Zastava M70

Zastava M70
A Zastava M70 AB2
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia)
Service history
In service	1970–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Gulf War Yugoslav Wars Kosovo War Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia War in Afghanistan Iraq War Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War
Production history
Designed	1959–68
Manufacturer	Zastava Arms
Produced	1970–present
No. built	4,000,000
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	3.70 kg (8.2 lb)
Length	940 mm (37 in)
Barrel length	415 mm (16.3 in)
Cartridge	7.62×39mm
Action	Gas-operated (rotating bolt)
Rate of fire	620 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	720 m/s (2,400 ft/s)
Effective firing range	410 m (450 yd)
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine, can accept 75 round drum magazines
Sights	Iron sights

The Zastava M70 (Serbian Cyrillic: Застава М70) is an assault rifle developed and produced by Zastava Arms in Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia). The design of the M70 was based on modified Soviet AK-47 and AKM assault rifles and it became the standard issue weapon in the Yugoslav People's Army in 1970. The M70 is an air-cooled, magazine-fed, selective fire rifle. This weapon is also available as the O-PAP in the USA without select fire capabilities.

Development of the domestic Kalashnikov variant began in 1959, and the first models submitted by Zastava for military field trials were with the early M64 (or M59) series of rifles with milled receivers, threaded barrels, familiar Zastava handguards, gas cutoffs for grenade launching, and several other diversities from the mainstay AK design, such as a bolt hold open device on the right side of the receiver, and a charging handle that appeared different from other AK models. Though performances were satisfactory, the Yugoslav military did not adopt the rifle as the standard infantry armament.

In 1970, the green light was given to begin with army-funded mass production of the AP M70 and M70 A series (Automatska Puška Model 1970, "Automatic Rifle Model 1970") of which the M70 A was the folding stock version. It became the standard issue weapon in the Yugoslav People's Army in 1970.

Before the larger models of these rifles were made, cost-cutting measures in production resulted in the removal of the internal bolt hold open, and relocation to the magazine follower. In addition, the usual placement of the barrel through threading into the receiver was replaced by the cheaper method of pressing and pinning the barrel into the receiver. Rifles produced with these new features were known as models AP M70 B (fixed stock version), and M70 AB (folding stock version). As with the M70 series of automatic rifles, these models failed to be produced in larger quantities before further cost-efficiency production measures gave way to yet another model.

This time the milled receiver was replaced by a receiver stamped from a smooth 0.9 mm (0.04 in) thick sheet of steel, a firing rate reducer was added to the trigger group, and the muzzle brake replaced the muzzle nut that originally came on the two prior models; the produced models were AP M70 B1 (fixed stock) and M70 AB1 (folding stock).

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