Civilian "cousins" of the AK-47

AK-47
AK-47 with 6H2 bayonet
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1949–present (worldwide) 1949–1978 (Soviet Union)
Used by	See Users
Wars	Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Colombian conflict Moro Conflict South African Border War Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 War of Attrition Six Day War Yom Kippur War Ogaden War Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian–Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Sri Lankan Civil War Chadian–Libyan conflict Afghan Civil War Afghan-Soviet War First Liberian Civil War Second Liberian Civil War First Sudanese Civil War Second Sudanese Civil War South Sudanese Civil War Somali Civil War Algerian Civil War Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Georgian Civil War Tajikistani Civil War Transnistria War East Prigorodny Conflict 1991–1992 South Ossetia War War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) War in Abkhazia (1998) First Chechen War Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan Iran–Iraq War Gulf War Lebanese Civil War South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) Yugoslav Wars Croatian War Bosnian War Iraq War First Congo War Second Congo War Mexican Drug War 2006 Lebanese War Russo-Georgian War Insurgency in the North Caucasus Northern Mali Conflict Libyan Civil War Second Libyan Civil War Boko Haram insurgency Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015–present) Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir
Production history
Designer	Mikhail Kalashnikov
Designed	1946–1948
Manufacturer	Kalashnikov Concern and various others including Norinco
Produced	1949–present
No. built	≈ 75 million AK-47s, 100 million Kalashnikov-family weapons.
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	Without magazine: 3.47 kg (7.7 lb) Magazine, empty: 0.43 kg (0.95 lb) (early issue) 0.33 kg (0.73 lb) (steel) 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) (plastic) 0.17 kg (0.37 lb) (light alloy)
Length	Fixed wooden stock: 880 mm (35 in) 875 mm (34.4 in) folding stock extended 645 mm (25.4 in) stock folded
Barrel length	Overall length: 415 mm (16.3 in) Rifled bore length: 369 mm (14.5 in)
Cartridge	7.62×39mm
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	Cyclic rate of fire: 600 rds/min Combat rate of fire: Semi-auto 40 rds/min Bursts 100 rds/min
Muzzle velocity	715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)
Effective firing range	350 m (380 yd)
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine There are also 5- 10-, 20- and 40-round box and 75- and 100-round drum magazines available
Sights	100–800 m adjustable iron sights Sight radius: 378 mm (14.9 in)

The AK-47, or AK as it is officially known (Russian: Автомат Калашникова, translit. Avtomat Kalashnikova, lit. 'Kalashnikov's Automatic Rifle'), also known as the Kalashnikov, is a gas-operated, 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or "AK") family.

Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials, and in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (S—Skladnoy or "folding"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal . In early 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.

Even after almost seven decades, the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use. The AK-47 has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies worldwide, and was the basis for developing many other types of individual, crew-served and specialised firearms. As of 2004, "Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s".

During World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts. The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz, and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle. On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own, to replace the PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.