Previously in our Photo Of The Day article series, we took a look at pictures of the AEK-919K Kashtan submachine gun and DP-64 double-barreled grenade launcher, firearms designed by the Russian Degtyarev Plant. In today’s POTD we have another interesting firearm developed by this company – the KORD rifle.

KORD assault rifles are gas-operated balanced-action firearms chambered in 5.45x39mm (GRAU index 6P67) or 7.62x39mm (GRAU index 6P68). These rifles are also known as A-545 and A-762 and are the modernized versions of the AEK-971 and AEK-973. The KORD rifles were adopted by the Russian military along with the AK-12 and AK-15. These rifles will be primarily issued to special forces units. The Degtyarev Plant has also designed a civilian version of the KORD rifle called KSO18.

The main feature of KORD rifles is the balanced-action mechanism that mitigates the movement of the weapon during firing thanks to a counterweight that is synchronized with the bolt carrier group via gears and moves in the opposite direction when the action cycles. The result is increased accuracy, especially during the fully automatic fire. These rifles have single shot, full auto and two-round burst modes of firing. The safety/fire mode selector is ambidextrous.

KORD rifles also feature a top Picatinny rail, rear aperture sight, collapsible stock and two pairs of QD sling swivel sockets. These rifles are fed from standard AK magazines. The overall length of both rifles is 940mm (37″) and 730mm (28-3/4″) with the stocks deployed and collapsed respectively. The empty weight is 3.5kg (7lbs 11.5 oz).