AK-74 be used by the majority of countries of the former Soviet Union. Additionally, licensed copies were produced in Bulgaria (AK-74, AKS-74 and AKS-74U), and the former East Germany (MPi-AK-74N, MPi-AKS-74N, MPi-AKS-74NK). Besides former Soviet republics and eastern European countries, Mongolia, North Korean Special Forces, and Vietnamese People's Naval infantry use AK-74s. The AK-74 was designed by А. D. Kryakushin's group under the design supervision of Mikhail Kalashnikov and is an adaptation of the 7.62×39mm AKM assault rifle and features several important design improvements. These improvements were primarily the result of converting the rifle to the intermediate-caliber high velocity 5.45×39mm cartridge.
German military rifles designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. It is formally known as the "Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova" (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова), 1945 (Self-loading Carbine, Simonov's system, 1945), or SKS 45. It was originally planned to serve as the standard issue weapon for the Soviet military forces, alongside the new AK-47. As mass production of AK-pattern rifles increased, the SKS carbine was soon phased out of service. It was quickly replaced entirely by the AK-47, but it remained in second-line service for decades afterwards. The AK-47 is a gas-operated assault rifle used in most Eastern bloc countries including East Germany