Ak 5

Ak 5
A Swedish conscript carrying an Ak 5 with the old tubular steel stock, and fitted with a blank-firing adaptor with a protective shroud.
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Sweden
Service history
In service	1986–present
Used by	Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Police, Norwegian Police, 601st Special Forces Group
Wars	Kosovo War, Afghan War, Chad War Operation Artemis, Lebanon, Macedonia
Production history
Designed	1982
Manufacturer	Bofors Carl Gustaf
Produced	1986–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	Ak 5 empty 3.9 kg (8.60 lb) Ak 5B empty 4.8 kg (10.58 lb) Ak 5C empty 4.0 kg (8.82 lb) Ak 5 loaded 4.5 kg (9.92 lb) Ak 5B loaded 5.4 kg (11.90 lb) Ak 5C loaded 4.5 kg (9.92 lb) 30-round steel magazine empty: 0.17 kg (0.37 lb) 30-round plastic magazine empty: 0.10 kg (0.22 lb)
Barrel length	Ak 5 / Ak 5B 450 mm (17.7 in) Ak 5C 350 mm (13.8 in)
Cartridge	5.56×45mm NATO
Caliber	5.56 mm
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	Ak 5 (B) 650–700 rounds/min cyclic Ak 5C 650 rounds/min cyclic
Muzzle velocity	Ak 5(B) 930 m/s (3,051 ft/s) Ak 5C 870 m/s (2,854 ft/s)
Effective firing range	250 and 400 m sight adjustments
Maximum firing range	3,000 m (3,281 yd)
Feed system	30-round detachable STANAG magazine
Sights	Rear flip aperture, front post iron sights 513 mm (20.2 in) sight radius (standard rifle) optical sights

The Ak 5 or Automatkarbin 5 ("automatic carbine 5", "automatic carbine" being the Swedish term for assault rifle) is the Swedish version of the FN FNC assault rifle with certain modifications, mostly to adapt the weapon to the subarctic Swedish climate. The Ak 5 is the service rifle of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Ak 5 replaced the Ak 4 (a licensed-produced version of the Heckler & Koch G3) in Swedish service. Later versions also accept the Colt M203 grenade launcher attachment. The current standard issue version is the Ak 5C.

In the mid-1970s, despite the failure of the Nytt infanterivapen (New Infantry Weapon) program, the Swedish Armed Forces decided to continue to follow the general transition towards smaller calibre ammunition and directed the FMV (Defence Materiel Administration) to procure a suitable replacement for the Ak 4 capable of using 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition, which under STANAG 4172 is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. The weapon was required to be highly reliable in the subarctic climate of northernmost Sweden, as well as being easy to handle and maintain, while meeting a certain minimum level of accuracy.

After evaluating and testing eleven different 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles from 1979 to 1985, the FMV chose the Belgian FN FNC, which received several modifications. These included a larger trigger guard and cocking handle (to allow for operation while wearing winter gloves, a necessity for temperatures reaching down to −30 °C (−22 °F)), a larger handguard, a different collapsible shoulder stock, different iron sights and gas block, a modified bolt, deletion of the 3-round burst capability, and a corrosion-resistant green (instead of black) finish. Further the detachable box magazines were modified to be interchangeable with the M16 rifle STANAG magazines. Swedish blank ammunition uses a wooden plug in place of a bullet, so the flash suppressor was fitted with grooves to accept the Swedish blank-firing adaptor, which prevents potentially dangerous pieces of wood from leaving the weapon by smashing the plug into a fine sawdust. The flash suppressor was also designed to accept rifle grenades, although none have been accepted into service.