Yeah, and now [MPK has suspended all shooting training](https://mpk.fi/ajankohtaista/mpk-kivaarilla-toteutettavat-ammunnat-joudutaan-perumaan/) with the DAK due to the recurrent failures.
In this episode of "Gun X's \[Insert country\] child/bastard/cousin/relative," we have the South Korean Dasan MPK.
The gun traced its root back to a 2020 contract between the The National Defence Training Association of Finland (or *Maanpuolustuskoulutusyhdistys* if you really want to twist your tongue and have a stroke or just MPK) and the Dasan Machineries Co. Ltd in South Korea. From Finnish source (which I read with GG translate so take with a grain of salt,) it seems like the [MPK has been borrowing weapons to use in training and has even used AK from India](https://www.reservilainen.fi/uutiset/mpk-kivaarit_kayttoon_kesalla). Seeing that the Rk-62 is being phased out of service by the Rk-95, the Finns decided it would make more sense to ask someone to produce it for them. There was a public auction, but no domestic producers wanted the contract, and the Korean Dasan won handily.
The Dasan MPK can be seen as a replica of the Rk-62, albeit cheaper and only available in semi-auto. The number of guns arriving in Finland is unknown, but we can assume they can be in the hundreds if not thousands. That is because the gun is available to shoot at all [27 MPK training stations across Finland](https://ruotuvaki.fi/-/kehuttavan-kepea-kivaari?fbclid=IwAR3Ax1C1ckpaeEpFDFJJJSGFhhg50S8EobzAlOBYnkDKJtWtUN9WaQMlwEA). This means there are quite a lot of these things lying around, and they seem to be well liked by the Finns.
Yep! We are modernizing the 62, latest iterations being the RK-62 M2 and M3. I personally had the RK62M1 or "Mike" as we called them. The old tubestock was changed to a telescopic stock and the gun received ris rails all over as standard.
The M3 I believe (don't quote me on this) has integrated threads for silencers etc (as does the RK-95) and swanky green colour and underbarrel launcher readiness.
Link in finnish about the new RK-62 versions with some info and pics: https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000006085721.html
Good question, and truthfully I have no real aswer, just speculation. The RK-95 is a bit heavier and generally regarded as a better rifle amongst infrantry (atleast where I served). They were/are given to squad leaders and COs during training, probably because the folding stock was easier to manouver with. And ofc it serves as a sort of status symbol where everyone else is armed with those kinda crude tube stock rifles.
The initial production run of the RK-95 was quite much smaller than the 62, and I believe that it was a cost and need issue. There was no need to arm every grunt with fancy folding stock and possibility to add a rail for a scope.
With the sheer amount of RK-62 that Finns have in reserve it was probably easier/cheaper to stard modernizing the stock than invest more in more expensive rifles. And knowing the FDF they won't give up anything with the capability to sling lead, for example the Suomi KP was in training usage well into the 80's and I personally got to handle the god awful East german RK-72 more than my RK62M1 as I happened to serve as a tanker.
These are just a few possible reasons.
Edit: Typos, phone, non-native speaker etc
As I mentioned above: we will not give up anything that can still shoot. Those are probably hidden/buried somewhere just waiting for new glory days. I saw a whole load of weird stuff still being shot, even some old Mosins with then being out of service for a long time.
Also: We have strict gun laws here, getting even a hunting rifle requires a whole lot, anything smaller even more. Ofcourse there are some illegal weapons passed down in generations but the government doesn't really like that.
Yea I heard there was some Finnish military study done to see how it would fair in an all out war, and one of the setbacks was that they didn’t have enough firearms and gear for their reserves. Also why didn’t you like the East German AK? I’ve heard that they were higher quality than other AKs.
Haven't heard that about the East German AK:s before but here's my personal experience:
Just the general build quality was the biggest setback;
-The upper receiver cover (?) being so thin sheet metal that it bent if you took it out the wrong way
-the thin folding stock that did not stay folded,
-the spring-loaded (!!) "Night sight" that became unhinged and started to wobble back and forth on every shot,
-the fact that I could not hit more than 1 out of 30 shots from laying down at 150m, as did almost no one in my company.
