High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Minimi (short for French: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of over thirty countries. The weapon is currently manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their US subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC, as well as being licence-built in Australia, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Greece.