FN Awarded SC-CAP Grant Funded by SC DEW and Administered by SC Commerce and SCMEP

Award Will be Used to Further the Company’s CMMC Compliance Efforts

(McLean, VA – March 2, 2023) FN America, LLC is pleased to announce that the company has been awarded a South Carolina Cybersecurity Assistance Program (SC-CAP) grant. The SC-CAP grant is funded by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SC DEW) and is coordinated by both the South Carolina Department of Commerce (SC Commerce) and the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP). The program provides funding and assistance to defense contractors to comply with cybersecurity standards known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). The CMMC combines and builds upon the standards outlined in the DFARS and NIST 800-171 to protect controlled information.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected by South Carolina’s Department of Commerce and the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership for this grant,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America, LLC. “As a longtime supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense based in Columbia, this grant will aid our team greatly as we move forward on our path to CMMC compliance, helping bring new contracts and business to FN and the state of South Carolina.”

Over the last several years, FN America has invested significantly into CMMC compliance to ensure that the company is able to meet the information security requirements of today’s U.S. government contracts. Contractors must meet a minimum score outlined by the Dept. of Defense in order to be considered compliant. The grant award from the South Carolina Department of Commerce will be used to assess the company’s CMMC score and identify areas of improvement.

“As a government contractor, keeping our information and technical expertise secure is a top priority,” said Jason Britton, Director of Information Technology for FN America, LLC. “We have invested heavily into our cybersecurity protocols to ensure our company is protected and compliant with all requirements we are held to as contractors, and our team is excited by the opportunity that this grant offers us to further those efforts.”

In operation since 1979, FN America, LLC is a South Carolina-based manufacturer of small arms for the U.S. military, law enforcement and commercial customers. The company has produced the M4A1 and M16A4 general purpose carbines, the M249 series of lightweight machine guns and the M240 medium weight machine guns under contract from its Columbia production facility. Throughout its history, FN has been and remains one of the largest suppliers of small arms under contract to the U.S. Department of Defense.