Russian weapons for the Finnish army
At the very end of last February, the information on the new contract for the supply of weapons became public knowledge. As it turned out, back in December 2012, Finland and Russia signed an agreement implying the sale of a certain number of Russian-made machine guns. Behind weapon and spare parts for it, our country will receive about 3,1 million euros. Machine-gun production will Kovrov Degtyarev Plant.
In 2010, the Finnish military showed a desire to acquire a thousand machine guns chambered for 7,62х54 mm, as well as a number of large-caliber machine guns. Later it was the Russian machine guns PKM and Kord that were chosen, which ultimately resulted in the signing of the supply contract. News about this agreement immediately became the subject of discussion, and a large part of the opinions clearly gave bewilderment. The fact that Finland began to order precisely Russian weapons, for an ignorant person, looks rather strange and unexpected. Nevertheless, Russia and Finland have been cooperating in the field of small arms for several years. Moreover, the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle was once even produced in Finland under a license, and also became the basis for the automatic weapon line, still used by the Finnish army. As for the Kalashnikov machine guns, the experience of using them is much less.
The first models of PKM came to Finland only in the early nineties of the last century, when Moscow and Helsinki agreed to partially repay Soviet debts by supplying weapons. In the Finnish armed forces, the PKM machine gun was given the designation Konekivääri 7.62, which can be translated as “Machine gun of the 7,62 caliber of a millimeter”. Together with PKM, large-caliber machine guns NSV-12,7 “Utes” also got into Finland. In the Finnish army, they received a new designation ITKK 96 and are still used in the easel version and for armament of various equipment. Apparently, the twenty-year experience of operating the PKM and NSV-12,7 machine guns left an extremely positive impression and the Finnish Ministry of Defense decided to acquire these types of weapons.
For a normal understanding of the existing contract, it is necessary to consider several issues at once regarding ammunition, moral and material obsolescence of armaments, etc. As for ammunition, Finnish military problems will not be with them. The fact is that cartridges 7,62x54R and 12,7x108 mm are in stock in sufficient quantities, and the production of the first continues to this day. As for the manufacture of large-caliber cartridges, there is no exact information, but from the very fact of the order of the “Cords” we can draw the appropriate conclusions. Thus, the new machine guns are guaranteed not to remain without ammunition, and their manufacture will not take much power. It is noteworthy that the famous cartridge plant in the city of Lapua was once built specifically for the production of Russian 7,62x54R cartridges.
An interesting feature of 7,62-mm rifle cartridges are also their characteristics. Several decades ago, gunsmiths from different countries, including Finland, created a large number of light machine guns for intermediate ammunition. In the course of recent military conflicts, it turned out that infantry units also need automatic weapons, designed for rifle cartridges. It has certain advantages over machine guns or machine guns that use intermediate ammunition, and therefore in some situations it can not only help the unit, but even decide the outcome of the exchange of fire. Therefore, in recent years, all the leading developers of small arms are working on their own versions of new light machine guns for “old” cartridges. If the command of the Finnish army agrees with the current increase in the priority of machine guns for rifle cartridge, then another argument arises in favor of the FCT.
The second question that should be addressed concerns the current state of machine guns in the Finnish army. The PKM machine guns supplied in the nineties were armed with a relatively small number of units. In them, Soviet / Russian weapons replaced Finnish-made KvKK 62 machine guns, designed for the Soviet intermediate cartridge 7,62х39 mm. Nevertheless, the main Finnish machine gun for infantry weapons remained KvKK 62. Since the adoption of these weapons for half a century has passed and it can not be called modern. Thus, urgent rearmament is required with the replacement of old machine guns with new ones.
In the case of large-caliber machine guns, the situation looks a little different. Over the past decades, the Finnish army has managed to use the Soviet DShK and NSV-12,7, as well as the American M2HB. The first has long been decommissioned and disposed of, but the other two types still remain in the ranks. Thrifty Finns produced in their factories ammunition for both types of large-caliber machine guns. Therefore, we can say that the purchase of Russian "Cordov" is dictated not so much by the need to replace the old weapons, as the quality of the new.
Finally, with regard to the PKM machine guns, it is worth noting a rather interesting list of participants in the tender. In fact, only two weapons factories were favorites of the competition: the Russian Degtyarev Plant (Kovrov) and the Bulgarian Arsenal Ltd. Back in the days of the Warsaw Pact, the Bulgarian company received a license to produce PKM machine guns for its armed forces. Kalashnikov License Machine Guns The upgraded ones are called MG-1M. They differ from the original PCM only in the name and some minor details of the design. As you can see, the Bulgarian license machine guns are not interested in the Finnish army.
In general, the current situation with the supply of Russian machine guns to Finland with careful consideration ceases to be incomprehensible and strange. The decision of the Finnish command is well founded and is based immediately on several objective facts. The prerequisites for the recent tender were problems with the current state of machine-gun "technology", and the final decision was affected by the quality of production and supply of ammunition. The deal itself is ultimately beneficial for both parties: Russia will receive the money, and Finland - modern small arms. According to reports, the order for the supply of machine guns will be completed by the end of the current 2013 year.
