AEK-971
| AEK-971 | |
|---|---|
AEK-971 5.45×39mm balanced-recoil assault rifle | |
| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1980–present 2018–present (KORD rifle) |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Second Chechen war 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Stanislav Koksharov |
| Designed | 1978 |
| Manufacturer | Kovrovskiy Mekhanicheskiy Zavod (original) Degtyarev plant (current) |
| Produced | 1990–present |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) unloaded (AEK-971) 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) unloaded (AEK-972) 3.25 kg (7.2 lb) unloaded (AEK-973) |
| Length | 960 mm (37.8 in) with stock unfolded 720 mm (28.3 in) with stock folded |
| Barrel length | 420 mm (16.5 in) |
| Cartridge | 5.45×39mm (AEK-971, AEK-971S, 6P67 KORD) 5.56×45mm NATO (AEK-972) 7.62×39mm (AEK-973, AEK-973S, 6P68 KORD) |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt, balanced recoil system (BARS) |
| Rate of fire | 900 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 880 m/s (2,887 ft/s) (AEK-971, AEK-971S) 850 m/s (2,789 ft/s) (AEK-972) 700 m/s (2,297 ft/s) (AEK-973, AEK-973S) |
| Effective firing range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Maximum firing range | 100–1,000 m (109–1,094 yd) sight adjustments |
| Feed system | AEK-971, AEK-971S, 6P67 KORD: 5.45×39mm AK-74 and RPK-74 30-, 45-round detachable box magazines, 60-round casket magazines AEK-972: 5.56×45mm NATO AK-101, AK-102 and AK-108 magazines AEK-973, AEK-973S, 6P68 KORD: 7.62×39mm AK-47, AKM and RPK magazines |
| Sights | AEK-971: Adjustable iron sights, hooded front post and rear notch on a scaled tangent 6P67 KORD: Iron sights that consist of a rotary rear drum aperture and an integrated Picatinny rail for various optics |
The AEK-971 (Russian: Автомат единый Кокшарова 971, "Automatic (rifle), Universal, (of) Koksharov, 971) is a selective fire 5.45×39mm assault rifle that features a balanced automatic recoil system, developed at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant (KMZ) by chief designer Stanislav Ivanovich Koksharov (Cyrilic: Станислав Иванович Кокшаров), also known as Sergey Koksharov, in the late 1970s and 1980s (currently manufactured by Degtyarev Plant). Variants in 5.56×45mm NATO (AEK-972) and 7.62×39mm (AEK-973) were also developed.
The 6P67 KORD and 6P68 KORD were developed for the Ratnik trials on 23 December 2014 and are based on the AEK-971 and AEK-973 respectively. The 6P67 KORD and 6P68 KORD feature numerous internal and external improvements over their predecessors and were later adopted by the special forces units (Spetsnaz) of the Russian Armed Forces.