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The AK-74 (Russian: Автомат Калашникова образца 1974 года, tr. Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda, lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974') is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974 as a successor to the AKM.
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when Ludwig Loewe & Company united its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company.
The AK-74 is a modified version of the 7.62×39mm AKM rifle. [335] [337] These modifications were primarily the result of converting the rifle to the 5.45×39mm cartridge. [335] Some early models are reported to have been re-barreled AKMs. [337] The AK-74 and AKM share 9 assemblies and 52 parts (36% & 53% parts commonality, respectively). [338]
Kalashnikov rifles (Russian: Автоматы Калашникова), also known as the AK platform, AK rifles or simply the AK, are a family of assault rifles based on Mikhail Kalashnikov's original design.
AK-74 rifle Kalashnikov rifle family: AK-47, AK-74 and AK-12 (left) as well as rare OTs-14, AN-94, and AEK-971. The AK-74 assault rifle was a Soviet answer to the U.S. M16. [87] [88] [89] The Soviet military realized that the M16 had better range and accuracy over the AKM, and that its lighter cartridge allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition.
Later Kalashnikov started offering the AK-107 / AK-108 / AK-109 (in order 5.45x39, 5.56x45, 7.62x39) models. Externally they are very similar to the AK-100 series (with some minor differences) and are offered in the same calibers. Internally they use a radically different gas system and incorporate the Balanced Automatics Recoil System (BARS).
The AN-94 was designed as a potential replacement to the AK-74 series of rifles currently in service with the Russian Armed Forces. Due to its complex design and expense, it failed to fill its intended role as a replacement for the AK-74, but it is in limited use as a special purpose weapon. [2] [3]
In 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the AK-74, which uses 5.45×39mm ammunition. This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the Soviet Union collapsed, drastically slowing the production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc.