From imagery shared by Ukrainian armed forces personnel over recent months it appears that Italy has provided an unconfirmed number of Beretta SC70/90 5.56x45mm rifles.
The SC70/90 is part of the AR70/90 family of rifles; the SC model is distinct for its side-folding stock. The weapons are gas-operated and use a rotating bolt and a long-stroke gas piston system. They are select-fire and capable of semi-automatic, burst and fully-automatic fire. They are typically equipped with a bipod and carry handle and weigh in at 4.05kg or 8.9lbs.
The AR70 entered service in the early 1970s. The AR70/90 series improved on the AR70 and has been in service with the Italian armed forces since the 1990s, it is currently being replaced by the Beretta ARX-160. We’ve already seen evidence of the presence of other European rifles of a similar vintage such as the Spanish CETME-L, check out our video/article on those here.
The first sighting of an SC70/90 came on 10 January, when Іван Савельєв, a veteran associated with several units including the 3rd Assault Brigade ‘Azov’, possibly as head of the brigade’s small arms workshop, shared a video of himself firing the rifle in bursts from prone with its bipod deployed.
On 13 January, Савельєв, a fabricator, mechanic and gunsmith who founded R&D company Armorum Solutions, shared several videos of himself firing an SC70/90 at the range. In the first, he has a bayonet fixed and the bipod still mounted but the carrying handle has been removed from the top of the receiver.
A member of the 3rd Assault Brigade shared a short video, via Instagram stories, on 24 January 2025, firing a Beretta SC70/90 from the hip. When asked what he thought of it, he described it as an ‘old unit’. There is no evidence he has used the weapon on operations, and it may have been brought out to the range as a curiosity.
On 16 February, Савельєв shared another video of himself firing the rifle, this time the carry handle has been removed and an ELCAN Spectre, likely supplied by the Netherlands, has been mounted on the SC70/90’s upper receiver.
Speaking to an international volunteer with one of Ukraine’s brigades who has recently been issued an SC70/90 for training, he noted: “It has too much parts. You cannot strip it without pliers or a bullet. Aiming is also way harder than with an AK. It’s also heavier than an AK… Overall, its not a bad gun, I just don’t like it. The sights are not good, not easy to read like an AK. The foldable buttstock is a big plus.” He explained that he decided to remove the bipod and carry handle saying the bipod is ‘useless’ and the carry handle obscures the sight. He also added that while his unit has been issued them during current training some soldiers do use them on operations. On 19 March he shared a video of how to field strip the SC70/90 on his YouTube channel.
Most recently, on 8 April, a member of the 3rd Assault Brigade shared a photograph of himself posing with a SC70/90 complete with carry handle and bipod.
While the number of sightings of SC70/90s in Ukraine has so far been small, they are undoubtedly in country and in use. There haven’t yet been any sightings of fixed stock AR70/90s. From a survey of the limited imagery available, it appears that they are in service with the 3rd Assault Brigade and possibly other units. It seems that while they’re in inventory with Ukrainian units they may be most regularly issued to personnel during training, this is unsurprising, as the supply spare parts available for the rifles may be limited and there are other better-suited rifles available for operations. The SC70/90s presence in Ukraine serves to illustrate once again just how many different small arms are now in Ukrainian service.
Thanks to Recon UAV and Weapons_Illustrated for help sourcing imagery for this video.
Update – 1/5/25:
Update – 14/7/25:
Members of the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment’s ATGM company were photographed during training. One combatant was photographed holding a Beretta SC70/90.
Update – 30/7/25:
Personnel from the 2nd Artillery Battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade were seen armed with SC70/90s during a social media video. (H/T Jeff).
Update – 4/8/25:
A group photo of the 3AB gunners seen in the earlier video. All four combatants have SC70/90s.
Update – 20/10/25:
The 3rd Army Corps posted a series of photos of troops with AR70/90s on 12 October. The troops appear to be gunners opperating one of the 3rd Assault Brigade’s self-propelled howitzers.
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The Armourers Bench 