DOZY defence chiefs have lost an arsenal of weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the past 12 months.
They include a Russian-made Kalashnikov AKM assault machine gun and an AR15 assault rifle.
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The AKM can fire up to 600 bullets a minute, has a range of more than 300metres and is a favourite of terrorist groups.
Other weapons on the mislaid or stolen list include an L1A1 semi-automatic self-loading rifle.
Between 2018 and 2023, the Ministry of Defence also managed to lose two general purpose machine guns (GPMG), one of which was lost by the Royal Navy at sea.
The GPMG is one of the key weapons in an infantry battalion and can fire up to 750 rounds per minute up to a range of 1,800 metres.
In 2023, a .50 calibre heavy machine gun went missing from an Army base in Wiltshire.
At least 40 weapons have been either lost or stolen from military HQs since 2018, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The MoD has also revealed after Freedom of Information requests that between 2018 and 2024, at least 1,500 MoD laptops, 125 computers and up to 400 USB sticks, which could hold vast amounts of sensitive data, went missing.
Col Phil Ingram, a former Army commander, said: “The loss of weapons, computers and USB sticks all pose a potential security risk.
“It is critical the circumstances behind every loss is thoroughly investigated.”