This article is the final chapter of a 4-part series. In Part 1 I talk about how the production of AK began in China, Part 2 was dedicated to the “golden age” of Chinese AKs, and Part 3 was about the gradual decline in quality and the underlying reasons for [Read More…]
To those of you out there that want to either build one from scratch or managed to SOMEHOW shoot out the barrel of your Saiga 7.62×39, Kalashnikov USA has released an AK-103 Barrel Kit to suit your needs. KUSA is seemingly going all-in on their 7.62x39mm firearms [Read More…]
Kalashnikov USA has just announced and made available their new Kommander rifle, a sporterized version of their already popular KR-103 rifle. Evoking the formerly cheap and easy-to-find unconverted Saiga rifle, it’s obviously targeted at states like California [Read More…]
The news concerning the establishment of an AK-103 assembly line in Armenia has been reported by several Armenian and Russian sources within the past month, however, there was no official statement. Yesterday, this information was officially confirmed as the Government [Read More…]
For years we at TFB have closely followed India’s struggles to select a new service rifle to replace the 5.56x45mm INSAS which has gained a questionable reputation over the years. Numerous home-grown rifles such as the Indian Ordnance Factories Board-designed [Read More…]
Production at the long-planned and troubled Kalashnikov factory in Venezuela reportedly edges closer as politicians announce production is scheduled to begin rifle in late 2019. The construction of the plant was first confirmed way back in 2006. The Venezuelan defence [Read More…]
Kalashnikov USA, orphaned stateside importing partner of Kalashnikov Concern, brought their latest prototype and production guns to the 2018 SHOT Show, and there is good reason to be excited. Chief among them: The KR-9 9mm AK carbine. Here’s one of those [Read More…]
The Russians are busy inventing new rifles and Kalashnikov Group have announced a rifle called TG2 chambered for the .366ТКМ round. The looks and appearance are identical to the AK 103 rifle, however the TG2 has a smooth barrel with paradox rifling. In short, a [Read More…]
According to Russian news agency TASS, Russian state corporation Rosoboronexport has decided not to take part in the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs tender of procurement of about 20,000 assault rifles chambered in 7.62x39mm caliber. The TASS source (undisclosed) said [Read More…]
According to Russian news agency TASS, as a result of the official visit of King Salman of Saudi Arabia to Russia, a memorandum was signed between Saudi Arabian Military Industries and Russian Rosoboronexport State Corporation. The memorandum is about the purchasing of [Read More…]
Sanctions aside, things seem to be going well for Russian firearms export. Rosoboronexport is the only state organization in Russia for exporting the entire range of military, dual-use products and services and technologies. The Director General of Rosoboronexport, [Read More…]
Thanks to a recent leak exclusively to The Firearm Blog, we have now become aware of a new tender for rifles issued by the Pakistani government. According to the tender document, the Pakistani Army is looking for 75,000 “modern 7.62x39mm caliber weapons”, [Read More…]
According to Russian news agency TASS, Venezuela will finish the building of the AK-103 factories in 2019. Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the problems with the building process of the plants are solved and they will run at full scale in 2019. He [Read More…]
Dust, mud, dirt, sand: Ideally, a firearm should be kept clean and free of debris so that it functions optimally at all times. After all, the user’s life may depend on the firearm working properly! Sometimes, though, the worst happens and a firearm is exposed to [Read More…]
Ever seen a magazine explode? Lee “The Gun Writer” Williams was greeted by the aftermath of this dramatic failure of a Bulgarian AK magazine, little more than a week ago: I had a surprise last night when I opened my safe. The top of a loaded [Read More…]
Russia won a weapons contact with Libya last year which among other things included supplying AK-103 rifles to the Gadaffi regime. Judging my photos unearthed on the internet, some of those weapons may have made it to the country before the revolution.
They need to feed the 100,000 AK-103 rifles they bought from Russia. “The ammunition plant will be capable of producing over 50 million rounds annually,” said Nikolai Maslyaev, general director of the Izhevsk-based design bureau for automated assembly lines. [Read More…]
Forbes reports … Ambassador Vladmir Zaemskiy told a news conference that Russian engineers and Venezuelan construction firms were building the rifle and cartridge plants which, when operational, would employ more than 1,500 workers. He gave no completion date for [Read More…]
Last year I reported that Izhmash would launch a new line of AK-style rifles this year. While this new line has not yet materialized, a prototype has been unveiled. It modernizes the AK-74M / AK-100 series by adding rails for optics and other accessories, as well as a [Read More…]
MilitaryPhotos.net has some interesting photos of the Chinese International Criminal Police Organization. Some interesting suppressed AKs, they look like AK-103’s but could be something else, and what is probably a Norinco CQ (M16A1 clone) or CQ-M4 (you guessed [Read More…]
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