K-6/A3 120mm towed mortars (max range 7.2 km), the older U.S. M114A1 155mm heavy towed howitzers (range 14 km) being all but phased out.  Early in 2014, the first deliveries of a multi-vehicle battery of Brazilian-made Avibras LFM ASTROS FN 2020 multiple rocket systems are expected to take place.  This will add substantial mobility and area saturation capability to the marines.

The BtlCtAetatDAAe (Batalhão de Controle Aerotático e Defesa Antiaérea, Tactical Control and Air Defense Battalion) is the mobile air anti-aircraft unit, equipped with Swedish Bofors L/70 BOFI-R 40mm radar-directed guns and, for point defense, the French Mistral heat-seeking, fire-and-forget missile (range 4 km).  The unit counts on the Swedish-made Giraffe 50AT pulse-Doppler search radar, in addition to also possessing a battlefield reconnaissance company equipped with locally-made Santos-Lab Caracará light unmanned aerial vehicles.  The BtlBldFuzNav – Batalhão de Blindados de Fuzileiros Navais is the armored unit equipped with Austrian-made SK-105A2C 17.5 ton tanks armed with 105mm guns, and a mix of M113 tracked APCs (now being locally upgraded to M113MB1 standards with Israel Military Industry-supplied kits) and Piranha III-C wheeled APCs.  There is also a BtlCmdoCT – Batalhão de Comando e Controle (Command & Control Battalion), whose missions include providing communications and electronic warfare assets.

The Engineering Battalion includes a platoon in charge of proving Chemical/Bacteriological/Nuclear/Radiological actions in the battlefield, and some of its personnel are seen here conducting a casualty-removal exercise. It should be pointed out that the camouflage pattern of their protective clothing is different from the standard Brazilian Marines model.

Also under the general control of the Força de Fuzileiros da Esquadra comes the TrRef – Tropa de Reforço (Reinforcement Troop), whose mission is to provide combat support elements, including such units as the BtlLogFuzNav – Batalhão Logístico de Fuzileiros Navais (Logistics Battalion), the BtlEngFuzNav – Batalhão de Engenharia de Fuzileiros Navais (Engineering Battalion), and the BtlVtrAnf – Batalhão de Viaturas Anfíbias (Amphibious Vehicles Battalion), equipped with U.S.-made AAVP7 tracked vehicles in different configurations, all of its fleet being in the process of communications and armament upgrading.

It should be emphasized that the marines do have a full amphibious operational capability, as the Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy) is adequately equipped with specialized ships.  These include three LSTs: the 6,700-ton G25 Almirante Saboia (ex- RFA Sir Bedivere), the 8,750-ton G28 Mattoso Maia (ex-USS Cayuga) and the 8,750-ton G29 Garcia D’Avila (ex- RFA Sir Galahad) – and an LSD, the 12,150-ton G30 Ceará (ex-USS Hermitage), this being able to carry and launch AAVP7 tracked amphibious vehicles as well as personnel and vehicle landing craft.