AK-74

The AK-74 (Russian: Автомат Калашникова образца 1974 года, romanized: Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda, lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974') is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974 as a successor to the AKM. It is chambered for the 5.45×39mm cartridge, which replaced the 7.62×39mm cartridge of Kalashnikov's earlier automatic weapons for the Soviet Armed Forces. The rifle first saw service with Soviet forces in the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979. The head of the Afghan bureau of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the intelligence agency of Pakistan, claimed that the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the Afghan mujahideen during the war. As of 2026, most countries of the former Soviet Union use the rifle. Licensed copies were produced in Bulgaria (AK-74, AKS-74 and AKS-74U), and in the former East Germany (MPi-AK-74N, MPi-AKS-74N, MPi-AKS-74NK).