Reliability and simplicity –the pledge of unconditional success of AK-74
Reliability and simplicity –the pledge of unconditional success of AK-74
More than 70 years ago sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov presented for trials the weapon which made a true revolution in musketry – AK-47 assault rifle. From the moment of putting into service of AK-47 more than 100,000,000 items of different modifications of this assault rifles were produced.
The popularity of AK-47 is no accident: Russian and foreign experts highly appreciate precision and reliability of this weapon.
Thus, Ch.Goa, one of the analysts of the American journal «The Naitonal Interest», using the information of the Soviet period on the performed shootings at land targets, compares performance characteristics of AKM (modernized Kalashnikov assault rifle) and AK-74 put into service in 1959 and 1974, correspondingly. Soldiers with different levels of training, shooting from different positions, including fire from moving vehicles, at night and even reprisal fire against muzzle blasts during hours of darkness, took part in the trials.
The American expert comes to the conclusion that the functional and ballistic characteristics of Kalashnikov assault rifle in practice give «astonishing results» and make it indeed «deadly», and the ballistic characteristics of that time practically do not differ from indices of modern American rifles.
The author of the article pays special attention to accuracy of shooting. At the distance of 100 meters the mean accuracy of the first shot from AK-74 by the average rifleman has a vertical and horizontal dispersion in 4 centimeters, this index of AKM is almost 6 centimeters. Ch.Goa also notices that during the use of the assault rifles by more trained servicemen the indices of dispersion go down.
Besides that, the article provides the analysis of quantity of shots necessary for target kill. During the shots fired at full-height figure targets from the distance of 800 meters the riflemen with AK-74 needed only 11 shots to hit it from prone position in the equipped position, 20 shots – from the equipped position in the trench and 26 shots – from prone position in the unequipped position. While shooting from the knee with use of AK-74 the well trained riflemen could hit the full-height figure target from a distance 700 meters, spending only 45 cartridges.
AK-74 demonstrated significant, in comparison with AKM, increase of accuracy while shooting at small and medium targets, as well as big advantage during fully automatic control.
The writer writes, that the improved indices of AK-74 significantly raise the functional and ballistic characteristics of the assault rifle. «Certain improvements in small arms in practice can give astonishing results», «The National Interest» summarizes.
According to Ch.Goa, reliability and simplicity of Kalashnikov assault rifles is the result of careful calculations, laborious work and long years of investigation of the Soviet designers.
Kalashnikov assault rifle - one of unconditional leaders of the world arms market. For its reliability it won deserved recognition and is in service with national armies and special operation forces on all continents.