The Type 56 is a Chinese 7.62×39mm rifle. It is a variant of the Soviet-designed AK-47 and AKM rifles. The Type 56 rifle was designated by the Chinese military as the "Type 1956 Submachine Gun", because the Type 56 took the role of SMG rather than infantry service rifle in the PLA in the rifle's early service years. Production started in 1956 at State Factory 66 but was eventually handed over to Norinco and PolyTech, who continue to manufacture the rifle primarily for export.
The RPK, sometimes retroactively termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created to standardize the small arms inventory of the Soviet Army, where it replaced the 7.62×39mm RPD machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the military of the post-Soviet states and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.
The AK-103 is a Russian assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Wassenaar Arrangement Semi-automatic Rifles are a line of rifles sold in the United States by Century International Arms. The rifles are manufactured in Romania by the Cugir Arms Factory and are a semi-automatic variant of the Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965, a Romanian licensed derivative of the Soviet AKM assault rifle. Century imports them and modifies them in order to comply with national legislation before sale to the general public via licensed traders. The WASR series takes its name from the 1996 Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime to monitor and limit the proliferation of certain conventional weapons and dual-use technologies.
The two most common assault rifles in the world are the Soviet AK-47 and the American M16. These Cold War-era rifles have been used in conflicts both large and small since the 1960s. They are used by military, police, security forces, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals and civilians alike and will most likely continue to be used for decades to come. As a result, they have been the subject of countless comparisons and endless debate.
The Zastava M76 is a military semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
Zastava Arms is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery, based in Kragujevac, Serbia. In 1853, it was founded, and cast its first cannon. It is the leading producer of firearms in Serbia and is a large contributor to the local defense industry. Zastava Arms produces and exports a wide variety of products to over forty countries, including the Zastava M70, a Kalashnikov rifle.
The Norinco Type 86S is an AKM-type bullpup rifle that was produced by Norinco. Many major parts are interchangeable with other standard Kalashnikov rifles.
The Zastava M90 is an assault rifle developed and produced by Zastava Arms in Serbia. It was developed from the Zastava M70 assault rifle, a modified copy of the Soviet AKM, but with a Western-type flash eliminator added on the barrel end, chambered in the Western 5.56×45mm NATO caliber, and with a different magazine design, similar to a STANAG magazine.
The Zastava M72 is a light machine gun developed and manufactured by then Yugoslav Zastava Arms company. The M72 was patterned after the Soviet RPK light machine gun.
A Khyber Pass copy is a firearm manufactured by cottage gunsmiths in the Khyber Pass region in Pakistan.
The AKM is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior.
The Saiga semi-automatic rifles are a family of Russian semi-automatic rifles manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern, which also manufactures the original AK-47 and its variants, Saiga-12 shotguns and Dragunov sniper rifle. Saiga rifles are a sport version of the Kalashnikov rifle, and are marketed for hunting and civilian use. They are sometimes referred to as Saiga Sporters.
The AK-63 is a Hungarian variant of the AKM assault rifle manufactured by the Fegyver- és Gépgyár (FÉG) state arms plant in Hungary. It is currently used by the Hungarian Ground Forces as its standard infantry weapon, and by most other branches of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
Kalashnikov rifles or AK rifles are a family of assault rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "avtomát Kalashnikova", and as "Kalash" in Russian. They were originally manufactured in the Soviet Union, first by Izhmash and later by Kalashnikov Concern. Rifles similar to the Kalashnikov and its Soviet variants were later produced in many countries friendly to the Soviet Bloc, with rifles based on its design such as the Galil ACE and the INSAS also being produced. The Kalashnikov is one of the most widely used guns in the world, with an estimated 72 million rifles in global circulation.
The Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 is a Romanian 7.62x39mm assault rifle. Developed in the late 1950s, the PM md. 63 was a derivative of the Soviet AKM produced under license. It was the standard issue infantry weapon of the Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania until the late 1980s, after which it was gradually superseded by the Pușcă Automată model 1986, a derivative of the Soviet AK-74.
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II. The first assault rifle to see major usage was the German StG 44, a development of the earlier Mkb 42. While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with battle rifles, the development of the M16 rifle during the Vietnam War prompted the adoption of assault rifles by the rest of NATO. By the end of the 20th century, assault rifles had become the standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing full-powered rifles and submachine guns in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are the AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives.
The NHM-91 is a semi-automatic civilian development of the Russian Kalashnikov AKM and RPK infantry small arm built by Norinco of China and marketed in the U.S. by China Sports Inc. of Ontario, California.
The AK-104 is a carbine variant of the AK-103. It's chambered to fire 7.62×39mm ammunition and thus feeds from any standard 7.62x39 AK pattern magazine.
The Zastava PAP are a series of Serbian sporting rifles based on the Zastava M70 and Zastava M77B1. They are nearly identical to their military counterparts, but lack select-fire capability and have been modified with a number of sporting features designed to comply with firearms imports laws in the United States, where they are primarily marketed.
