Sako AR10

[Olli]

So, as some may already know Sako is going to produce AR10 rifles for Finnish military. This 7.62 nato caliber M23 rifle will have marksman and fire support versions. Deal is for 10 milllion Euros and I have no specific production amounts. So the question is: How big this production run will be? Some of our members might have some ideas what it takes to produce AR10 in the US (or elsewhere) and we could extrapolate from there.

Here is the link to the news article. It is in Finnish, but google translator will help a bit.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12267811

 

[icebear]

This is a giant surprise from the Finnish Defense Forces! I am not aware of any other military that has adopted any version of the "new" AR10 (i.e. the modern version, not the original ArmaLite rifle built in the Netherlands in the late 1960's).

The photo in the linked article shows a rifle fitted with a sound suppressor, suggesting a special operations mission in addition to DMR/SPR functions. The article indicates the contract rifles will be semiautomatic (if my rusty Finnish is correct; I sight read the article and did not try to translate it with a dictionary). That raises the interesting possibility that if the Finnish Defense Forces and the US authorities will permit it, we might see a civilian version on the US market in a few years. I've never had much interest in the new AR10 (I used to have one of the old ones), but if it was a Sako, that might change.

As to the cost, I would guess that 1,000 or so Euros might be a starting point for a unit cost estimate. That would add up to 10,ooo rifles on a 10 million Euro contract - not an unreasonable number. AR10's can be had for less than that in the US, but we are talking about a military weapon, built to a higher standard by a high-cost manufacturer so I think that's in the ballpark.

Anyway, thanks Olli for a very interesting piece of news. Kiitos!

 

[bigcountry4me]

I’m sure the Finnish military will end up with a fine rifle.

The US Military’s latest 7.62 rifle is produced by Heckler and Koch. It known as the M110A1 SDMR. My understanding they cost about $6000.00 US a piece. I believe the contact was for 56 million dollars, or thereabouts.

A civilian AR10 starts at about $900.00 US for a basic but functional rifle. The price goes higher depending on builder and the various features included in the build.

 

[Spaher]

Here’s latest online

 

[icebear]

Here’s latest online

Interesting, but the Finnish language article is much more informative. The article in English also contains a major error - the Tkiv.85 sniper rifle is not a Soviet design. It's a Finnish design based on the ancient Mosin-Nagant action. Its immediate ancestor was the m/28-76 target rifle, which is available on the US collector market. Despite its dated appearance, it's an extremely accurate and reliable sniper rifle. The Finns have been improving on the pre-Soviet Mosin-Nagant since the mid-1920's, and the rk/62 assault rifle was an improved Kalashnikov.

 

[Olli]

Interesting, but the Finnish language article is much more informative. The article in English also contains a major error - the Tkiv.85 sniper rifle is not a Soviet design. It's a Finnish design based on the ancient Mosin-Nagant action. Its immediate ancestor was the m/28-76 target rifle, which is available on the US collector market. Despite its dated appearance, it's an extremely accurate and reliable sniper rifle. The Finns have been improving on the pre-Soviet Mosin-Nagant since the mid-1920's, and the rk/62 assault rifle was an improved Kalashnikov.

Tkiv.85 is quite capable rifle despite it's age. And the doctrine for "sniping" in infantry squad is somewhat different that we might think. Blatantly it is harassing enemy movement, especially fire control, machine gunners and enemy snipers. Long range targets are a lot easier to deal with artillery than small arms. I think that new M23 will be superior in every aspect compared to old dragunovs and Tkiv.85's. Those old AK47's and RK/62-95 remain in service for few decades since we still have them in "millions", but still 7.62 nato is more powerfull and might be better caliber for future.