AK-74 AK-74 The AK-74 (Russian: or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle model 1974") is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s by Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM (itself a refined version of the AK-47). It uses a smaller 5.45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7.62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. The rifle first saw service with Soviet forces engaged in the 1979 Afghanistan conflict. The head of the Afghan bureau of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence claimed that the CIA paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. Presently, the rifle continues to
AK-74 and horizontal mean (R) deviations with service ammunition at for a number of Russian rifles are: The single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47, AK-74 and M16A1 and M16A2 assault rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows: Under worst field exercise circumstances, due to range estimation and aiming errors, the hit probabilities for the tested assault rifles were drastically reduced with differences without operational significance. AK-74 The AK-74 (Russian: or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle model 1974") is an assault