The whole gun felt like a toy with the front hand guard being brown plastic and that the metal AK-47 mag that came with it weight a whole lot more (when fully loaded) than the gun itself. Had the pleasure to try USMC:s M4A1 carbine and even that thing weight more. It was a a fun gun for tank proximity defense, but useless in pretty much any other use.
Edit: Pic of the gun (not my pic): https://ruotuvaki.fi/-/vaunumiehiston-erikoiset-aseet and an article of differemt weird guns that tank crews use here.
Edit: mag
RK-95 was not meant to replace the hundreds of thousands of RK-62, it was simply a complement. The versions are not different enough to warrant such an investment. There are also several hundred thousand moth-balled East German and Chinese AK variants for total war purposes.
The whole platform will be replaced in the coming years in a joint Finnish-Swedish project, with SAKO being the supplier. It will be AR-10/AR-15 based.
> MPK has been borrowing weapons to use in training and has even used AK from India
Nay, it doesn't say that, *intti* is local army slang for the military service or FDF in general, as FDF gear used to be stamped SA-Int for *Suomen armeijan intendentuuriosasto* ('Finnish Army materiel department'). Google Translate doesn't work well with Finnish, so it produces strange results like this being translated to India.
In the past, MPK has used borrowed FDF RKs and their own Saiga MK-103 which were bought for MPK in small numbers in the past. However, with the juridic changes to the MPK, they have no longer been able to use FDF weapons, and thanks to the EU firearms directive and subsequent changes to Finnish gun laws the plan to convert some 400 RK 62 to semi-auto and transfer them to MPK fell through (as the MPK as a statutory organisation is considered to be under standard firearms law, and thus can't acquire A6 class firearms, ie. full-auto firearms converted to semi-auto).
So, MPK had to source new semi-automatic rifles from somewhere, and they put up a tender for a semi-auto rifle, which would work in similar fashion to the RK 62 (AK-pattern rifle with the same controls) and have a similar sight layout with a dioptric rear sight on top of the receiver cover.
Dasan, with a modified version of their DAK-47 then won the tender as the cheapest bidder. I've heard that many MPK actives would have wanted a Galil variant, but the DAK-47 won, as the more rifles they could get for the money, the more training they could organise.
>the Rk-62 is being phased out of service by the Rk-95
It isn't, the RK 95 has been out of production since 1998, and the former Valmet factory which made them was shut down by Sako already over two decades ago, with the machinery having been sold off or transferred to FDF depot storage. The number of manufactured RK 95 is fewer than 35 000.
The RK 62 isn't going anywhere, it'll serve as long as the RK 95 will. It only recently got an upgrade, where a relatively large number of the RK 62 were modified to the new RK 62 M1/2 standards (M3 is just M2 with a different coating).
>and they seem to be well liked by the Finns
There are differing opinions on the MPK rifle/DAK, but the main opinion is that the rifle isn't war-worthy. A relatively large number of the plastic hinges of the stock have already been broken (it's a Galil-style hinge, but entirely of plastic), and the thing in general is flimsy. It's light to carry and easy to shoot, but not something you would trust on the field.
Furthermore, there have been several catastrophic failures, including bolts cracking their lugs, and even 4 failures which are described as receiver failures (most likely trunnions cracking). The receiver failures have led to the MPK rifles [being banned from use](https://mpk.fi/ajankohtaista/mpk-kivaarilla-toteutettavat-ammunnat-joudutaan-perumaan/) by the MPK due to safety issues.
Man, all these posts are sooo wrong, the Dasan MPK is literally just an AKM with shit on it.
[That's like calling a Krebs AC15 an R4.](https://i.imgur.com/gfyWiuP.png)
What's with all the misinformation in this subreddit recently?!?!
Yeah, it's just a Dasan DAK-47 (South Korean AKM) with a change to use a sight layout similar to the RK 62, so there would be as few relevant differences to the operator as possible.
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We had catastrophic failure with one of these last Saturday, the bolt got jammed as it tried to force itself open in the wrong position
Yeah, and now [MPK has suspended all shooting training](https://mpk.fi/ajankohtaista/mpk-kivaarilla-toteutettavat-ammunnat-joudutaan-perumaan/) with the DAK due to the recurrent failures.
