Assault Rifles Codexery

RK 62

Standard issue Finnish assault rifle based on the AK-47 design.

Last updated

It was adopted in 1965, with over 300,000 produced by the early 1990s.[1] The basic RK 62 weighs 3.5 kg.[2]

How it changed

The Soviet AK-47 was the most important model examined during development.[3] The RK 62 replaced the earlier RK 60 as the primary service rifle.[2] The RK 62 is the basis of the Israeli IMI Galil assault rifle.[4] Valmet's Lauri Oksanen created the RK 62 from 1957 through 1962, taking the Polish-licensed version of the AK-47 as its foundation.[5]

All internal components of the RK 62 and the RK 62 76 can be swapped between them; the receiver is the sole part that differs.[5] This replacement forms part of a broader initiative to convert all Finnish military small arms to NATO-standard ammunition.[6]

What the maker and period sources say

The Firearm Blog reports that the RK 62M upgrade includes a telescopic adjusting stock, renewed fire selector, and optical sight mount.[2] The upgrade will extend the service life of the RK 62 into the 2030s at a projected cost of 12.6 million Euros.[1]

References

  1. "Finland Introduces New Updated RK62M -", May 2019. facts only, no text reused. thefirearmblog.com
  2. Vladimir Onokoy, "Finnish RK62M Sako/Valmet Rifle - A Closer Look at Long Anticipated Upgrade -", The Firearm Blog, 25 July 2019. facts only, no text reused. thefirearmblog.com
  3. Wikipedia, "RK 62" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maavoimat > Perustietoa > Maavoimien kalustoa > Jalkaväki > Käsiaseet > Rynnäkkökivääri 7.62 RK 62 "Rynnäkkökivääri 7.62 RK 62 "" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "RK 62" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Modern Firearms", 27 October 2010; Antti Värri, "Konetuliaseet ja automaattipistoolit"; Galil ACE: IWI Brings the AK Into the Modern Era. by Jeremiah Knupp. 28 December 2017 (Archive) (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "RK 62" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Palokangas, "Sotilaskäsiaseet Suomessa 1918-1988: Suomen maanpuolustuksen ja sotien kevyt kiväärikaliiperinen aseistus itsenäisyyden 70 vuoden aikana. 2. osa, Suomalaiset aseet", Suomen asehistoriallinen seura, 1991 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "RK 62" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Finnish Defence Forces to shift to using NATO-standard calibres for new small arms", maavoimat.fi, 2025-10-28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article RK 62 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: Who designed "RK 62": Magpul Industries, Alexey Sudayev, Lauri Oksanen or Mikhail Kalashnikov? · More technology trivia

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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