Place of origin Denmark Caliber 7.62mm | Designed 1957-1962 | |
Type Battle rifle/Assault rifle (Proposed Finnish service variant) Variants Full wooden stock, Fixed tube stock, Side-folding stock, Underfolding stock Cartridge 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×39mm M43 (Proposed Finnish service variant) | ||
The Madsen LAR was a battle rifle of Danish origin chambered in the 7.62×51mm NATO caliber. It was made from lightweight high tensile alloys and steel similar to that used on the M16 rifle and its layout is similar to a number of rifles such as the GRAM 63 and the Valmet M62. Development of the Madsen LAR has its traces back to 1957 when various arms manufacturers like FN Herstal and Heckler & Koch were producing the FN FAL and Heckler & Koch G3.
Variants
Variants of the LAR came with solid wood stocks that covered the receiver from the handguard to the buttplate, then with fixed steel tube and side/underfolding stocks. An assault rifle variant chambered in the 7.62×39mm M43 round was intended for the armed forces of Finland to purge them away from using a Soviet-based design, the Valmet M62 based on the AK-47. However, Finland being a neutral country ignored this and went ahead with the Valmet M62 adopting it as their standard service rifle as it was cheaper to produce, reliable as the Madsen LAR and overall their own design.