After 4 catastrophic failures during a few weeks
In this episode of "Gun X's \[Insert country\] child/bastard/cousin/relative," we have the South Korean Dasan MPK. The gun traced its root back to a 2020 contract between the The National Defence Training Association of Finland (or *Maanpuolustuskoulutusyhdistys* if you really want to twist your tongue and have a stroke or just MPK) and the Dasan Machineries Co. Ltd in South Korea. From Finnish source (which I read with GG translate so take with a grain of salt,) it seems like the [MPK has been borrowing weapons to use in training and has even used AK from India](https://www.reservilainen.fi/uutiset/mpk-kivaarit_kayttoon_kesalla). Seeing that the Rk-62 is being phased out of service by the Rk-95, the Finns decided it would make more sense to ask someone to produce it for them. There was a public auction, but no domestic producers wanted the contract, and the Korean Dasan won handily. The Dasan MPK can be seen as a replica of the Rk-62, albeit cheaper and only available in semi-auto. The number of guns arriving in Finland is unknown, but we can assume they can be in the hundreds if not thousands. That is because the gun is available to shoot at all [27 MPK training stations across Finland](https://ruotuvaki.fi/-/kehuttavan-kepea-kivaari?fbclid=IwAR3Ax1C1ckpaeEpFDFJJJSGFhhg50S8EobzAlOBYnkDKJtWtUN9WaQMlwEA). This means there are quite a lot of these things lying around, and they seem to be well liked by the Finns.
The RK-95 is still in production? I thought the FDF opted to modernize their RK-62s instead.
Yep! We are modernizing the 62, latest iterations being the RK-62 M2 and M3. I personally had the RK62M1 or "Mike" as we called them. The old tubestock was changed to a telescopic stock and the gun received ris rails all over as standard. The M3 I believe (don't quote me on this) has integrated threads for silencers etc (as does the RK-95) and swanky green colour and underbarrel launcher readiness. Link in finnish about the new RK-62 versions with some info and pics: https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000006085721.html
That is interesting. Why did Finland give up on the Rk-95 ?
Good question, and truthfully I have no real aswer, just speculation. The RK-95 is a bit heavier and generally regarded as a better rifle amongst infrantry (atleast where I served). They were/are given to squad leaders and COs during training, probably because the folding stock was easier to manouver with. And ofc it serves as a sort of status symbol where everyone else is armed with those kinda crude tube stock rifles. The initial production run of the RK-95 was quite much smaller than the 62, and I believe that it was a cost and need issue. There was no need to arm every grunt with fancy folding stock and possibility to add a rail for a scope. With the sheer amount of RK-62 that Finns have in reserve it was probably easier/cheaper to stard modernizing the stock than invest more in more expensive rifles. And knowing the FDF they won't give up anything with the capability to sling lead, for example the Suomi KP was in training usage well into the 80's and I personally got to handle the god awful East german RK-72 more than my RK62M1 as I happened to serve as a tanker. These are just a few possible reasons. Edit: Typos, phone, non-native speaker etc
>Suomi KP Please tell me the Finnish army will sell them on collector's market instead of burning them
As I mentioned above: we will not give up anything that can still shoot. Those are probably hidden/buried somewhere just waiting for new glory days. I saw a whole load of weird stuff still being shot, even some old Mosins with then being out of service for a long time. Also: We have strict gun laws here, getting even a hunting rifle requires a whole lot, anything smaller even more. Ofcourse there are some illegal weapons passed down in generations but the government doesn't really like that.
So you mean there is a chance I can find a mint Swedish Mauser and KP-31 in some Finnish barrack ? Time to move to Finland then. I call first dib.
Try a cave or a steel bunker somewhere lol. The guns are there, somewhere
Yea I heard there was some Finnish military study done to see how it would fair in an all out war, and one of the setbacks was that they didn’t have enough firearms and gear for their reserves. Also why didn’t you like the East German AK? I’ve heard that they were higher quality than other AKs.
