SAKO ARG, the new AR-15 coming from the cold
SAKO announces the launch of the Arctic Rifle Generation family of weapons, chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and 7.62x51mm NATO and dedicated to military, law enforcement, and government customers
SAKO ARG, the new AR-15 coming from the cold
SAKO Ltd. of Finland – a well known manufacturer of precision rifles for hunting, sport shooting and professional applications, owned since the year 2000 by the Beretta Holding – announces the launch of the Arctic Rifle Generation (ARG) weapon system on the global markets for military and law enforcement customers.
As of today, the ARG line is composed of two AR-15 variants chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and an AR-10 variant chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, available in DI (direct gas impingment) or GP (gas piston with adjustable gas valve) versions, and developed with imput from the Finnish and Swedish Defense Forces to maximize performance and reliability in arctic and sub-arctic conditions.
The SAKO ARG series is essentially an export-oriented version of the service rifles known as the M/23 in Finland and Automatkarabin 24 in Sweden. In 2024, this weapon system won the joint Swedish-Finnish procurement tender for a new NATO-standard service rifle launched by the two Countries upon abandoning their neutrality status to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and are currently replacing the previously-issued rifles with both militaries.
SAKO ARG 40 GP 5.56x45mm NATO assault carbine – right side
SAKO's new ARG weapon system rifles are built on fully MIL-SPEC, lightweight aluminum alloy upper and lower receivers; they're configurable, and come with a free-float M-LOK aluminum machined handguard, a full-length MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny top rail for optics, and a set of polymer components (pistol grip, six-positions adjustable buttstock, flip-up sights, ejection port cover) provided by MagPul.
Additionally, all models except one come with either a single-stage or a two-stage trigger; with a cold-hammer forged barrel and a suppressor-ready muzzle device installed on a ½"-28 o 5/8"-24 muzzle thread; and fully ambidextrous controls.
SAKO ARG 40 DI 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifle – right side
The SAKO ARG 40 GP and ARG 40 DI assault rifles are chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and feed through USGI/STANAG 4179 "AR-15 compatible" magazines of any make, material, and capacity.
Both versions are available with 292 mm 368 mm or 406 mm barrels (11" / 14.5" / 16"), with a 1:7" or 1:8" twist rate, and can be configured by simply swapping the upper receiver to cover all roles, as personal defense weapons for rear-echelon personnel or CQB carbines to standard service carbines for conventional infantry or special operation units, all in a single platform that doesn't require specialized training.
SAKO ARG 50 GP 7.62x51mm NATO designated marksman rifle – right side
The piston-driven, semi-automatic only SAKO ARG 50 GP rifle, with its double-stage trigger group, is the designated marksman variant of the platform; it is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and feeds from 10-rounds or 20-rounds MagPul SR/LR AR-10/SR-25 compatible magazines.
The cold-hammer forged barrel of the SAKO ARG 50 GP designated marksman rifle is 406 mm / 16" long, and its handguard is slightly longer to accommodate bipods, laser designators, additional accessories such as rangefinders, ballistic computers, forward-mounted night vision/thermal devices, and so on.
The SAKO ARG weapon system, while modified from the baseline design for use in the coldest climates and harshest environments, is a testament to the continuing primacy of the AR-15 design in modern weapon technology, almost seventy years after its first introduction.
Being select-fire – the ARG 40 5.56x45mm NATO rifles sport a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute in full-automatic fire – the SAKO ARG weapon system is restricted to military, law enforcement, and government sales only.
However, a semi-automatic variant – dubbed the SAKO ARG S 40 and chambered in 5.56x45mm – does indeed exist and is available in Finland, having been developed upon request from the National Defence Training Association of Finland, previously known as the Finnish Defence League: a voluntary organization that provides safety and security training to all Finnish residents over the age of 15 and supplemental military training for all Finnish citizens over the age of 18.
As a matter of fact, armed citizenship has been an important part of the Finnish national defense doctrine for several years now.
SAKO ARG S 40 5.56x45mm NATO semi-automatic reservist rifle – left side
Not only reservists (Finnish citizens above the age of 18 that have been discharged from the military after concluding their mandatory draft period) and sport shooters are encouraged to constantly keep their training up to date, but the average civilians are more or less actively encouraged to be as familiar and proficient with firearms as possible, so that large swathes of the local population may actively take part to military operations to defend Finnish soil if necessary, even with very little or no warning.
No information is currently available concerning the potential availability of the SAKO ARG S 40 semi-automatic rifle outside of Finland.
For further information, visit the official SAKO website.