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.
AK-12 have an interchangeable barrels, that can easily be removed. It has a combat weight of , a full length of , a cyclic rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute (RPM), an accuracy range of and uses a standard 96-round drum magazine. It is also compatible using magazines from the AK-74 and RPK-74. The AK-308 is an assault rifle/battle rifle under development in 2018 upon request of non-Russian potential clients. It is based on the AK-103 and AK-12 and chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester. The basic Kalashnikov assault rifle design intended for intermediate cartridges has been stretched and strengthened