Type 58 assault rifle (NVA) of North Vietnam forces between 1964 and 1975. It was used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the militia Basij of Iran against the Army and the Republican Guard of Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88). In Nicaragua the Sandinista Popular Army used Type 58 weapons against the Contras in the Sandinista Revolution (1980–90). Type 58 assault rifle The Type 58 is an assault rifle made in North Korea derived from the Soviet AK-47 designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It uses a 7.62×39mm cartridge. It is the longest version of the rifle at 890 mm, while the AK-47
Assault rifle in 5.56×45mm. During the 1990s, Russia developed the AK-101 in 5.56×45mm NATO for the world export market. In addition, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (i.e., Serbia) have also rechambered their locally produced assault rifles to 5.56mm NATO. "The AK-74 assault rifle was a Soviet answer to the US M16." The Soviet military realized that the M16 had better range and accuracy over the AKM, and that its lighter cartridge allows soldiers to carry more ammunition. Therefore, in 1967, the USSR issued an official requirement to replace the AKM and the 7.62×39mm cartridge. They soon began to develop the AK-74