https://www.guns.com/news/2023/03/30/finland-and-sweden-team-up-for-sako-military-rifle-deal
"Two Scandinavian countries announced this week they will move toward a common series of rifles, all produced by Sako.
The Finnish and Swedish defense ministries on Monday held a joint press conference to debut the framework of a plan that would see the armed forces of both countries adopt a shared family of small arms produced in the region. The agreement – worked out between the Swedish Defense Materiel Agency, or FMV, the Finnish Defense Force Logistics Command, and riflemaker Sako Oy – would last 10 years with optional extensions that stretch until 2053."
"The new family of common rifles includes a 5.56 NATO carbine, a 7.62 NATO caliber rifle, and a bolt-action precision rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum."
"Meanwhile, the Finnish military, which has a strength of over 280,000 when mobilized, is set to replace the indigenous Valmet Rk 62 and updated Rk 95 in 7.62x39mm. While both have Kalashnikov roots, the new Sako-made guns are of AR-15/AR-10 layouts, which promise more commonality with other NATO nations – a key point to keep in mind as both Sweden and Finland are slated for membership in the military alliance.
Scandinavian neighbors Norway and Denmark both field AR variants, with the Norwegians using HK 416s and the Danes running C7s and C8s – which are fundamentally just M16A2s and M4s but made by Colt Canada."
I saw several of the Swede AK5s in Stockholm back in 2017 but didn't see any Finnish AK62s while visiting Helsinki.
Norweigian HK416 in Oslo
Canadian C7s in Copenhagen
"Two Scandinavian countries announced this week they will move toward a common series of rifles, all produced by Sako.
The Finnish and Swedish defense ministries on Monday held a joint press conference to debut the framework of a plan that would see the armed forces of both countries adopt a shared family of small arms produced in the region. The agreement – worked out between the Swedish Defense Materiel Agency, or FMV, the Finnish Defense Force Logistics Command, and riflemaker Sako Oy – would last 10 years with optional extensions that stretch until 2053."
"The new family of common rifles includes a 5.56 NATO carbine, a 7.62 NATO caliber rifle, and a bolt-action precision rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum."
"Meanwhile, the Finnish military, which has a strength of over 280,000 when mobilized, is set to replace the indigenous Valmet Rk 62 and updated Rk 95 in 7.62x39mm. While both have Kalashnikov roots, the new Sako-made guns are of AR-15/AR-10 layouts, which promise more commonality with other NATO nations – a key point to keep in mind as both Sweden and Finland are slated for membership in the military alliance.
Scandinavian neighbors Norway and Denmark both field AR variants, with the Norwegians using HK 416s and the Danes running C7s and C8s – which are fundamentally just M16A2s and M4s but made by Colt Canada."
I saw several of the Swede AK5s in Stockholm back in 2017 but didn't see any Finnish AK62s while visiting Helsinki.
Norweigian HK416 in Oslo
Canadian C7s in Copenhagen
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