FN ARKA^®

It is a new 5.56x45mm rifle designed and manufactured in Belgium by FN.

No. It is a different design, separate from the FN SCAR^®.

No. The FN ARKA^® and the FN SCAR^® will be marketed alongside each other. The FN ARKA^® is intended to expand the choice of rifles that FN can offer customers.

ARKA alludes to the bow (arc in French), a symbol of mastered strength combining precision and power, as effective in attack as in defence. ARKA also evokes the archetype, a reference to a model of excellence and reliability that places this weapon at the pinnacle of quality and performance.

The name should be pronounced “ark-ah”.

The FN ARKA^® is basically the highly reliable, robust and long-lasting operating system of the FN SCAR^® put into an outer shape with ergonomics based on the AR design (with some improvements).

Worldwide military and law enforcement markets.

The FN ARKA^® has the T-shaped ambidextrous charging handle at the rear of the receiver, and the forward assist plunger of the AR. Selectors and levers are the same as on the AR, but are all repeated on both sides to make the FN ARKA^® fully ambidextrous.

The FN ARKA^® can be fitted with any AR compatible buttstock or pistol grip.

Primarily the short-stroke piston operating system with a gas regulator, and the exceptionally strong breech mechanism. This gives exceptional reliability in the most extreme conditions, improves reliability with sound suppressors, and avoids critical failures due to overpressure, for example in “over the beach” tests with water in the barrel.

These features together with FN’s high quality standards and the use of the best production materials and processes give far longer service life than the average AR.

The return spring is located inside the receiver (not in the buttstock) so it is possible to have a folding buttstock. This is not possible on the standard AR design.

These are major benefits compared to standard or “improved” AR-type rifles.

The FN SCAR^® has good ergonomics. However, they are different to the ergonomics of the AR design.

Some customers prefer the ergonomics of the AR, often because they have been using it for many years. Keeping the ergonomics of the AR simplifies training, especially if AR type weapons remain in service alongside the new rifle. This is more a question of preference and habit, not intrinsically good versus bad.

The FN ARKA^® allows users who prefer AR ergonomics to benefit from superior reliability and performance features taken from the FN SCAR^®.

With the FN SCAR^® and the FN ARKA^® we can satisfy a much wider range of customer requirements.

Modified AR designs have internal mechanisms that are very similar to the original design. Even rifles which have a short stroke piston have few other improvements.

Rather than making limited changes to the AR internal mechanism and keeping many of the performance and reliability problems that are inherent to the AR, FN has taken the far superior internal mechanisms of the FN SCAR^® and put them into an outer body which has the ergonomics of the AR.

Users can have the ergonomics of the AR combined with the exceptional performance of the FN SCAR^®.

Today, the FN ARKA^® is introduced in 5.56x45mm NATO calibre.

The FN ARKA^® comes standard with either a 14.5” standard barrel and a short or long M-LOK handguard, or a CQC 11.25” barrel and short M-LOK handguard. Picatinny type rails are available as add-ons.

All configurations are available in FDE or black colour, and with selective fire or semi-auto only triggers. The rifle can be fitted with any AR compatible buttstock or pistol grip.

The long Picatinny top rail and M-LOK interfaces on the sides and lower face of the handguard allow the use of a full range of FN or third-party accessories.

FN proposes a high performance flow-through suppressor fully tested and certified with the FN ARKA^®. This technology greatly reduces backpressure in the weapon which in turn avoids fouling, excessive cycling velocity on the moving parts, and venting of debris and gas from the ejection port into the shooter’s face.

Only by an armourer.

Yes.