Kalashnikov rifle

A Kalashnikov rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomat Kalashnikova" ("Kalashnikov's Automatic Gun"; Russian: Автома́т Кала́шникова), but are widely known as Kalashnikovs, AKs, or in Russian slang, as a "Kalash". They were originally manufactured in the Soviet Union, primarily by Izhmash, but these rifles and their variants are now manufactured in many other countries.^[1]

AK-74 assault rifle

Types

The primary types of Kalashnikov rifles include:

Model	Cartridge	Year	Manufacturer
AK-47	7.62×39mm	1947	Izhmash and others
AKM	7.62×39mm	1959	Izhmash, Tula Arms Plant and others
AK-74	5.45×39mm	1974	Izhmash
AK-105	5.45×39mm	1994	Izhmash
AK-103, AK-104	7.62×39mm	1994	Izhmash
AK-101, AK-102	5.56×45mm	1994	Izhmash

Variants

1955 AK-47 Type 3

Early variants (7.62×39mm)p

• Issue of 1948/49 – The very earliest models, with the Type 1 stamped sheet metal receiver, are now very rare.
• Issue of 1951 – Has a milled receiver. Barrel and chamber are chrome plated to resist corrosion.
• Issue of 1954 (1955) – Lightened milled receiver variant. Rifle weight is 3.47 kg (7.7 lb).^[2]
• AKS – Featured a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.
• AKN (AKSN) – Night scope rail.^[3]

Modernized (7.×39mm)

• AKM – A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to counter climb in automatic fire. Rifle weight is 2.93 kg (6.5 lb)^{[4][N 1]} due to the lighter receiver. This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47.
  • AKMS – Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops.
  • AKMN (AKMSN) – Night scope rail.
  • AKML (AKMSL) – Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail.^[5]
• RPK – Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and bipod. The variants – RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL) – mirror AKM variants. The "S" variants have a side-folding wooden stock.

Low-impulse variants (5.45×39mm)

AK-74 and RPK-74

• AK-74 – Assault rifle.
  • AKS-74 – Side-folding stock.
  • AK-74N (AKS-74N) – Night scope rail.
• AKS-74U (Krinkov) – Compact carbine.
  • AKS-74UN – Night scope rail.
• RPK-74 – Light machine gun.
  • RPKS-74 – Side-folding stock.
  • RPK-74N (RPKS-74N) – Night scope rail.

The 100 Series

AK-103

5.45×39mm / 5.56×45mm / 7.62×39mm

• AK-74M/AK-101/AK-103 – Modernized AK-74. Scope rail and side-folding stock.
• AK-107/AK-108 – Balanced recoil models.
• AK-105/AK-102/AK-104 – Carbine.
• RPK-74M / RPK-201 / RPKM and RPK-203 – Light machine gun.

Other weapons

• PK(M) – 7.62×54mmR general-purpose machine gun.
• Saiga-12 – 12-gauge shotgun. Built on AK receiver.
  • Saiga-12S – Pistol grip and side-folding stock.
    • Saiga-12K – Shorter barrel.
  • Saiga-20 (S/K) – 20-gauge.

AK-12

• • Saiga-410 (S/K) – .410 bore.
• Saiga semi-automatic rifle
• KSK shotgun – 12-gauge combat shotgun (based on Saiga-12).
• Vepr-12 Molot – 12-gauge combat shotgun. Built on RPK receiver.
• Bizon – Submachine gun with helical magazine. Borrows 60% of details from AKS-74U. 9×18mm PM, 9×19mm Luger, .380 ACP; 7.62×25mm TT (box magazine).
• Vityaz-SN – Submachine gun. 9×19mm Parabellum.
• OTs-14 Groza – Bullpup assault rifle. 9×39mm, 7.62×39mm.

AK-12 series

• AK-12 – A family of weapons in a variety of calibers. Currently undergoing trials.

Production outside the USSR/Russia

These rifles have been manufactured in many countries, with and without licenses.

