As the conflict in Ukraine continues, more weapons come as an aid to the Ukrainian government to help them repel the Russian invasion. Belgium is among the countries that provided military aid.
With that, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo over the weekend announced the country intends to transfer a decent number of small arms from his country’s arsenals directly to Ukraine.
“Ukraine has the right to defend itself against this Russian invasion. That’s why we will provide an additional 3,000 automatic weapons and 200 anti-tank weapons,” De Croo said on Feb. 27, following up on an announcement the day prior for 2,000 automatic weapons.
According to the sources, among those weapons are mostly old stocks of the FN FNC rifles. FN FNC rifles are substituted by FN SCAR, another 5.56-caliber platform. Probably, the batch will include some belt-fed guns.
The FN FNC was developed in the late 1970s as FN’s answer to the M16 and a 5.56 alternative to the FN FAL battle rifle. Adopted by the Belgian Armed Forces in 1989 as the M2 and M3 carbine,
As Ukraine’s border guard and coast guard in recent years have been switching from 7.62x39mm-caliber small arms to those chambered in 5.56, they should at least have some experience with the ammo. As the war continues, FNs will have a chance to prove their motto: The World’s Most Battle-Proven Firearms.