It’s a rifle shrouded in mystery and so obscured by Cold War secrecy that only the most devout Kalashnikov fans are familiar with the Wieger 940 Series of rifles. There’s not a lot of information about these rifles and most of the information that is available is based on speculation. But, the consensus of experts says the rifle was developed in the 1980s in Wiesa, Germany.

The name Wieger is a contraction of the city and country names. Though East Germany had been licensed by the Soviet Union to produce the AK-74 rifle, it did not have the rights to export them. Many think that the Wieger rifle, basically a redressed Kalashnikov chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO, might circumvent the export restrictions. India and Peru both placed orders for the new assault weapon.