Country	Variant(s)
Finland	RK 62, (7.62×39mm) RK 95 TP, (7.62×39mm) improvements including a fire control selector and a muzzle device that enabled the firing of rifle grenades, the attachment of a silencer, or bayonet
Albania	Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-1) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Model 56 Type-1 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straightforward copy of Type 56, which in turn is a clone of the Soviet AKM rifle) Automatiku Shqiptar Tipi 1982 (ASH-82) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Type 1982 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straight forward copy of AKMS) Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-2) Albanian Light Machine Gun [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straight forward copy of RPK) Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-3) Albanian Automatic Hybrid Rifle Model 56 Type-3 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Hybrid rifle for multi-purpose roles mainly Marksman rifle with secondary assault rifle and grenade launcher capability) Other unknown variants. Several other unnamed & unidentified versions of the AKMS have been produce mainly with short barrels similar to the Soviet AKS-74U mainly for special forces, Tank & Armoured crew also for Helicopter pilots and police. There have also been modifications and fresh production of heavily modified ASh-82 (AKMS) with SOPMOD accessories, mainly for Albania's special forces RENEA & exports.
Armenia	K-3 (bullpup, 5.45×39mm)
Azerbaijan	Khazri (AK-74M)[6]
Bangladesh	Chinese Type 56
Bulgaria	AKK/AKKS (Type 3 AK-47/w. side-folding buttstock) AKKMS (AKMS), AKKN-47 (fittings for NPSU night sights) AK-47M1 (Type 3 with black polymer furniture) AK-47MA1/AR-M1 (same as -M1, but in 5.56mm NATO) AKS-47M1 (AKMS in 5.56×45mm NATO) AKS-47S (AK-47M1, short version, with East German folding stock, laser aiming device) AKS-47UF (short version of -M1, Russian folding stock), AR-SF (same as −47UF, but 5.56mm NATO) AKS-93SM6 (similar to −47M1, cannot use grenade launcher) RKKS (RPK), AKT-47 (.22 rimfire training rifle)
Cambodia	Chinese Type 56, Soviet AK-47, and AKM
People's Republic of China	Type 56
Croatia	APS-95
Cuba	AKM[7]
East Germany[8]	MPi-K/MPi-KS (AK-47/AKS) MPi-KM (AKM; wooden and plastic stock), MPi-KMS-72 (side-folding stock), MPi-KMS-K (carbine) MPi-AK-74N (AK-74), MPi-AKS-74N (side-folding stock), MPi-AKS-74NK (carbine) KK-MPi Mod.69 (.22 LR select-fire trainer)
Egypt	AK-47, Misr assault rifle (AKM), Maadi
Ethiopia	AK-47, AK-103 (manufactured locally at the State-run Gafat Armament Engineering Complex as the Et-97/1)[9]
Hungary[10]	AK-55 (domestic manufacture of the 2nd Model AK-47) AKM-63 (also known as AMD-63 in the US; modernized AK-55), AMD-65M (modernized AKM-63, shorter barrel and side-folding stock), AMP-69 (rifle grenade launcher) AK-63F/D (other name AMM/AMMSz), AK-63MF (modernized) NGM-81 (5.56×45mm NATO; fixed and under-folding stock)
India	Trichy Assault Rifle, AK-7[11][12]
Iran	KLS/KLF (AK-47/AKS), KLT (AKMS)
Iraq	Tabuk Sniper Rifle, Tabuk Assault Rifle (with fixed or underfolding stock, outright clones of Yugoslavian M70 rifles series), Tabuk Short Assault Rifle
Kosovo	AK Sopmod
Nigeria	Produced by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria as OBJ-006[13][14]
North Korea	Type 58A/B (Type 3 AK-47/w. stamped steel folding stock), Type 68A/B (AKM/AKMS), Type 88 (AKS-74)[15][16]
Pakistan	Reverse engineered by hand and machine in Pakistan's highland areas (see Khyber Pass Copy) near the border of Afghanistan; more recently the Pakistan Ordnance Factories started the manufacture of an AK-47/AKM clone called PK-10[17]
Poland[18]	pmK (kbk AK) / pmKS (kbk AKS) (name has changed from pmK – "pistolet maszynowy Kałasznikowa", Kalashnikov SMG to the kbk AK – "karabinek AK", Kalashnikov Carbine in mid-1960s) (AK-47/AKS) kbkg wz. 1960 (rifle grenade launcher), kbkg wz. 1960/72 (modernized) kbk AKM / kbk AKMS (AKM/AKMS) kbk wz. 1988 Tantal (5.45×39mm), skbk wz. 1989 Onyks (compact carbine) kbs wz. 1996 Beryl (5.56×45mm), kbk wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl (compact carbine)
Romania	PM md. 63/65 (AKM/AKMS), PM md. 80, PM md. 90, collectively exported under the umbrella name AIM or AIMS PA md. 86 (AK-74), exported as the AIMS-74 PM md. 90 short barrel, PA md. 86 short barrel, exported as the AIMR PSL (designated marksman rifle; other names PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK and SSG-97)
Sudan	MAZ[19] (based on the Type 56)
Ukraine	Vepr (bullpup, 5.45×39mm), Malyuk (bullpup)[20]
United States	US132 rifle (7.62×39mm), US132Z assault rifle (7.62×39mm), US109L shotgun (12 Gauge) & US109T shotgun (12 Gauge). Produced by Kalashnikov USA.[21][22][23]
Vietnam	AKM-1, AKM-VN (AKM) assault rifle, TUL-1 (RPK) light machine gun, Galil ACE 31/32 assault rifle
Venezuela	AK-103 [24] / License granted to Venezuela[25]
Yugoslavia/Serbia	M64, M70, M72, M76, M77, M80, M82, M85, M90, M91, M92, M99, M21

