The SCAR is back in town
After sunsetting the legacy SCAR last year, FN has the new generation of its venerable modular rifle for 2026 – and they are softer recoiling, accept suppressors, and don’t eat scopes anymore.
First fielded in 2008 as sporter (semi-auto) variants of the USSOCOM SOF Combat Assault Rifle, the 16S, 17S, and 20S were a top-shelf option on the commercial market until FN closed that line late last year. Let’s be honest, the original SCAR series was cool but had some issues, and a few needed a significant redesign to fix.
That brings us to the new SCAR line.
Among the new features is that the rifles are optimized for suppressors with a U.S.-standard muzzle profile and barrel shoulder. The platform’s short-stroke gas piston system uses a two-position adjustable gas regulator for improved reliability with cans and different ammo types. The adjustment is accessible via an access port in the heat shield. It works and is an upgrade from the old exposed gas block. Doubling down on the platform being suppressor-friendly as a selling point, FN even designed some new cans just for the SCAR, which we will get to in a separate article.
Another issue with the now-classic SCAR was the tendency to blow out scope crosshairs due to the, well, let’s just call it aggressive recoil. The new SCAR has a new (and lighter) hydraulically buffered modular two-piece bolt carrier that softens recoil. In testing last summer on the range between the old SCAR and the new ones, we could feel the chop decrease and the recoil impulse smooth out significantly.
Triggers have been upgraded with the 20S using an improved FN-designed two-stage precision trigger for better control and feel, providing a 3.5 to 4.5-pound trigger pull. The 17S and 16S have a single-stage trigger that has likewise been updated.
For ergonomics, the pistol grip is now compatible with AR grips and, while the 16S and 17S still ship with the traditional “Ugg Boot” side folding adjustable stock, an AR stock and tube system can be installed.
You also have more QD cups in more places, and all the guns are “Nerch” (Non-Reciprocating Charging Handle or NRCH) variants.
Whereas the old SCAR was kind of limited in the functionality for southpaws, the new ones are fully ambi when it comes to the bolt catch/release, mag release buttons, and safety levers. Even the selector switches are modular now.
When it comes to durability and serviceability, the old SCAR used Hex screws that could strip, whereas the new ones run Torx, among other changes. We were advised that the testing protocol on these guns was no joke, and the new generation SCAR is designed and built with feedback from nearly two decades of end users, many of whom are “tip of the spear” types.
The new SCARs will be available in 15 different variants across the 16S (5.56 in either FDE, Gray, and Black), 17S (6.5CM or 7.62 NATO in FDE, Gray, and Black), and 20S (6.5CM or 7.62 NATO in FDE, Gray, and Black) models.
As for those still hungering for the pistol variant, the SCAR 15P, it survived the great SCAR cull of 2025 but didn’t get any of the new updates and is available in 5.56 and .300BLK, with the latter just screaming for a now zero-dollar Form 1 SBR conversion.
Here comes the rough stuff.
While the new and old SCARs look very much the same – and that was done on purpose for continuity – very little is backward compatible between the discontinued traditional models and the new ones. About the only things that are shared/swappable between the two are the NRCH charging sled (if you had an NRCH model), barrels, magazines, the 9310 bolt and firing pin, and some small springs and pins.
If you have an older SCAR and love it, FN wants you to love it still, and they are supporting those guns for at least the foreseeable future. Remember, they are still making and supporting military/LE contract classic SCARs around the world.
MSRP on the new SCARs is comparable to that of the old guns, but they are still a more top-shelf price than, say, your average AR. The new FN SCAR 17S variants run $3,999, while the 16S is slightly cheaper at $3,799, and the long boy, the 20S, is $4,499. Of course, that is the MSRP, and you can bet that the reseller crowd is going to move into high gear with these, so watch out for the gouging. But if your heart is pure and you wish hard enough and look long enough, you could find one that fits the Ugg-sized hole in your gun safe.
Welcome back, SCAR.
We missed you.