Russia Built a Cartridge Factory in Venezuela

Rosoboronexport has completed the construction of the first stage of a 7.62 mm ammunition plant for Kalashnikov rifles in Venezuela.

Russian state corporation Rostec announced the news.

The first stage includes four production lines. Two of them will produce ammunition with a steel-core bullet, while the others will produce tracer bullets and blank cartridges.

The company is already capable of producing tens of thousands of rounds per shift and up to 70 million rounds per year.

The test program conducted at the testing station confirmed the quality of the products and their compliance with the declared characteristics.

The corporation’s executive director stated that the remaining production buildings are expected to be launched soon. This will enable the establishment of a complete cycle of ammunition production in Venezuela.

In addition, the company has put into operation a waste destruction building, intermediate warehouses for ammunition components, a unique shooting range for testing ammunition with a tracer bullet (working area – 210 meters), as well as a fire tank and other auxiliary facilities.

Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheev stated that the project was fraught with serious challenges due to the pressure of sanctions on Russia and Venezuela. The Koshkin Design Bureau of Automated Lines provided production line design and commissioning services.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez agreed to build a cartridge factory in Venezuela in 2006. However, its foundation was laid only in 2009. Along with it, the country was to launch licensed production of AK-103 assault rifles.

In August 2021, the head of Rosoboronexport stated that the Venezuelan assault rifle factory was still under construction and was in the final stage of work.

Later, the Venezuelan authorities announced plans to complete the construction in the second half of 2022. However, there is still no information about its launch.

In addition to sanctions and the pandemic, the construction delay was also accompanied by a corruption scandal: in the summer of 2015, the head of the contractor company, Sergey Popilnyukhov, was arrested on charges of embezzling more than RUB 1 billion allocated for the construction of the Venezuelan plants.