 The rifle was produced only in small numbers in 1987 due to the merger.Valmet and the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) had attempted to develop a semi-automatic sniper rifle, whose prototype name was Valmet TAK, during the 1970s on the basis of the Valmet RK 71 assault rifle.The prototypes however weren't satisfactory and the project was shelved as a failure, although Valmet incorporated some improvements developed from the experiences of the TAK project to their rifles.