Vietnam Weapons: Vietnamese Submachine Gun

Since 2023, people passing by the Ministry of National Defense and military regions, corps, and branches... will be surprised to see soldiers on guard duty carrying a new type of gun, completely different from the usual AK rifle with curved magazine. It is the STV-022 submachine gun, one of Vietnam's new and modern guns.

Secret Mission

The late Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (former Deputy Minister of National Defense), in his memoirs, told about the process of finding a solution to the "problem of self-reliance in weapons" before 1990: "One day, General Le Duc Anh (then Minister of National Defense) called me and Major General Dang Tran Duc (then Director of Department 12, General Department II, Ministry of National Defense) to ask: "If the Soviet Union collapses, what will our weapons and equipment depend on? Who will we buy from? Where will we get the money to buy them and how will we buy them?" and directed: "Ensuring weapons for our army to protect the Fatherland is an urgent and vital requirement when the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc are in turmoil. This is an opportunity for us to develop our scientific and technological potential and defense industry, to achieve independence and self-reliance in weapons and equipment, and to be capable of self-defense and protecting the Fatherland in all situations. Not only must it be as secure as it was in the Soviet Union, but it must be more modern and more suitable to the mission of our army"...

M203 grenade launcher mounted on Galil ACE 32 gun in the hands of airborne troops participating in the parade on the morning of September 2, 2015 in Hanoi

PHOTO: MTH

Since the early 90s of the 20th century, the infantry weapons program has been secretly deployed in many agencies and units of the Ministry of National Defense and related ministries and branches. For the defense industry, the improvement is also upgrading and comprehensively changing old-generation infantry weapons to modern, compact, integrated, and widely equipped ones to deal with new forms of warfare. In October 2012, the Ministry of National Defense approved the investment project for the infantry gun production line for the Z111 Factory to deploy, with a total investment of 5,217 billion VND, aiming to build a new-generation infantry gun production line that is synchronous, modern, ensuring quality, stability, and reliability.

Inside Z111 factory: Where guns and bullets 'made in Vietnam' are made

On the morning of September 2, 2015, during the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam held in Hanoi, for the first time, people saw military units carrying Galil ACE 31 and Galil ACE 32 guns. In particular, the Galil ACE 32 gun of the airborne troops was equipped with an M203 grenade launcher. On April 15, 2016, Factory Z111 held an inauguration ceremony for the production line of infantry guns, witnessed by Lieutenant General Khuat Viet Dung, Political Commissar of the General Department of Defense Industry (now Vice President of the Vietnam Veterans Association, member of the 15th National Assembly ) and leaders of departments and general departments under the Ministry of Defense, localities...

Troops of Division 9 (Corps 4) use STV-380 guns in training, ready for combat; November 2024

PHOTO: TUAN VU

The 7.62 mm STV-022 submachine gun weighs 2.8 kg (without magazine), has a gun length of 470 mm, a theoretical rate of fire of 700 rounds/minute and a magazine of 15 rounds. This is a compact gun, equipped for special forces and guards.

PHOTO: MTH

STV suddenly appeared

In November 2018, Vietnam participated for the first time in the 2018 Indonesia International Defense Exhibition and Fair (Indo Defence 2018) and for the first time, "Made in Vietnam" infantry weapons manufactured by Z111 were introduced, with products: STL-A1, STL-15, Galil ACE 31, Galil ACE 32... In July 2020, the STV-215 and STV-380 guns were broadcast on Vietnam National Defense Television, in the program "Shooters Compete" with real shooting. From 2021, the STV-380 and STV-215 gun models were approved as standard weapons issued to the Vietnam People's Army under the army modernization program at the division level, following the strong division model. In 2022, the STV215/380 submachine gun was equipped for some divisions of the 12th and 3rd Corps. From 2024, the STV215/380 began to be equipped for main infantry divisions and in recent exercises, the STV215/380 also appeared in some military region units (Division 306, Division 968...). The compact STV-022 version is not only used for special forces and special reconnaissance, but is also equipped for guards at the Ministry of National Defense, some military region units, corps, military branches and some local military agencies. Even since the beginning of 2024, the Lung Cu Border Guard Station (Ha Giang Provincial Border Guard Command) when performing honor guard duty during flag-raising ceremonies at the Lung Cu national flagpole, has also carried the STV-022 instead of the AK gun. In particular, during the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory, held on May 7, 2024 in Dien Bien Phu City, STV guns were equipped for the parade blocks (Army, Peacekeeping, Special Forces, Special Forces).

