The RK 62 (from Finnish rynnäkkökivääri 62, 'assault rifle 62'), officially 7.62 RK 62 and commercially M62, is an assault rifle manufactured by Valmet and Sako. It is the standard issue infantry weapon of the Finnish Defence Forces. The RK 62 was designed in 1957–1962 by a Valmet engineer Lauri Oksanen and is based on the Polish licensed version of the Soviet AK-47 design. The RK 62 uses the same 7.62×39mm cartridge as the AK-47. Between 1965 and 1994 350,000 M62 rifles were produced jointly by Valmet and Sako. It is the basis of the IMI Galil, an Israeli-made assault rifle with many similarities. The RK 62 has a three-pronged flash suppressor, and a groove for a specially designed knife bayonet, which can be used alone as a combat knife. The RK 95 TP is a more modern, improved version of the RK 62. One of the most distinctive features of the Valmet rifles, including the M62 and all subsequent variations, is the open-ended, three prong flash suppressor with a bayonet lug on its lower side. In addition to the flash suppression, the end can quickly cut barbed wire by pushing the muzzle onto a strand of wire and firing a round.

History

The development of a Finnish assault rifle in 7.62×39mm Soviet intermediary cartridge began in the 1950s. Various foreign models were looked at, the Soviet AK-47 being the most important. The first version was called the RK 60. The RK 62 was produced in 1960 at the Valmet factory in Tourula and was internally almost a copy of the AK-47. It featured a metallic buttstock, a plastic handguard and pistol grip but lacked the trigger guard (it was hoped that it would make firing this weapon easier in cold Finnish winter when soldiers wore warm mittens). The very first prototypes, closely modeled after Polish licence made AKs, had tinted birchwood stocks. After testing by the military, the RK 60 was slightly modified (trigger guard was reinstated) and adopted as the 7.62 RK 62. In August 2015, the Finnish Defence Forces announced that they will gradually modernize existing RK 62 rifles. The old tubular butt and leather sling will be replaced with a telescopic stock and tactical sling. An option for mounting a top rail for telescopic sights and night vision devices will be added to all rifles; likewise, the barrel will get an attachment point for tactical lights and lasers. The upgraded model will be known as RK 62 M.

Design

The RK 62 is considered a high quality AK-47 variant. The biggest single improvement, apart from the metallurgical quality of the receiver and the overall quality of the barrel, are the sights: most AK variants have the rear sight mounted on top of the gas piston housing on top of the receiver. In the RK 62 the rear sight is mounted on the rear of the receiver cover with tritium illuminated night-sights. The sight radius is doubled enhancing the accuracy along with the hammer-forged match CM barrel. Aperture rear sight on a sliding tangent with flip tritium night sight, forward hooded post, 470 mm sight radius. This is apparent especially in its accuracy, as it can frequently achieve less than one minute of arc. The rifle uses a "peep" diopter sight, which is flipped over to reveal the open tritium enhanced rear night sight. The forward sight also has a mode for night operation. The gas tube is dove tailed into the front trunnion, and is a single-diameter tube, unlike the AK/AKM tube, which has a star-shaped cross-section to guide the piston while allowing gasses to vent behind it. The gas piston has a cog shaped ring on the stem, behind the piston head. The ring's diameter matches the tube diameter, and it acts as the guide within the gas tube, the notches on the ring allowing excess gasses to be vented behind the piston head/guide. This system reduces the number of parts, and simplifies manufacturing as well as assembly/disassembly. This design made its way into the IMI Galil. A port in the shoulder pad allows storing items (e.g. the cleaning kit) in the tubular buttstock. All RK variants are designed to withstand the extreme environmental conditions of Northern Europe.

Variants

Military

Export (Military/LE)

Civilian

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