On the materials of the sites:
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://lenta.ru/
http://rus.ruvr.ru/
http://world.guns.ru/
In 2010, the Finnish military showed a desire to acquire a thousand machine guns chambered for 7,62х54 mm, as well as a number of large-caliber machine guns. Later it was the Russian machine guns PKM and Kord that were chosen, which ultimately resulted in the signing of the supply contract. News about this agreement immediately became the subject of discussion, and a large part of the opinions clearly gave bewilderment. The fact that Finland began to order precisely Russian weapons, for an ignorant person, looks rather strange and unexpected. Nevertheless, Russia and Finland have been cooperating in the field of small arms for several years. Moreover, the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle was once even produced in Finland under a license, and also became the basis for the automatic weapon line, still used by the Finnish army. As for the Kalashnikov machine guns, the experience of using them is much less.
The first models of PKM came to Finland only in the early nineties of the last century, when Moscow and Helsinki agreed to partially repay Soviet debts by supplying weapons. In the Finnish armed forces, the PKM machine gun was given the designation Konekivääri 7.62, which can be translated as “Machine gun of the 7,62 caliber of a millimeter”. Together with PKM, large-caliber machine guns NSV-12,7 “Utes” also got into Finland. In the Finnish army, they received a new designation ITKK 96 and are still used in the easel version and for armament of various equipment. Apparently, the twenty-year experience of operating the PKM and NSV-12,7 machine guns left an extremely positive impression and the Finnish Ministry of Defense decided to acquire these types of weapons.
For a normal understanding of the existing contract, it is necessary to consider several issues at once regarding ammunition, moral and material obsolescence of armaments, etc. As for ammunition, Finnish military problems will not be with them. The fact is that cartridges 7,62x54R and 12,7x108 mm are in stock in sufficient quantities, and the production of the first continues to this day. As for the manufacture of large-caliber cartridges, there is no exact information, but from the very fact of the order of the “Cords” we can draw the appropriate conclusions. Thus, the new machine guns are guaranteed not to remain without ammunition, and their manufacture will not take much power. It is noteworthy that the famous cartridge plant in the city of Lapua was once built specifically for the production of Russian 7,62x54R cartridges.
An interesting feature of 7,62-mm rifle cartridges are also their characteristics. Several decades ago, gunsmiths from different countries, including Finland, created a large number of light machine guns for intermediate ammunition. In the course of recent military conflicts, it turned out that infantry units also need automatic weapons, designed for rifle cartridges. It has certain advantages over machine guns or machine guns that use intermediate ammunition, and therefore in some situations it can not only help the unit, but even decide the outcome of the exchange of fire. Therefore, in recent years, all the leading developers of small arms are working on their own versions of new light machine guns for “old” cartridges. If the command of the Finnish army agrees with the current increase in the priority of machine guns for rifle cartridge, then another argument arises in favor of the FCT.
The second question that should be addressed concerns the current state of machine guns in the Finnish army. The PKM machine guns supplied in the nineties were armed with a relatively small number of units. In them, Soviet / Russian weapons replaced Finnish-made KvKK 62 machine guns, designed for the Soviet intermediate cartridge 7,62х39 mm. Nevertheless, the main Finnish machine gun for infantry weapons remained KvKK 62. Since the adoption of these weapons for half a century has passed and it can not be called modern. Thus, urgent rearmament is required with the replacement of old machine guns with new ones.
In the case of large-caliber machine guns, the situation looks a little different. Over the past decades, the Finnish army has managed to use the Soviet DShK and NSV-12,7, as well as the American M2HB. The first has long been decommissioned and disposed of, but the other two types still remain in the ranks. Thrifty Finns produced in their factories ammunition for both types of large-caliber machine guns. Therefore, we can say that the purchase of Russian "Cordov" is dictated not so much by the need to replace the old weapons, as the quality of the new.
Finally, with regard to the PKM machine guns, it is worth noting a rather interesting list of participants in the tender. In fact, only two weapons factories were favorites of the competition: the Russian Degtyarev Plant (Kovrov) and the Bulgarian Arsenal Ltd. Back in the days of the Warsaw Pact, the Bulgarian company received a license to produce PKM machine guns for its armed forces. Kalashnikov License Machine Guns The upgraded ones are called MG-1M. They differ from the original PCM only in the name and some minor details of the design. As you can see, the Bulgarian license machine guns are not interested in the Finnish army.
In general, the current situation with the supply of Russian machine guns to Finland with careful consideration ceases to be incomprehensible and strange. The decision of the Finnish command is well founded and is based immediately on several objective facts. The prerequisites for the recent tender were problems with the current state of machine-gun "technology", and the final decision was affected by the quality of production and supply of ammunition. The deal itself is ultimately beneficial for both parties: Russia will receive the money, and Finland - modern small arms. According to reports, the order for the supply of machine guns will be completed by the end of the current 2013 year.
On the materials of the sites:
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://lenta.ru/
http://rus.ruvr.ru/
http://world.guns.ru/
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