According to a tweet posted by VietDefense, operational training for new equipment in the Vietnamese army (Vietnam’s People Army, VPA) is being given to training officers. These new equipment include AGS-17s, RPG-29s and the VPA’s latest model of assault rifle: the STV-380s and STV-215s with under-barrel grenade launchers.
The STV rifle, short for Súng Trường Việt Nam (lit. ’Rifle of Vietnam’ or ‘Vietnamese rifle’) in Vietnamese, 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. The STV-215 is the carbine version of the STV-380. It is used alongside the STV-380 as one of the standard issued rifles for the People’s Army of Vietnam. It is similar to the STV-380 in all aspects, except the barrel length is 215mm. In 2021, the STV-215 and the STV-380 became the standard issued rifles for the People’s Army of Vietnam.
The Vietnamese army realized the increasing lack of capability of the battle-hardened RPG-7s and AK-47s and the process of replacing them with newer, more capable domestically-produced weapons is already underway. STV-380s and STV-215s are domestic versions with slight modifications of the Galil ACE 31/32 7.62X39mm Assault Rifle which the VPA bought the production license for.