Vietnamese Army fielding new STV-380 assault rifles


Vietnamese soldiers are training with their new STV-380 7.62×39mm assault rifle. As written by Defense Studies, the STV-380 has finally made its way towards frontline units and is continuing to be issued across the People's Army of Vietnam as a standard-issue rifle.
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Vietnamese soldiers train with their new STV-380 assault rifle (Picture source: QPVN)


The STV rifle, short for Súng Trường Việt Nam (lit. 'Rifle of Vietnam'), is a family of assault rifles made by Vietnam. They are all assembled at the Z111 Factory, and currently, all of them are chambered in 7.62x39mm. Since 2021, the STV-215 and the STV-380 have been the standard issued rifles for the People's Army of Vietnam

In 2014, the People's Army of Vietnam adopted the IWI Galil ACE 31/32 as the standard-issue rifle. This included a license to manufacture them locally at the Z111 Factory. The factory immediately began modifying the IWI Galil ACE to better suit the local terrain and climate, while also using more Kalashnikov parts. This was done to improve familiarity and smoothen the transition from older AK-47 and AKM assault rifles.

The modification process was a fusion of the STL-1A and the Galil ACE, this resulted in a prototype rifle named the GK1 and the GK3. Although since then, not much information has been released about the prototypes. It is very likely the current STV rifles were a result of further development and modifications of the GK1 and GK3 prototypes.

In 2019, the Z111 Factory revealed two new rifles. Designated the STV-215 and the STV-380, the number at the end would indicate the length of the barrels. These two new rifles would be replacing the IWI Galil ACE 31/32 as the standard issue rifle for the People's Army of Vietnam.

In 2020, two new variants of the STV rifles were revealed. These rifles were designated as the STV-410 and the STV-416. Compared to the previous two variants, the new ones would adopt more AK parts into the guns. Currently, the STV-215 and STV-380 remain as the standard issued rifles and being the only ones that are in mass production.

Overall, all of the variants are generally similar and are mainly built off of the IWI Galil ACE's milled receiver. They are all chambered in 7.62x39mm and can use any standard AK-47/AKM magazine. The STV-380 is one of the standard-issued assault rifles for the People's Army of Vietnam. Its barrel length is 380mm. It has a foldable stock similar to the FN FAL Para.


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Vietnamese soldiers train with their new TV-380 assault rifle (Picture source: QPVN)