The Vepr Assault Rifle was announced in 2003 as the first indigenous Ukrainian assault rifle, designed by the National Space Agency of Ukraine. Note that on the Ukrainian Government Portal website (see below in External Links), the Vepr is classed as a sub-machinegun. It is one of several bullpup conversions of the conventional AK-74 design, along with the Polish Kbk wz. 2005 Jantar, the Chinese Norinco Type 86S, the Russian KBP A-91 and OTs-14 Groza, the Finnish Valmet M82 and the South African Vektor CR-21.
The Vepr Assault Rifle includes adjustable open sights and a conventional side mount, on the left, for day or night scopes. The front sight is strikingly similar to that of the American M16 series of rifles. A relatively large red dot sight of Ukrainian production can also be fitted as standard. The latest versions of the Vepr also include an integral 40mm underslung grenade launcher, with a dual trigger layout in which the front trigger fires the grenade launcher and the rear trigger fires the rifle.
Although the Vepr Assault Rifle has been proclaimed as a revolutionary upgrade to the AK-74, it is, in fact, an interesting yet fairly simple modification of the basic AK-74 system in a bullpup design, with the following modifications:
- The standard gas-operated, rotating-bolt AK-74 mechanism is removed from its furniture and a new butt plate is mounted directly on the rear of the receiver;
- A polymer cheek rest is fitted to the receiver cover;
- The trigger and pistol grip are placed in front of the magazine;
- The cocking handle is removed from the bolt carrier and a new cocking handle arrangement is placed on the left side of the forearm.
The Vepr Assault Rifle includes adjustable open sights and a conventional side mount, on the left, for day or night scopes. The front sight is strikingly similar to that of the American M16 series of rifles. A relatively large red dot sight of Ukrainian production can also be fitted as standard. The latest versions of the Vepr also include an integral 40mm underslung grenade launcher, with a dual trigger layout in which the front trigger fires the grenade launcher and the rear trigger fires the rifle.| Vepr | |
|---|---|
| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin |  Ukraine |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2010–Present |
| Production history | |
| Designer | National Space Agency's R&D Center for precision engineering |
| Designed | 2003 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.45 kg |
| Length | 702 mm |
| Barrel length | 415 mm |
| | |
| Caliber | 5.45x39mm |
| Action | Gas-Operated, Rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 600–650 rounds/min |
| Feed system | 30 round detachable box magazine |
