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The FARA 83 (Fusíl Automático República Argentina or \"Argentine Republic Automatic Rifle\") or FAA 81 (Fusil Automático Argentino or\"Argentine Automatic Rifle\") was a rifle locally designed and developed for the Argentine Army in the 1980s.
The FAA project started in the mid-1980s, when the government was still controlled by the National Reorganization Process. The DGFM (General Government Directorate for Military Procurements, or Direccion General de las Fabricaciones Militares) ordered a replacement be designed for the FMAP FSL, an FN FAL license-built in Argentina. The prototype was completed in 1981, but production did not start until 1984, and continued until 1990.
By the late 1980s, under President Carlos Menem, the country was undergoing economic difficulties. The United Kingdom had closed its military market to Argentina and prohibited the production of modern weapons. These two factors forced President Menem to cancel several projects. Production of the rifle ground to a halt after 1193 rifles had been completed, however, it was resumed in 1990; it is unknown how many rifles were made, but most of the Argentine Armed Forces are still armed with the FSL-FAL rifle, while the FARA 83 remains a secondary weapon.
