The assault rifle is the standard weapon of the infantry and the personal weapon of all soldiers in the Finnish Defence Forces. It is a gas-operated, rotating bolt weapon, capable of semi-automatic or full-automatic fire.

The assault rifle is an effective firearm for ranges up to 300 m. The round also easily penetrates body armour meant to protect against shrapnel, and composite helmets. The round is not, however, armour penetrating as such.

The development of a Finnish assault rifle started in the 1950s. Finland looked at the service rifles of various countries, but the most important model was the Soviet-made AK-47 Kalashnikov.  The first series came out of the Valmet Ltd. factory in Tourula in 1960. The firearm was approved for use in the Defence Forces in 1962. In addition to Valmet, Sako Ltd. has also manufactured the assault rifle in Finland.

In the course of 30 years, minor modifications have been made on basic model RK62. Improvements have been made on the stock, hand guard, grip and sights The basic structure, features and appearance have remained almost unchanged. In the 1980s and 1990s a new version, Assault rifle 7.62 RK 95 TP was developed. The 7.62 RK 62M entered service in the 2010s and is a modernised version of the old RK 62 with three different variants.

Below you can see the basic technical specifications:

Calibre: 7.62 x 39 mm
Length: 94 cm
Weight: weapon without magazine and accessories 3.5 kg, full 30 round magazine 0.8 kg
Rate of fire: Semi-automatic 20-30 aimed shots per minute. Full-automatic: cyclic 700 rounds/min, including magazine changes 120-180 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s
Effective range: Up to 300 metres
Equipment: Iron sights for daytime use and tritium night sight
The 7.62 RK 62 VV model can be mounted with an image intensifier
Country of manufacture: Finland