#Finland

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons joins James Reeves to talk Finland’s small arms—Suomi drums, Valmet RK-62s, Finnish Mosins, LS-26s—and the wild stories behind them, plus the behind-the-scenes grind of photographing rare prototypes in an underground museum. We get into why Finland never made Mosin receivers, how they reverse-engineered the AK, which designs the Finnish Army rejected that later hit the civilian market, and Ian’s personal favorites. If you’re a Forgotten Weapons fan or just into Winter War history and oddball engineering, this one’s for you.

The Finnish Defense Force have announced they will shift to small arms systems chambered in NATO standard calibers. Traditionally, due to their location and regional history Finland had favoured Soviet-era calibers such as 7.62x39mm and 7.62x54mmR. Now with Finland’s closer alignment with the West and its accession to NATO in April 2023 they are moving to increase standardisation with their allies.

Over the years, TFB has covered Silent Steel, suppressors made in Finland - the Golden land of suppressors. Silent Steel is now coming Stateside, with a new company established as the independent American arm, created to deliver Europe’s trusted suppressor innovations to the U.S. market.

How do guns perform in extreme Arctic conditions? James Reeves sat down with Jari Laine, CEO of Varusteleka and a former Finnish Recon/Infantry soldier, to break down the best and worst firearms for sub-zero warfare. Jari shares his real-world experience on what works in the harshest environments. Whether you're into military history, winter survival, or just want to know which guns survive the cold, this is one you don’t want to miss.

If you think it’s cold outside, just think about Winter Warfare and the Guard Jaeger Regiment in action in this Photo Of The Day. They’re shooting their Rk95s and Rk62M2s, and they seem to be quite accurate by the looks of the paper targets.

Recently, the Associated Press published an article and a  video about a topic you wouldn’t see often in the US media - the importance of a well-armed and well-trained (you might even say “well-regulated”) population for the national defense.

The Armies of Sweden and Finland have signed a framework agreement on red dots and military optronics with the two suppliers Aimpoint AB and Senop Oy. This takes place within the framework of a Nordic defense materiel cooperation, which deals with the joint procurement of defense materiel between the countries.