Pușcă Automată model 1986

Pușcă Automată model 1986
The Pmd. 86 with AG-40 grenade launcher.
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Socialist Republic of Romania
Service history
In service	1986–present
Used by	Romania, Socialist Republic of Romania
Wars	Peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Production history
Designer	Romtechnica
Designed	1986
Manufacturer	ROMARM via Regia Autonomă pentru producţia de Tehnică Militară (RATMIL), Cugir
Produced	1986–present
Specifications
Weight	3.69 kg (8.14 lb)
Length	943 mm (37.1 in) stock extended / 748 mm (29.4 in) stock folded
Barrel length	432 mm (17.0 in)
Cartridge	5.45×39mm
Caliber	5.45 mm
Action	Gas-actuated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	700 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	880 m/s (2,887 ft/s)
Effective firing range	100 to 1,000 m sight adjustments
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine
Sights	Rear sight notch sight on sliding tangent, front post

The Pușcă Automată model 1986 (Automatic Rifle Model 1986, abbreviated PA md. 86 or simply md. 86) is the standard assault rifle used by the Romanian Military Forces and manufactured in Cugir, Romania by the ROMARM firm, located in Bucharest. The export name for this variant is the AIMS-74.

As the Soviet Union switched from the 7.62×39mm caliber AKM to the 5.45×39mm caliber AK-74, it encouraged other nations of the Warsaw Pact to follow suit.

By the mid 80s, Romania decided to switch calibers, however it was decided that the new rifle would be developed independently, and not represent a clone of the Soviet AK-74. In doing so, the PA md. 86 has several anachronistic AKM elements that were found only on the prototype Soviet AK-74.

The most easily recognized AKM feature is the gas block design (45 degree versus 90 degree). Incidentally, although the gas block is purely AKM, the gas vent in the barrel did change to a 90-degree design to minimize bullet shearing (a problem with early Soviet AK-74s with 45-degree gas blocks). This means the Romanian PA md. 86 has a double-angle gas port, which makes it much harder to clean the gas vent. This variant also uses the AK-47 rear trunnion, and thus the siderail is lengthened.

It uses either a "bird cage" flash suppressor, or a flash hider (designed for Special Forces). The design also incorporates an upward-curved charging handle, a wire side-folding stock (based on the East German design, but offset slightly to the left), and a traditional vertical handgrip. The md. 86 use laminated wood lower handguards, and Bakelite pistol grips and upper handguards. None of the components have had any polymer versions.

The AG-40 grenade launcher can be attached as a lower handguard after removing the standard one. Lasers/lights can also be clamped to the barrel in two ways. The rifle is one of only a few AK versions that have a 3-round burst option. The selector markings are as follows, from top to bottom: ∞, 1, 3. Only ribbed steel magazines are used.