AEK-971

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AEK-971
AEK-971
Type	Assault Rifle
Place of origin	Russian Federation
Service history
In service	Field testing
Production history
Designer	Sergey I. Koksharov
Designed	Early 1970's
Manufacturer	Kovrov Machinebuilding Plant
Number built	>100 units
Specifications
Weight	3.3 kg (8.5 lb) empty
Length	965 mm (38 in)
Barrel length	450 mm (16.3 in)

Cartridge	5.45 × 39 mm or 7.62 × 39 mm
Action	Gas actuated, rotating bolt, balanced
Rate of fire	800 to 900 round/min
Muzzle velocity	880 m/s (2887 ft/s)
Effective range	1000 m (1094 yd)
Feed system	30 round magazine
Sights	hooded front post and the U-notch open rear

The AEK-971 is a Russian assault rifle made by the Kovrov Machinebuilding Plant now Degtyarev Design Bureau and designed by Sergey I. Koksharov, son of the famous Russian weapon designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. Variants fire the 7.62 x 39 mm round or the 5.45 x 39 mm round, from the standard 30 round magazines of the AK-47 or AK-74. The AEK-971 has two fire modes; semi- and full-automatic. The AEK-971 is based of the previous AK rifles in internal design and features but has the addition of a balancing mechanism. The rifle has a counter weight that negates the impulse of the gas piston and bolt carrier: this is the balancing mechanism and results in more controllable automatic fire. Though losing an initial contract for production against the AN-94, mainly due to being underdeveloped at the time, the Russian army has begun field trials of this weapon. The advantages of AEK-971 over the AN-94 is a lighter weight, more controllable and accurate automatic fire, cheaper, simpler construction, potentially greater reliability and fewer maintenance requirements.