{"id":12099,"date":"2023-04-01T08:21:08","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T11:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=12099"},"modified":"2023-04-01T08:21:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T11:21:08","slug":"finlandia-y-suecia-firman-acuerdo-para-unificar-el-armamento-individual-de-sus-fuerzas-terrestres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=12099","title":{"rendered":"Finlandia y Suecia firman acuerdo para unificar el armamento individual de sus fuerzas terrestres"},"content":{"rendered":"

La posibilidad de que Finlandia y Suecia se incorporen pr\u00f3ximamente a la NATO, motiv\u00f3 que las autoridades de Defensa de ambos pa\u00edses firmen un acuerdo de largo plazo, para la unificaci\u00f3n de las armas port\u00e1tiles individuales de sus Fuerzas Terrestres, b\u00e1sicamente los Fusiles de Asalto y de Tirador Especial. La compa\u00f1\u00eda finlandesa SAKO, reconocida mundialmente por la calidad de sus armas de precisi\u00f3n, ser\u00e1 el n\u00facleo base del acuerdo. Ella ser\u00e1 la responsable de la fabricaci\u00f3n de una familia de Fusiles de Asalto en calibres 5.56x45mm y 7.62x51mm y Fusiles de Sniper en calibre 7.62mm y 8.6mm (.338 lapua Mg). En los programas de modernizaci\u00f3n de ambos pa\u00edses, se plante\u00f3 la necesidad de reemplazar el armamento individual, ya considerado obsoleto y particularmente el caso de Finlandia, que sus fuerzas est\u00e1n equipadas a\u00fan, con armas de modelos y en los calibres de la familia AK’s de origen ruso. El acuerdo incluye inversiones en plantas de fabricaci\u00f3n de munici\u00f3n en ambos pa\u00edses, que permitan asegurar el autoabastecimiento de ese recurso cr\u00edtico.<\/p>\n

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Finland and Sweden are teaming up to jointly acquire a new range of infantry and sniper rifles for their respective armed forces, providing a significant degree of commonality as they both move closer\u00a0to joining NATO<\/a>. The decision, announced today, is also the latest step in a deepening military relationship between the two Nordic states, which last week \u2014 together with Denmark and Norway \u2014 also unveiled plans for a unified air defense alliance, to better cope with the Russian threat, a move you can read\u00a0more about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under a framework agreement\u00a0signed today<\/a>\u00a0by representatives of the two defense ministries, the Finnish and Swedish Defense Forces will jointly acquire new guns produced by the Finnish arms manufacturer SAKO, located at Riihim\u00e4ki in the south of that country, and established back in 1921.<\/p>\n

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Signature of the framework agreement today. Left to right: Franco Gussali Beretta, President of SAKO; Jari Mikkonen, Director of Finnish Defense Forces Logistics Command; Jonas Lotsne, Director of the Ground Systems Department at the Swedish Defense Materiel Agency; Raimo Karjalainen, CEO of SAKO. SAKO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cWe very much appreciate the agreement and thank the Swedish and Finnish Defense Forces for the good cooperation with SAKO and the trust they have placed in us. With this agreement, SAKO will return to being a manufacturer of semi-automatic and automatic weapons,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0Raimo Karjalainen, the CEO of SAKO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The common family of weapons will include rifles chambered for both NATO-standard 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm calibers, as well as bolt-action sniper rifles that can be rapidly configured to fire either 7.62x51mm or\u00a0.338 Lapua Magnum (8.6mm)<\/a>\u00a0rounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Given that Sako has been chosen as the manufacturer, the company’s\u00a0TRG M10<\/a>, or a new variant or derivative thereof, would seem a likely candidate for the common sniper rifle.\u00a0TRG series rifles<\/a>\u00a0are already in service with a number of armed forces around the world.<\/p>\n

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The SAKO TRG M10 bolt-action sniper rifle. SAKO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sako has also developed a line of 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm rifles derived from the American AR-15\/M16 and AR-10 patterns.<\/p>\n

