LAPA FA-03 Country Brazil Type Assault rifle Manufacturer LAPA Introduction 1983 Specifications Weight 3.5 kg (7.716 lb) Length 738 mm (29.07 in) Barrel length 490 mm (19.3 in) Cartridge 5.56x45mm non-NATO standard (55-grains M193 \"Ball\" cartridge) Action Gas-operated reloading, rotating bolt Rate of fire 650 rounds/min Muzzle velocity 975 m/s (3,200 ft/s) Effective range 550 m (600 yd) Feed system 20- or 30-round detachable box magazine (STANAG 4179); proprietary 30-round clear plastic detachable box magazine Sights fixed front sight, adjustable rear sight, patterned after US M16 rifle

The FA Modelo 03 rifle was an individual firearm of bullpup design developed by Nelmo Suzano at his own-funded company, LAPA - LABORATORIO DE PESQUISA DE ARMAMENTO AUTOMATICO Sc/Ltda, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The name stands for the Portuguese \"Fuzil de Assalto Modelo 03\", or \"Model 3 Assault Rifle\", whilst the name of the company stands for \"Automatic Armaments Development Laboratory, LTD.\"

Development and manufacture of this weapon lasted between 1978 and 1983, along with two more models (a 9 m/m sub-machinegun and a .22 - Long Rifle sub-carbine of conventional design) with the purpose to obtain both domestic and export Military and LE sales. The FA Modelo 03 is the only firearm in bullpup design to have been experimented by LAPA.

The members of the Brazilian Military that experimented the FA Modelo 03 and other LAPA firearms at the Marambaia Testing Ground in the early 1980s rejected the design. But when the FA Modelo 03 was ultimately offered for sales no orders were forthcoming and LAPA went out of business shortly after 1983, with less than 500 FA Modelo 03 rifles manufactured overall.