American-made AK-47s: How the military is helping push new products to consumers

By Jacki Billings

A United States Marine fires an AK-47 Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, Range 2 at The Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria. (Photo: Department of Defense)
Last June, officials within U.S. Special Operations Command published a notice seeking more information on “non-standard” weaponry. A type of market research, the solicitation listed a variety of platforms the elite military organization was interested in trying out. Nestled within the specifications was a request for the AK-47, with specific attention paid to American-made rifles.
SOCOM’s announcement set the gun industry on fire, ultimately prodding American-based manufacturers to elevate its AK game in order to nab the attention of the military elite. This push to equip America’s bravest resulted in a side-effect that has played to the advantage of gun owners. As gun makers designed military specific AK-47s, they began releasing commercial models to consumers on the side.
Last month, Century Arms unveiled new additions to its AK-style pistol lines with the C39v2 and RAS47. Sporting 10.6-inch barrels perfect for close combat firefights, both guns feature a bevy of attributes aimed at potential military operations. Century confirmed in a statement that the company built the new civilian AKs while expanding its products for government contracts.
“As we were developing our full-auto and

Source: Guns.com