The AK-47’s easy maintenance and light weight led to its becoming the armament of choice for at least 50 armies worldwide, as well as guerrilla factions, terrorist groups, drug gangs and pirates.

Whereas the original AK and its AKM variant use the 7.62x39mm cartridge, the AK-74 was the first of several subsequent Kalashnikov models to be chambered in a smaller, lighter 5.45x39mm cartridge.

It’s the Kalashnikov assault rifle, commonly known as the AK-47. Originally developed in secrecy for the Soviet military, an estimated 100 million AK-47s and its variants have been produced to date.