21st Century AK-74: Kalashnikov Concern’s Next-Gen Upgrade Kit

By Maxim Popenker

Thanks to the longstanding Soviet tradition of keeping large stocks of military surplus weapons and equipment just in case World War III unexpectedly breaks out, today’s much smaller Russian army still has millions of AK-74 rifles in service and in storage. Most of these guns are in perfect working condition, but today they seem a little bit outdated, especially for more active elements of the Russian army, like airborne troops, naval infantry and recon, and Spetsnaz troops.

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Of course, this could be solved by the introduction of entirely new, modern tactical rifles into service, such as the A-545 (an AEK-971 derivative) or the AK-12, but this would require a lot of time and money, while existing AK-74 rifles in storage were paid for many years ago.

Combat Kit

Assuming the need for the quick and cost-effective modernization of the existing assault rifle stocks, Kalashnikov Concern produced its own version of the “AK-74 upgrade kit,” which is now being evaluated by the Russian army. Initial test batches of these kits were produced early in 2015, and first displayed to the general public during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9th, 2015, as a …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life