The Swedish Armed Forces have received the first batch of Finnish AK 24 rifles as part of the program to purchase a new standard assault rifle for the army.

This was reported by the Swedish Defense Logistics Administration.

The first models of the new AK 24 assault rifle (Automatkarbin 24) were handed over during a demonstrational exercise of the Army, where a firing test was conducted and additional information was announced.

It became known, thus, that the rifles had been transferred as part of the first batch of 1200 units from the Finnish manufacturer SAKO, which had been selected to supply the Swedish army with a new assault rifle.

The official ceremony of adopting the new weapon for service will take place on December 16, 2024, which will be an important milestone for the Swedish Army as part of the infantry rearmament program.

In addition, about 7,300 new AK 24 assault rifles are expected to be delivered by the end of the year to equip the Swedish Army and the Marine Corps’ advanced mechanized units.

“Based on the results of the tests conducted during the year, I can say that modern weapons of very high quality are being delivered. At the end of the year, we will have to hand over a total of 7300 weapons,” said Anders Ostberg, small arms project manager at the Swedish Defense Logistics Agency.

It should be noted that to date, Sweden has received 200 test models, which have been actively involved in testing in various climatic conditions to verify their quality and reliability.

The AK 24 (Automatkarbin 24) is a Swedish version of the Finnish SAKO M23 assault rifle, which was adopted by the Finnish army as the main assault rifle. The main difference between them is the caliber in which they are purchased for the Ground Forces.

The Finnish Armed Forces, thus, purchase rifles in 7.62×51 mm caliber, while the Swedish military purchases rifles in 5.56×45 mm caliber.

In addition, there is a difference in accessories such as sights, grips, laser targeting sensors, etc.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that Finland had decided to replace Soviet-designed sniper rifles and purchased a new Sako M23 sniper system.