| 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[1] |
| 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, KORD 6P67) 5.56×45mm NATO (AEK-972) 7.62×39mm (AEK-973, AEK-973S, KORD 6P68) |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt, balanced recoil system (BARS) |
| Rate of fire | Cyclic: 900 rounds/min Practical: Automatic: 100 rounds/min[2] Semi-auto: 40 rounds/min[2] |
| 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, KORD 6P67: 5.45×39mm AK-74 and RPK-74 magazines AEK-972: 5.56×45mm NATO AK-101, AK-102 carbine and AK-108 magazines AEK-973, AEK-973S, KORD 6P68: 7.62×39mm AK-47, AKM and RPK magazines Note: In standard configuration all of the rifles uses a 30-round detachable box magazine and are capable of using the 60-round detachable casket magazine. |
| Sights | AEK-971: Adjustable iron sights, hooded front post and rear notch on a scaled tangent KORD 6P67: 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 was 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).
The AEK-971 is also available in 5.56×45mm NATO, designated as the AEK-972 and in 7.62×39mm, designated as the AEK-973.
The KORD 6P67 and KORD 6P68 is a successor variant of the AEK-971 and AEK-973 respectively, that was announced on 23 December 2014, which features numerous internal and external improvements over its predecessor and was adopted by the Russian Armed Forces' Spetsnaz type special operations units.
- ^ "Russia's Rare A-545 in Ukraine" (video). The Armourer's Bench. April 16, 2023.
- ^ a b "Энциклопедия Оружия". Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-04-10.