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A SAKO AR-style assault rifle in 7.62mm caliber. SAKO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A 5.56mm caliber version of the AR-style assault rifle. SAKO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like many modern ‘AR’ derivatives, including the very successful\u00a0Heckler & Koch HK 416<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0HK 417<\/a>\u00a0series and the increasingly popular\u00a0Sig Sauer MCX<\/a>\u00a0family, the Finnish-designed guns in this family use physical gas pistons to cycle the action. Typical AR-15\/M16\/M4s blow propellant gas, siphoned from the barrel when a cartridge is fired, directly into the main action, a method of operation known as direct impingement.<\/p>\n

With regards to the new small arms partnership between Finland and Sweden, the Swedish government\u00a0will lead the procurement<\/a>, buying what has been reported locally as a \u201cconsiderable\u201d number of weapons under an initial contract that\u2019s worth 78 million Euros, or around $85 million. The guns will be used to replace the country’s existing\u00a0AK4 and AK5 assault rifles<\/a>\u00a0(Swedish-made versions of the\u00a0Heckler & Koch G3A3<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0FN FNC assault rifles<\/a>, respectively) and the Accuracy International\u00a0Psg 90<\/a>\u00a0sniper rifle currently in Swedish service. These weapons are in service across the Swedish Armed Forces, including its reserve Home Guard component.<\/p>\n

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Swedish Marines on a reconnaissance exercise on the island of Uto, Sweden, armed with AK 5 assault rifles. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class America A. Henry\/ Released<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The new sniper rifle is planned for introduction in Sweden next year, followed by the new 5.56x45mm caliber assault rifle in 2025. Other new weapons could come sometime after that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For Sweden, in particular, there is an urgent requirement to modernize the small arms used by its armed forces, with the AK4 in use since the 1960s and the AK5 having been developed in the early 1980s. Compared to these aging weapons, the new rifles will be lighter, have better ergonomics and modularity, as well as offer a wider range of accessories.<\/p>\n

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Swedish Home Guard members with AK 4 rifles. Peter Fristedt via Wikimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe agreement signed today will affect virtually all Swedish Defense Forces personnel, who will in the long term have access to new modern weapons,\u201d explained Jonas Lotsne, director of the Ground Systems Department at the Swedish Defense Materiel Agency, or FMV. \u201cWe are now taking a big step towards replacing practically all the weapons in our Defense Forces, and that is very gratifying,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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For Finland, the first phase of the program will see it purchase an undisclosed batch of assault rifles for field testing, placing orders worth around 700,000 Euros, or approximately $755,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Finland, too, is looking forward to a wide-ranging overhaul of its small arms inventory, which has long been provided by SAKO. The country’s current standard assault rifles are the RK62 and RK95 series, both of which are derived from the famous Soviet AK-47 family and are chambered in the Russian 7.62x39mm cartridge.<\/p>\n

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US Army soldiers try out Finnish RK62-series rifles on the range while in the country for an exercise. U.S. Army<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A Finnish naval special operator fires an RK95 rifle during cross-training with NATO forces. NATO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cThe future family of small arms will prepare for the gradual replacement of the Defense Forces\u2019 current assault rifles, automatic sniper rifles, and heavy sniper rifles,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Jari Mikkonen, director of the Finnish Defense Forces Logistics Command. \u201cThe Defense Forces are preparing to phase out the current weapon systems in a phased manner, ensuring a controlled and cost-effective withdrawal of the current systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For the Finnish Defense Forces, the decision to field new-generation rifles in both 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm calibers is particularly notable given the country’s still widespread use of small arms chambered for both the Russian 7.62x39mm and 7.62x54mmR cartridges. This is, of course, well in line with Finland’s move to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It remains to be seen exactly what mix of 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm guns Finland might adopt in the future. The country’s armed forces, especially its special operations community, does already have limited numbers of rifles and machine guns in those calibers, including a 7.62x51mm Sako ‘AR’ variant known as the M23. Those guns have been used to replace Soviet-designed 7.62x54mmR\u00a0Dragunov SVD designated marksman rifles<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0bolt-action Tkiv 85s sniper rifles<\/a>. The latter rifles were derived from the Russian Mosin\u2013Nagant\u00a0pattern and are chambered in the Finnish 7.62\u00d753mmR cartridge, itself based on the 7.62x54mmR.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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