AN-94, AK-101

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Can I have some info on these 2 new Ruskie rifles? And why isn't the AK-101 used in the army?

[phongn]

No idea, but perhaps budgetary reasons?

[Sea Skimmer]

Check out this site, it has information on both.

http://world.guns.ru/assault/as36-e.htm


Money is a big reason. Plus Russia already has about 7 million AK-47's,Ak-74s and related divertive in stock or in service. They also have tens of billions of rounds of ammunition for both. All are still quite good weapons.

The An-94 is entering limited service, and can use existing ammunition. But the Russians simply can't afford that many, and they have bigger things to worry about.

The AK-101 however uses NATO 5.56 rounds, it would cost a huge amount to adapt a new round, and be very very impractical. Compatibility is very important for militaries, and ones the size of Russia eat up tens of tons of rifle ammunition each day.

This weapon is really intended for export, the Russian army will never adapt it, they would be quite foolish to do so.

[Master of Ossus]

Russia's military should have adopted one of these two systems, but due to budget problems they have been unable to give either model in significant quantities to their troops. It is interesting that the AK series is moving away from the robust designs that made them so successful and is leaning towards an almost "M16ish" attitude of carefully manufactured parts and significant maintenance. Both weapons are absolutely superb. In my opinion, the 101 is surpassed only by H&K's G36 line, but they require far more care than the older models--often even more than the delicate M16. The oscillating barrels add considerably to accuracy, but they require significant down-time, and are easily thrown out of alignment by rough handling. When used correctly, however, either weapon is devastating.

[Mr. B]

I hope Rusia can pull itself out of its depression. They deserve to be a superpower again. And I love the AK line of guns. Just because it's fun to say AK.

[Mr Bean]

I hope Rusia can pull itself out of its depression. They deserve to be a superpower again. And I love the AK line of guns. Just because it's fun to say AK.

Everbody!
Its fun to say AK!

Somthing I missed about the Ak-47, You could throw it from a three story building to the street below, Run it over with a Car and the damn thing still worked(Though not fine, it still worked)

Like to see you do THAT with an M-16

[Pablo Sanchez]

Like to see you do THAT with an M-16

Hey, they ran an M16 over with an M60 MBT during testing and it worked just fine. But if they'd thrown it off the building... no. The main advantage of the AK-47 is that it almost never needs to be cleaned. It can get mud in the mechanism and keep working like nothing happened. In Vietnam, some VC were so poorly trained that they didn't even know how to field-strip and clean their AKs. The rifles got so dirty that the rate of fire actually dropped from 600 r/min to around 500. But the AKs never jammed.

IMO the Russians are moving in the right direction, but I don't like the reduced emphasis on reliability. All those moving parts in the Nikonov make it seem like a jam waiting to happen. The AN-94 is the perfect weapon for the regular, well-trained army, but you still can't beat a classic Kalashnikov for equipping conscripts.

[Mr Bean]

Hey, they ran an M16 over with an M60 MBT during testing and it worked just fine. But if they'd thrown it off the building...

Oooh I forgot the other tests

Ran over it with Ford Expolerer
Damage? One of the sights was bent nothing more, still worked

Threw it in Dryer on Permate Press
Damage?
None worked fine!

Drop on ground while 200 pound Solider jumped up and down on it
Damage?
None at all!


I loved the Ak-47

[Cpt_Frank]

The AK is cult. Sadly guns are not very easy to access legaly here in Germany.