Welcome to another edition of TFB’s Photo Of The Day. We don’t get contributions from readers too often, but it happens. Today is such an occasion, and it’s a pretty interesting one. Mike Owen of Meridian Ordnance LLC sent us pictures of various Russian AKs taken in the Horn of Africa.

Here’s the letter that accompanied the images:

Sir/Ma’am, As a long time TFB reader and industry member, I wanted to offer this contribution for your consideration, as I’ve not seen much info or photographic documentation on small arms out of the Horn of Africa. Hopefully it is of interest, I certainly though so during the course of my time there on this mission.

My name is CPT Mike Owen; I’m an officer with the KY Army National Guard and instructor with our Small Arms Readiness Training Section (SARTS) Team. In addition to my duties as an Ordnance officer, I am a competitive shooter and instructor for the KYARNG. It was in this capacity that I recently had the opportunity to work with the Djiboutian National Army NCO Academy OCONUS as part of our State Partnership Program (SPP), whose mission is to build and strengthen partnerships between the Guard and various host nations.

On the civilian side, I own and operate Meridian Ordnance LLC, an 07/02 SOT specializing in custom AK work, gunsmithing and sales. Given my experience in manufacturing, servicing and training on the AK platform since 2004, this was a perfectly tailored mission for me personally; and I was surprised at the variety of AK variants and gear in use by the Djiboutian Army.

The photos I’ve uploaded showcase just a few highlights, to include various Russian AKMs and a Type 3 milled AK. The AKMs were primarily Izhmash mfg and were made throughout the 60s and 70s. Some had DDR (East German) parts such as the one featuring an MPiKMS pistol grip, which was of interest. Many have Chicom slings and many of the Djiboutian NCOs were running Chinese chest rigs including more recent nylon gear. The markings and patina of the rifles was of particular interest, many bearing rack numbers or other control markings in Somali or French. Cleaning rods are NOT carried, this was a conscious decision due to their pretensity for getting lost. All of the NCOs we worked with were highly attentive, interested in sharing various techniques and methods and comparing/contrasting US doctrine and manual of arms to theirs which was primarily inspired by the French methods.

In any case, I believe other readers will find these very useful. I can provide additional technical detail if needed as well as several other applicable photos. We are in the process of copying one of the Djiboutian AKMs at Meridian Ordnance LLC currently, which should be an intersting build.

Thank you.CPT Mike Owen

Meridian Ordnance LLC is a veteran owned small business, founded in 2011 by Mike Owen after many years building one-off Kalashnikovs and working in the U.S. Defense industry. Specializing in manufacturing, gunsmithing, refinishing and retail firearm/accessory sales for an array of needs, our focus is on custom AK and AR variants, built to unique specifications.

His website can be found at: www.meridianordnance.com