NATO to Use Russian Rifles

NATO may start using Russian short rifles “Vepr” (which means “wild boar”). These rifles have been tested in the course of maneuvers in the German army and approved by NATO officials.
The Russian company “Rostekhnologii”, which produces the “Vepr” rifles, says that 17 NATO countries have already agreed to purchase them.

“In fact, ”Vepr” is a modification of the famous Kalshnikov gun, and I would call it one of the best of its modifications,” Vice President of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Issues Konstantin Sivkov said in an interview with the Voice of Russia.

“This rifle may be used both in battles in open air and in enclosed spaces,” Mr. Sivkov says. “Most likely, it will be modified to enable it to be used with ammo that is used in NATO countries for similar rifles. The rifles will be probably used in these countries by police and special forces.”

The talks concerning purchasing the “Vepr” short rifles by EU and NATO countries from Russia started in spring 2012. In September, the rifles were tested by German armed forces during a mock attack on a fortified building.

“Although, officially, “Vepr” is not a military weapon, but a hunting rifle, the German military speak high of its shooting qualities,” Konstantin Sivkov says.

“From the point of view of the correlation between price and quality, “Vepr” considerably exceeds many Western analogues. This is why NATO stopped its choice on it.”

As it was mentioned, the agreement to purchase “Vepr” was given by 17 NATO countries, which is more than one half of the alliance’s members.

The only other time that a NATO country has ordered guns from Russia is that once, the US purchased several thousand Kalashnikov guns for the needs of the Afghan army. Now, 17 Western countries are purchasing Russian short rifles – and not for a country of a so-called “third world”, but for themselves.

However, speaking not about guns, but about other kinds of weapons, it should be mentioned that NATO countries have been using Russian-made weapons for already a long time.

One of the editors of the Russian magazine “Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie” (“Independent military review”) Victor Litovkin says:

“Several NATO countries – mainly, those of Western Europe – are modernizing their weapon arsenals with the help of Russia, because back in the time of the existence of the Soviet Union, they used mostly Soviet military equipment. For example, nearly all the weapons that Hungary, the Czech Republic or Bulgaria used at that time and use now are Soviet-made and Russian-made. Greece uses Russian-made air defense devices. Turkey purchases Kalashnikov guns.”

It may also be added that Germany, until recently, used Soviet-made MIG-29 fighter planes, which belonged to the German Democratic Republic when Germany was divided in two. Only recently, the German authorities decided to change them for Western-made ones.

Some of the Soviet-made military equipments, which belong to countries that used to be members of the Warsaw treaty and now are NATO members, are now undergoing modernization according to a NATO program.

Because of the current economic crisis, it is too expensive for several countries to purchase Western-made weapons. However, their Russian analogues are often not only cheaper but even better in quality.