08 Jul 25. Rostec Unveils Venezuela’s State-of-the-Art Ammo Plant. Boosting National Security. Rostec’s Rosoboronexport has completed cartridge factory project phase I for manufacturing 7.62mm cartridges for the Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela. The factory will make up to 70 m cartridges per year which will considerably exceed the national defence capability, providing Venezuela with domestically-made ammunition.
“Phase I of the Kalashnikov cartridge factory in Venezuela consists of four state-of-the-art production lines. Two of them are designed for ammunition with steel core bullets, another two lines are designed for tracer and blank cartridges. It is planned to bring into service other production buildings in the nearest future to provide the full production cycle of cartridges and Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela for the national army, police and other law enforcement agencies. This is an important step in the development of technological cooperation with our key partner in Latin America,” said Oleg Evtushenko, Executive Director of Rostec State Corporation.
Each production line is able to produce tens of thousands of cartridges per shift. The test program conducted at a test station confirmed the quality and compliance of the products. (Source: Defense Arabia)
09 Jul 25. Ukraine’s New Ammo Turns Ordinary Rifles Into Drone Killers. Ukraine’s defense innovation cluster Brave1 has introduced the country’s first dedicated anti-drone ammunition designed for standard infantry rifles. The new rounds dramatically improve a soldier’s chances of hitting fast-moving aerial targets—such as FPV drones or commercial quadcopters—before they strike. Though the cartridges resemble regular 5.45 mm rounds, they feature a custom-designed warhead that creates a dense and rapid fragmentation effect upon firing. This enables soldiers to engage airborne threats with significantly higher accuracy using conventional automatic rifles—no modifications needed. Video footage released by the developers shows Ukrainian troops using the rounds in live testing, successfully hitting FPV drones mid-flight. According to Brave1, the ammunition has already been codified for use and is intended for mass deployment. The goal is to equip every infantry soldier with at least one magazine of these anti-drone rounds to provide immediate, last-resort protection during air alerts on the front lines. The system offers both tactical speed and safety, addressing one of the biggest battlefield threats faced by Ukrainian forces: low-cost, high-impact drone strikes. FPV drones have rapidly become one of the most dangerous and unpredictable threats on the battlefield. Small, fast, and often packed with explosives, they can slip past traditional air defenses and strike with deadly precision. Their low flight altitude and erratic maneuvering make them extremely hard to intercept using conventional means. Ukraine’s response has been to combine layered defense systems—electronic warfare, drone-jamming rifles, net traps, and now, specialized ammunition. Each tool fills a different gap in the protective “anti-drone net” being built across the front. The newly developed anti-drone rounds represent a critical link in this chain. Unlike jammers or advanced interceptors, these cartridges can be carried by every soldier and used on instinct, seconds before impact. In close-quarters environments—trenches, forest lines, urban combat—they may be the only effective option. (Source: UAS VISION/UNITED24)
08 Jul 25. Sweden signs $526m ammunition deals with Rheinmetall and Nammo. Sweden has signed agreements with Germany’s Rheinmetall and Norway’s Nammo worth over 5bn crowns ($526.02m) for artillery ammunition deliveries, its defence ministry said on Tuesday.
“With this order, we are strengthening Sweden’s defence capability. It is an important investment in security for Sweden and NATO,” said Minister of Defence Pal Jonson in a statement.
The deal with Rheinmetall Denel Munition, a subsidiary of the German defence contractor, amounts to more than 4 bn crowns and includes artillery shells and propellant charges for Sweden’s Archer artillery system, the ministry said. The contract with Nammo, valued at 1 bn crowns, covers the supply of 155 mm high explosive extended range (HE-ER) grenades, the ministry added. ($1 = 9.5054 Swedish crowns) (Source: Reuters)
08 Jul 25. Rostec Launches a Cartridge Factory for the Kalashnikov Assault Rifles in Venezuela. The factory will make up to 70 m cartridges per year, which will considerably exceed the national defence capability Rostec’s Rosoboronexport has completed cartridge factory project phase I for manufacturing 7.62mm cartridges for the Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela. The factory will make up to 70 m cartridges per year which will considerably exceed the national defence capability, providing Venezuela with domestically-made ammunition.
“Phase I of the Kalashnikov cartridge factory in Venezuela consists of four state-of-the-art production lines. Two of them are designed for ammunition with steel core bullets, another two lines are designed for tracer and blank cartridges. It is planned to bring into service other production buildings in the nearest future to provide the full production cycle of cartridges and Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela for the national army, police and other law enforcement agencies. This is an important step in the development of technological cooperation with our key partner in Latin America,” said Oleg Evtushenko, Executive Director of Rostec State Corporation.
Each production line is able to produce tens of thousands of cartridges per shift. The test program conducted at a test station confirmed the quality and compliance of the products. Moreover, a waste disposal building, intermediate ammunition component depots, unique shooting gallery for tracer cartridge testing, firewater tank and other auxiliary facilities have been also brought into service at the factory. (Source: ASD Network)