Similar rifles

The following rifles were either based on the Kalashnikov design, or have a different design but are superficially similar in appearance:

• Ak 5 (Sweden)
• Bernardelli VB-STD/VB-SR (Italy)
• Daewoo Precision Industries K2 (South Korea)
• FN FNC (Belgium)
• IMI Galil (Israel) and Galil ACE (Israel and Colombia)
• INSAS (India)
• Pindad SS1 (Indonesia)
• Pindad SS2 (Indonesia)
• Rk 62, Valmet M76 (other names Rk 62 76, M62/76), Valmet M78 (light machine gun), Rk 95 Tp (Finland)
• StG 44 (Germany). Developed before the AK-47
• Type 81 assault rifle (China), BD-08 (Bangladesh)
• Vektor R4, Truvelo Raptor (South Africa)
• vz. 58 (Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic)

In popular culture

In the movie Lord of War, the character Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer played by Nicolas Cage, mentions the Kalashnikov:

Of all the weapons in the vast Soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947.... more commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle, a weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple, 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it - and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.

— Yuri Orlov, Lord of War

Notes

1. AKMS is ~200 g (0.44 lb) heavier.

References

1. "RIP Kalashnikov: 20 facts you may not have known about AK-47 and its creator". RT. December 23, 2013.
2. НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК 1967, pp. 161–162.
3. Monetchikov 2005, p. 76.
4. НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС) 1983, pp. 149–150.
5. "AKML (AKMSL)". AK-INFO.RU. Retrieved 8 Feb 2013.
6. Азербайджан приступил к серийному производству автоматов АК-74М по российской лицензии [Azerbaijan began serial production of AK-74M assault rifles under Russian license]. ЦАМТО (in Russian). Moscow: Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
7. Dimov, Roman. "Kalashnikov Arms Versions". The AK Site. Archived from the original on 29 Sep 2007.
8. "MPi-K / MPi-AK Assault Rifle Series". Энциклопедия оружия и боеприпасов (in Russian). Retrieved 19 Feb 2013.
9. Advertisement flyer for manufacturing capabilities of the GAEC – Gafat Armament Engineering Complex. at the Wayback Machine (archived July 10, 2011) Retrieved on 8 October 2010.
10. "Hungary. Assault Rifles". Энциклопедия оружия и боеприпасов (in Russian). Retrieved 24 February 2013.
11. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/why-general-kalashnikov-couldnt-sell-the-ak-47-in-india/1/333532.html
12. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Ishapore-factory-develops-Indian-variant-of-AK-47/articleshow/44635112.cms
13. "Nigeria to mass-produce Nigerian version of AK-47 rifles." Retrieved on 5 October 2008.
14. "DICON – Defence Industry Corp. of Nigeria" Retrieved on 23 June 2012.
15. US Department of Defense, North Korea Country Handbook 1997, Appendix A: Equipment Recognition, PPSH 1943 SUBMACHINEGUN (TYPE-50 CHINA/MODEL-49 DPRK), p. A-79.
16. US Department of Defense, North Korea Country Handbook 1997, Appendix A: Equipment Recognition, TYPE-68 (AKM) ASSAULT RIFLE, p. A-77.
17. Russia confronts Pakistan, China over copied weapons. Retrieved on 16 October 2010.
18. "Poland. Assault Rifles". Энциклопедия оружия и боеприпасов (in Russian). Retrieved 19 Feb 2013.
19. "MAZ". Military Industry Corporation. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
20. Raigorodetsky, Aleksandr (6 Oct 2011). Автомат "Малюк" ("Малыш") (Украина) ["Malyuk" Assault Rifle (Ukraine)]. Оружейная экзотика (in Russian). Retrieved 1 Dec 2012.
21. "Kalashnikov USA Website".
22. Aaron Smith (30 June 2015). "The first American-made Kalashnikovs are now for sale". CNN.com.
23. Max Slowik (August 10, 2015). "Kalashnikov USA prices out first wave of American AKs". Guns.com.
24. "Primeros 3,000: Cavim inicia entrega de fusiles de asalto Kalashnikov AK-103 a la Fuerza Armada de Venezuela". infodefensa.com. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2015. (on spanish)
25. Martin Sieff (15 August 2007). "Defense Focus: Venezuela's Kalashnikovs". UPI.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 19 October 2008.