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (Deputy Minister of National Defense) inspects the Galil ACE 32 gun produced by Z111 factory, equipped for the border special forces, at the Vietnam - Cambodia border friendship exchange in An Giang, August 2019.

PHOTO: MTH

Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army (now Politburo member, general, Minister of National Defense) inspects the production of STV guns at factory Z111, August 2017.

PHOTO: MTH

Suitable for Vietnam

Major Phung Tat Thanh, Deputy Director of Factory Z111, said: "STV is the abbreviation of Vietnamese submachine gun, using 7.62 x 39 mm bullet size (similar to AK). Z111 has been producing STV-380, STV-215, STV-270, STV-410, STV-416, STV-022 guns according to orders from the Ministry of National Defense"... All STV gun models have a loading lever located on the right side. The firing mechanism is used in the traditional AK style. The gun handle and handguard are made of polymer and all gun models have a folding stock. All STV types (except STV-416) have a standard rail on the gun body, to install additional accessories (telescope, red dot, 3D...). The rear sight slot is located at the back of the gun body (in AK guns, the rear sight slot is located in the middle of the gun body). On the STV-215 and STV-380 versions, there is an additional rail located at the bottom of the handguard, to mount a grenade launcher (M203 or SPL-40 made in Vietnam), a front bipod, a laser or a flashlight. The gun for these two types is integrated into the gun body. The gun stock uses a very convenient folding style and has an anti-recoil pad made of rubber.

General assembly of STV guns at factory Z111

PHOTO: MTH

The OPL-40M grenade launcher uses 40 x 46 mm ammunition, the gun weight (without ammunition) is 1.4 kg, effective range is 375 m. This type of gun is also mounted under the barrel of the STV gun to destroy enemy forces.

PHOTO: MTH

Z111 factory workers check the sight line during gun assembly

PHOTO: MTH

Test firing STV gun before leaving the factory

PHOTO: MTH

Not inferior to foreign countries

"The technical equipment and weapons produced by Z111 have technical and tactical features equivalent to or superior to those of similar foreign weapons," Colonel Hoang Quoc Vinh (Party Secretary of the Z111 factory) affirmed and gave an example: the STV-215 and STV-380 submachine guns designed by the Weapons Institute were manufactured by Z111 in 2018. The guns can operate in harsh environments (water, sand, negative temperatures); have higher durability than guns of the same type from some countries; can use many customized accompanying equipment, thereby increasing the combat capability of soldiers on the battlefield, keeping up with the trend of modern weapons... Major General Duong Van Yen, Deputy Director of the General Department of Defense Industry, emphasized: "Infantry guns produced by Vietnam have quality comparable to advanced defense industries in the world . The guns have many superior features such as: being made of light materials, superior barrel manufacturing technology, helping to increase the barrel's life, accuracy and very high rate of fire... For example, a standard gun barrel has an average life of 15,000 shots, but the gun barrel produced by Vietnam can fire over 15,000 shots and still function well"... Self-sufficiency in the production of STV guns has great significance such as: ensuring weapons for the armed forces; convenient in exploitation, use, preservation, maintenance, repair, upgrading; saving a lot of budget because self-produced guns cost much less than imported products... Giving a very simple example, Major Phung Tat Thanh laughed: "The variants of the STV submachine gun use the 7.62 x 39 mm bullet size of the AK-47/AKM, helping us make the most of existing ammunition and logistics warehouses, without having to invest in new purchases."

Currently, emerging forms of non-traditional warfare are preemptive strikes, long-range attacks, and indirect attacks. This form of warfare uses high-tech, long-range weapons, integrated systems such as submarine missiles and air strikes. We need to strive step by step, research, manufacture high-tech equipment and weapons, and integrate systems to respond to combat in the new situation. However, to dominate the battlefield, it is still the infantry, infantry weapons still need investment and development to modernize, we must invest comprehensively, depending on the resources and capabilities of each stage... Major General Duong Van Yen, Deputy Director of the General Department of Defense Industry

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-khi-cua-viet-nam-sung-tieu-lien-viet-nam-185241221220020058.htm