Vietnam Defence Expo 2024: New Handguns
This year’s Vietnam Defence Expo 2024 was full of surprises. TFB already covered new rifles in 5.56×45 and the new light machine gun, “Negev,” in 7.62×39. But there were more guns to talk about. For the first time, the Z111 factory presented a new line of handguns.
For years, the Vietnamese Army and Law Enforcement used Tokarev as their main service pistol. The locally produced version is called K54. Another popular pistol called K59 is a copy of Makarov. In recent years, some police units procured Glocks and CZ P-07s. There were also reports about local production of IWI Jericho 941.
In 2019, I wrote about a locally made less-lethal pistol chambered for 10×22. Now, in 2024, it is evident that the Vietnamese industry has made a lot of progress in the last five years.
This year, they presented SN19, which is clearly based on the Glock 17 Gen 5. It has similar front slide serrations and no finger grooves.
Right next to it was SN19-T, which had a few visible differences. According to the staff of Z111, this pistol has a metal frame covered with a polymer coating, making the gun heavier and also reducing felt recoil and muzzle rise.
The handgun that attracted the most attention was the SN7VN-M24 chambered for 7.62×25. This sidearm was showcased with an attached suppressor and red dot sight which looks like the Aimpoint ACRO. The frame of this handgun also resembles a Glock.
The concept of this pistol reminds me of the H&K Mark 23 “offensive handgun.” Considering that 7.62×25 has a faster bullet than 9×19 and is still the main cartridge for handguns in the Vietnamese army, the choice of caliber makes sense.
It is evident that the Vietnamese state firearms industry is closely following the most important trends in firearms design and successfully implementing them into new weapons. If they decide to market their guns for export, these products will probably find a customer.
The author would like to thank Vũ Đông Hải for the support in writing this article.
