Vietnam Defence Expo 2024: Negev Machinegun Chambered For 7.62x39
The Vietnam Defense Expo 2024 opened on December 19th, 2024. The highlight of the exhibition is the new small arms developed by the General Department of Defence Industry and produced at the Z111 Factory, the biggest and most famous Vietnamese arms manufacturer.
While many think of Vietnam as a country using old Chinese and Soviet military equipment, in recent years they made an impressive leap forward, launching the manufacturing of multiple weapon systems.
Perhaps the biggest surprise at the exhibition is the “Negev” machine gun in two calibers: 5.56x45 and 7.62x39. Previously there was no indication that Vietnam was planning to manufacture “Negev”. Also, it is the first time the “Negev” in 7.62x39 has been revealed to the public.
In 2014, Vietnam signed a deal with Israel and their primary small arms manufacturer, IWI, and started production of the modified version of Galil ACE. “Negev”, especially in 7.62x39 seems like a logical step.
Currently, the Vietnamese army is using RPD as their standard squad LMG, a Soviet belt-fed machine gun designed in the late 40s. Replacing such a dated design seems natural.
The official designation of the Vietnamese version of “Negev” is STrL-762VN, which is an abbreviation of “Súng Trung Liên,” which can be translated as “medium automatic gun.” Like the 5.56 version, this “Negev” has a dual feed system and can use both RPD belts and standard AK magazines.
It seems that Vietnam will produce two versions of this machine gun in two calibers since its Naval Infantry has weapons using the 5.56 cartridge in its armory. If you would like to know more about the original version of Negev in 5.56, check out this TFBTV video.
Also, in recent years Vietnamese officials indicated that they are interested in increasing defense exports, and developing small arms of the two most popular calibers certainly fits well into this plan.
The author would like to thank Vũ Đông Hải for the support in writing this article.
Vladimir Onokoy is a small arms subject matter expert and firearms instructor. Over the years he worked in 20 different countries as a security contractor, armorer, firearms industry sales representative, product manager, and consultant. His articles were published in the Recoil magazine, Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defence Journal, and Silah Report. He also contributed chapters to books from the "Vickers Guide: Kalashnikov" series. Email: machaksilver at gmail dot com. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vladimir-Onokoy-articles-and-videos-about-guns-and-other-unpopular-stuff-107273143980300/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vladonokoy/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/machaksilver
More by Vladimir Onokoy
![[DEFEA 2025] Armenian Maktes Arms T-AB 2A DMR Rifle](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/05/05/15561/defea-2025-armenian-maktes-arms-t-ab-2a-dmr-rifle.jpg?size=350x220)
![[SHOT 2025] Bergara's New Rifles For 2025](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/01/25/18111/shot-2025-bergara-s-new-rifles-for-2025.jpg?size=350x220)
![[SHOT 2025] Shield Sights Introduce Clear Hood Pistol Red Dot - OMSsc](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/01/23/13131/shot-2025-shield-sights-introduce-clear-hood-pistol-red-dot-omssc.jpg?size=350x220)
![[SHOT 2025] Swarovski's New Z5+ Scopes](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/02/01/02063/shot-2025-swarovski-s-new-z5-scopes.jpg?size=350x220)
![[SHOT 2025] Silencerco Releases Several New Suppressors](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/01/25/18261/shot-2025-silencerco-releases-several-new-suppressors.jpg?size=350x220)
![[SHOT 2025] Lipsey's New Exclusive Wheelguns For 2025](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2025/01/25/16581/shot-2025-lipsey-s-new-exclusive-wheelguns-for-2025.jpg?size=350x220)
Comments
Join the conversation
I know it is a pipe dream, but man it would be awesome to get this imported even as a semi auto it would be cool. Kind of like the 7.62x39 BREN.