The LAPA FA-03 was a bullpup assault rifle designed in Brazil by the company LAPA (Laboratório de Pesquisa de Armamentos Automáticos, SC/Ltda, Automatic Armament Research Laboratory SC/Ltda), and developed by its owner, Nelmo Suzano (1930-2013). The acronym FA-03 stands for "Fuzil de Assalto Modelo 03" ("Assault Rifle Model 3"). Characteristics The development and production of the prototype rifle took place between 1978 and 1983, with two other models being planned (one 9mm submachine gun and the other a .22) with the aim of having domestic and military weapons for both domestic sale and export. The FA-03 was the only bullpup model made by LAPA and only one prototype was built. The FA-03 was an assault rifle with a fire selector register based on the standard piston operated system with a rotating bolt lock. A feature of the FA-03 was the absence of a safe position. A single lever is set for one of the three firing modes: “30” for full auto, “3” for controlled 3-round burst, “1” for semiautomatic fire; and the two action modes “SA” for single action and “DA” for double action. The rifle was stable in 3-round bursts fired both from the shoulder and from the hip (assault position). The arrangement of the bullpup rifle made it as compact as possible without shortening the barrel to a point where ballistic efficiency would be degraded. To achieve this, the trigger was moved forward and the firing mechanism, together with the magazine, was fitted into the stock cavity. The eject port could be adjusted ambidextrously, albeit with the ejection being right side only. Ergonomy Brazilian weapons specialist Ronaldo Olive noted the rifle as being ergonomically pleasant. The rifle's sling can secure it in different places, being noticeably comfortable in long marches. Suzano, the creator, believed that the double action mode worked very well as a safety lock, as to be able to shoot in this position would need a very strong and long pull on the trigger, which would not happen by accident or by fatigue of the mechanism. This also ensured the impossibility of accidental firing when the hammer is released due to some technical problem that the weapon might have. The LAPA FA-03 rifle had a plastic receiver that protected the weapon mechanism against external agents (water, sand, dust, etc.) and considerably reduced the overall weight of the weapon. Originally the rifle was fed by a plastic