MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti defense commentator Viktor Litovkin) - As the Kalashnikov assault rifle, with its name already in all firearms history books, gives way to more up-to-date and sophisticated weapons, the story of post-WWII firearm making rivalries is slowly coming to light, because the designs abandoned decades ago are making a comeback.
The Kalashnikov series includes around a hundred assault rifles and machine guns of all three main calibers - 7.62 mm (AK-103 and AK-104), 5.45 mm (AKM-74, AK-105, AKS-74U), and NATO-approved 5.56 mm (AK-101 and AK-102). The specialized 9 mm 2 kg Vikhr and the silenced AS for special operations were also developed from the legendary weapon and are certainly as reliable, easy to maintain and operate as the original Kalashnikov. They are also, characteristically for Russian firearms, easily upgradeable - optical sights, night kites, underbarrel grenade launchers, extended magazines etc.
The rivals that are finally elbowing their way past the Kalashnikov are the AN-94 Abakan and AEK-971 assault rifles, arguably the best globally available firearms today. Yes, even better than the Kalashnikov. That's probably because the benchmark was so high.
Back in 1972, the Soviet Union held a top-secret tender very few experts knew about to replace the post-WWII AK-47. By that time, the '47 was so popular than some African and Latin American states made the "liberty weapons" part of their flags and emblems. The new rifle was to yield more firepower with a lighter bullet - 5.45 mm instead of the classical wartime 7.62 mm.
Out of the eleven contenders, three were short-listed: the AKM (a derivative also designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, "M" is for "modernized"), the Abakan (an in-house rival proposed by Gennady Nikonov, a junior designer at Kalashnikov's Izhevsk Mechanical Plant), and the AEK-971 of the Kovrov Mechanical Plant run by Alexander Konstantinov.
Defense Ministry's Rocketry/Artillery Directorate took the rifles to a specialized test site near Rzhev, not far from Moscow, to determine the winner.
The loaded weapons, put into freezers at -50 °C, then taken out and fired until the ice turned into steam and then frozen again, showed good overall results. The Kalashnikov won despite slight recoil-driven deflection, which typically sends the second and third bullets wide. The Abakan sent two of the three and the AEK three of the three bullets of a three-shot burst into a 6-cm target due to novel balanced breechblocks. Kovrov's chief designer, Alexei Isakov, also cites AEK's automatic compensation for the effects of the gas operation and recharging systems, which made the weapon even more accurate.
Admittedly, apart from being seen as a world-war weapon for large, hastily trained armies, the modernized Kalashnikov was chosen partly due to the influence of its highly connected designer and because the well-known trademark would ensure exportability. The AKM went to the assembly lines, the Abakan and AEK-971 back to test benches and showrooms.
As world wars steadily gave way to local conflicts, accuracy and density of fire became as important as production capacity, and sometimes even more so. The Abakan and AEK-971 were also far ahead of the AKM in terms of rate of fire (1,800 and 800-900 vs. 600 rpm respectively). There are other indicators rarely mentioned but also crucially important in the industrial and corporate environment.
In short, a professional fighting force, unlike a conscripted one, is best served by a weapon that is more efficient and accurate, even if its maintenance is more demanding. The modernized Abakan and AEK, already in mass production, have recently been commissioned for special operations and reconnaissance, and showed 15% to 20% better performance than the classical Kalashnikov.
The AKM will not be completely replaced any time soon. One reason is that the Russian army is not yet professional and will not be in the near future. The other is that its upgradeability and strong market credentials make it a highly marketable and profitable product. In the most recent case, the Venezuelan government bought 100,000 Kalashnikovs and wants a licensed local production site - a project that, to all appearances, has a future despite protests from Washington, where people know the danger of competing against the AK in what has long been their M16-dominated backyard.
The AN-94 and AEK-971 may also be approved for export soon because here "the security of demand" has never been in question. Sales are going to be further bolstered next month when Izhevsk and Kovrov present the weapons at Moscow's National Exhibition Center during the International Defense Exhibition of Land Forces IDELF 2006.
I remember a Kalashnikov slogan at a previous arms show abroad: "Take it. Hold it tight. And now try putting it back. Can't? Then you've found what you were looking for."
No need to say more about Russian firearms. That about wraps it up.