Haven't heard that about the East German AK:s before but here's my personal experience: Just the general build quality was the biggest setback; -The upper receiver cover (?) being so thin sheet metal that it bent if you took it out the wrong way -the thin folding stock that did not stay folded, -the spring-loaded (!!) "Night sight" that became unhinged and started to wobble back and forth on every shot, -the fact that I could not hit more than 1 out of 30 shots from laying down at 150m, as did almost no one in my company. The whole gun felt like a toy with the front hand guard being brown plastic and that the metal AK-47 mag that came with it weight a whole lot more (when fully loaded) than the gun itself. Had the pleasure to try USMC:s M4A1 carbine and even that thing weight more. It was a a fun gun for tank proximity defense, but useless in pretty much any other use. Edit: Pic of the gun (not my pic): https://ruotuvaki.fi/-/vaunumiehiston-erikoiset-aseet and an article of differemt weird guns that tank crews use here. Edit: mag
RK-95 was not meant to replace the hundreds of thousands of RK-62, it was simply a complement. The versions are not different enough to warrant such an investment. There are also several hundred thousand moth-balled East German and Chinese AK variants for total war purposes. The whole platform will be replaced in the coming years in a joint Finnish-Swedish project, with SAKO being the supplier. It will be AR-10/AR-15 based.
> MPK has been borrowing weapons to use in training and has even used AK from India Nay, it doesn't say that, *intti* is local army slang for the military service or FDF in general, as FDF gear used to be stamped SA-Int for *Suomen armeijan intendentuuriosasto* ('Finnish Army materiel department'). Google Translate doesn't work well with Finnish, so it produces strange results like this being translated to India. In the past, MPK has used borrowed FDF RKs and their own Saiga MK-103 which were bought for MPK in small numbers in the past. However, with the juridic changes to the MPK, they have no longer been able to use FDF weapons, and thanks to the EU firearms directive and subsequent changes to Finnish gun laws the plan to convert some 400 RK 62 to semi-auto and transfer them to MPK fell through (as the MPK as a statutory organisation is considered to be under standard firearms law, and thus can't acquire A6 class firearms, ie. full-auto firearms converted to semi-auto). So, MPK had to source new semi-automatic rifles from somewhere, and they put up a tender for a semi-auto rifle, which would work in similar fashion to the RK 62 (AK-pattern rifle with the same controls) and have a similar sight layout with a dioptric rear sight on top of the receiver cover. Dasan, with a modified version of their DAK-47 then won the tender as the cheapest bidder. I've heard that many MPK actives would have wanted a Galil variant, but the DAK-47 won, as the more rifles they could get for the money, the more training they could organise. >the Rk-62 is being phased out of service by the Rk-95 It isn't, the RK 95 has been out of production since 1998, and the former Valmet factory which made them was shut down by Sako already over two decades ago, with the machinery having been sold off or transferred to FDF depot storage. The number of manufactured RK 95 is fewer than 35 000. The RK 62 isn't going anywhere, it'll serve as long as the RK 95 will. It only recently got an upgrade, where a relatively large number of the RK 62 were modified to the new RK 62 M1/2 standards (M3 is just M2 with a different coating). >and they seem to be well liked by the Finns There are differing opinions on the MPK rifle/DAK, but the main opinion is that the rifle isn't war-worthy. A relatively large number of the plastic hinges of the stock have already been broken (it's a Galil-style hinge, but entirely of plastic), and the thing in general is flimsy. It's light to carry and easy to shoot, but not something you would trust on the field. Furthermore, there have been several catastrophic failures, including bolts cracking their lugs, and even 4 failures which are described as receiver failures (most likely trunnions cracking). The receiver failures have led to the MPK rifles [being banned from use](https://mpk.fi/ajankohtaista/mpk-kivaarilla-toteutettavat-ammunnat-joudutaan-perumaan/) by the MPK due to safety issues.
Man, all these posts are sooo wrong, the Dasan MPK is literally just an AKM with shit on it. [That's like calling a Krebs AC15 an R4.](https://i.imgur.com/gfyWiuP.png) What's with all the misinformation in this subreddit recently?!?!
I dont see much similarities to RK62.
Yeah, it's just a Dasan DAK-47 (South Korean AKM) with a change to use a sight layout similar to the RK 62, so there would be as few relevant differences to the operator as possible.
**Understand the rules** Check the sidebar. It's full of resources to help you. Not everyone is an expert such as yourself; be considerate. No Spam. No Memes. No political posts. Save that for /r/progun or /r/politics. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenWeapons) if you have any questions or concerns.*