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 selective-fire (semi-automatic and fully automatic), 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 shoulder stock. In early 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces[8] 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".
(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[1] 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 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 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 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 Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War (2014-present) Yemeni Civil War (2015-present) Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
