Vepr
History
History
-------

Prior to the development of the Vepr, the personnel of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine](/wiki/Military_of_Ukraine "Military of Ukraine") were equipped mainly with the Soviet [AKM](/wiki/AKM "AKM") and [AK\-74](/wiki/AK-74 "AK-74") [assault rifle](/wiki/Assault_rifle "Assault rifle") designs.

In 1993, specialists of the artillery base of the Ministry of Defense in Nizhyn (Chernihiv region) on the initiative began work on the creation of a machine gun "bullpup" on the basis of the [RPK](/wiki/RPK "RPK") with a charge of 7\.62 × 39\. In 1994, a machine gun was created, which was named "Vepr" (Boar) model № 1\.

In 1994, samples № 2 and № 3 were also developed on the basis of RPK\-74 5\.45 × 39 mm and AKM 7\.62 × 39 mm. Later, the [SKS](/wiki/SKS "SKS") carbine was redesigned \- № 4\. The cost of processing one unit of standard weapon into a “bullpup” at that time was ₴300\.

Anatoly Anatolyev, Vladimir Sheiko, Andrey Zharkov patented their invention, but in 2001 the Nizhyn designers were summoned by management and ordered to transfer all documentation from the project to the Kyiv Radio Plant for completion.

The first Vepr rifle was shown on 28 August 2003\.[Олександр Селюков демонструє перший український автомат ”Вепр”](https://photo.unian.ua/photo/7560-oleksandr-selyukov-demonstruye-pershiy-ukrajinskiy-avtomat-vepr) // УНІАН 28 серпня 2003 Only ten Veprs were made until 9 October 2004\."*Уже сделано десять опытных экземпляров «Вепря». Их стоимость довольна высока, но когда начнется серийное производство, цена не превысит 200 долларов. Будем брать «калашниковы», хранящиеся в больших количествах на складах, разбирать их и делать из этих «заготовок» «Вепри»*."  
Виктор Осипчук. [Уникальный прицел новейшего украинского автомата «вепрь» позволяет даже неумелому стрелку попасть в копеечную монету с расстояния 100 метров](http://fakty.ua/64107-unikalnyj-pricel-novejshego-ukrainskogo-avtomata-quot-vepr-quot-pozvolyaet-dazhe-neumelomu-strelku-popast-v-kopeechnuyu-monetu-s-rasstoyaniya-100-metrov) // "Факты" от 6 октября 2004

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense declared intentions to purchase thousands of Veprs by 2010 but by March 2014 there were no Veprs in use by the Ukrainian Army."*Киевский Научно\-технический центр точного машиностроения создал автомат «Вепрь», украинскую модификацию АК\-47 – автомата Калашникова. Но в арсенале украинской армии этого оружия нет.*"  
Екатерина Гребеник. [Украинский арсенал: с чем страна может пойти на войну](http://forbes.ua/nation/1366648-ukrainskij-arsenal-s-chem-strana-mozhet-pojti-na-vojnu) // Forbes.UA от 5 марта 2014

However, since the political tides in Ukraine are moving towards a [NATO](/wiki/NATO "NATO") and possibly a [European Union](/wiki/European_Union "European Union") membership, and since 2009 a well\-launched Ukrainian gun manufacturer ([RPC Fort](/wiki/RPC_Fort "RPC Fort")) is offering on the Ukrainian market firearms in "western" calibers such as the Israeli [Tavor](/wiki/IWI_Tavor "IWI Tavor") assault rifle,[The Tavor assault rifle at "RPC Fort" website (Ukrainian)](http://fort.vn.ua/produkcya/shturmovue_vintovki_tavor_kal_5569mm/)  [IWI Negev](/wiki/IWI_Negev "IWI Negev") light machinegun[The Negev SAW at the "RPC Fort" website (Ukrainian)](http://fort.vn.ua/produkcya/pulemetu/)  and [Galil](/wiki/IMI_Galil "IMI Galil") sniper rifle,[The Galil sniper rifle at the "RPC Fort" website (Ukrainian)](http://fort.vn.ua/produkcya/snayperskie_vintovki/)  the future of this weapon in Ukrainian service may be in jeopardy.

In March 2019, it was announced that the [National Police of Ukraine](/wiki/National_Police_of_Ukraine "National Police of Ukraine") would replace Kalashnikov assault rifles with [HK MP5](/wiki/HK_MP5 "HK MP5") submachine guns.[Полиция Украины откажется от автоматов Калашникова в пользу немецких MP5](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/6256371) // ТАСС от 25 марта 2019 As of 2024, most Ukrainian personnel still use [AK\-74s](/wiki/AK-74 "AK-74").

The failure of the Vepr to be adopted led to the creation of the [Malyuk](/wiki/Malyuk "Malyuk"). 


What is the current state of the Vepr rifle in Ukrainian service?