The ParaFAL 7,62mm M964 A1 MD1 is a 7.62x51mm battle rifle

Battle rifle

A battle rifle is a military service rifle that fires a full power rifle cartridge, such as 7.62x51mm NATO. While the designation of battle rifle is usually given to post-World War II select fire infantry rifles such as the H&K G3, the FN FAL or the M14, this term can also apply to older military...

 which is a lighter-weight modification of the 30-year-old Brazilian-licensed and built FAL

FN FAL

The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...

. Existing FALs can be converted to the more modern ParaFAL specification by the Brazilian company IMBEL

IMBEL

IMBEL is an acronym for Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil a Brazilian state company, founded in 1975 as a quango of the Ministry of Defence....

 with a low-cost kit of parts. Amongst the changes is a shorter barrel, and replacement of aluminium by high-impact polymer parts.

The ParaFAL is increasingly used by the military police and some units of the Brazilian Army

Brazilian Army

The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence , Argentina-Brazil War , War of the Farrapos , Platine War , Uruguayan War ...

.

In 2009 IMBEL received the order to produce the ParaFAL to replace the FAL as the standard weapon while the IMBEL MD97-A2 assault rifle is in development.