The FAMAE SAF is a 9 millimeter Chilean submachine gun produced in 1996 by FAMAE (the Chilean government small arms factory). The FAMAE SAF is based on the Swiss SIG 540 assault rifle which was produced under license in Chile in the 1980's. The FAMAE SAF is in service with Chilean armed forces and police and is exported abroad. A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... A submachine gun is a firearm which smells the automatic fire of a machine gun with the ammunition of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

In general the design is a shortened version of the SIG 540 rifle, but the rifle's rotating bolt has been replaced with a simple blowback bolt. Otherwise the receiver, stock, fore-end, trigger/hammer assembly, and floating firing pin design are from the SIG 540. As a result the FAMAE SAF is a recoil-operated select fire gun, firing from closed bolt. The upper receiver is steel but the lower receiver, pistol grip, and trigger guard are made from polymer.

The ambidextrous safety/fire selector switch has four settings: safe, single shot, 3 round burst, and full automatic.

The FAMAE SAF is manufactured in four versions: the standard model with a fixed polymer buttstock; standard with a left-side-folding tubular metal buttstock; and a silenced model with an integral silencer and folding buttstock.

The Mini-SAF has a much shorter barrel, no shoulder stock, and a forward handgrip. It can use the standard 30-round magazine but has a special 20-round magazine for greater compactness. This version is 12 inches long.

All versions have post front sights with ajustable elevation, and aperture rear sights, ajustable for windage.

The magazines are transparent plastic, allowing the number of available rounds to be determined. The magazine is fitted with protruding lugs on one side and keyhole-like slots on the other, allowing two or three magazines to be clipped together with one inserted into the magazine housing.

Specifications

• Caliber: 9mmx19mm Parabellum or .40 S&W
• Mass: 2.7 kg (5.95 lbs) empty (3 kg in .40 S&W)
• Length (stock closed/open): 410 / 640 mm
• Barrel length: 198mm (7.87")
• Rate of fire: 1200 rounds per minute
• Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 round detachable box
• Effective range: 100-150 meters