The USSR in the second half of the 20th century was distinguished by a developed defense industry and a large number of successful developments in all segments, including in the field of small arms. Some considered the existing line of army small arms to be perfect. The point was not only in the good characteristics of the samples adopted in service, but also in the uniqueness of these complexes. Due to wide unification, a relatively small number of rifle systems covered the basic needs of the army. For example, the world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifle covered several niches at once - from a compact automatic self-defense weapon for combat vehicle crews (AKSU) to a light machine gun (RPK).
This approach had its advantages. First of all, one can single out the economic component, as well as the rapid development of small arms by the troops, but there were also enough disadvantages. The main ones were the growing inertia of perception of perspective schemes. The developed design school of the Soviet Union, already in the 1960s and 80s, issued a lot of interesting weapon novelties, among which was the first pistol with a plastic frame, created at TsKIB in Tula long before the appearance of the Austrian Glock, and the first machine gun built in the bull -pap, and even caseless systems. At the same time, many promising developments fell under the carpet, and did not get into mass production.
This was the fate of the AEK-971 automatic machine, which is experiencing a rebirth only at the present time. The weapon, which was invented back in 1978, is only now undergoing army tests and is competing with the AK-12 and AK-15 for the right to be part of the outfit of the future soldier "Ratnik-2". According to Dmitry Semizorov, General Director of TsNIITOCHMASH, military operation of AK-12 and AK-15 assault rifles produced by the Kalashnikov concern and A-545 and A-762 (both assault rifles are further development of the AEK-971 model) manufactured by Degtyarev will end in December 2017 … Based on its results, a decision will be made on which machine gun will be included in the "Ratnik-2" equipment. There is a high probability that these will be both Kalashnikov and Degtyarev assault rifles.
AEK-971 (GRAU index - 6P67) is an assault rifle created in Kovrov at the Degtyarev plant in 1978 under the leadership of designer Stanislav Ivanovich Koksharov based on the Konstantinov assault rifle (SA-006), which took part in the competition of the Ministry of Defense in 1974. The AEK-971 assault rifle was developed to participate in the competition for the development of a new assault rifle with radically better performance in terms of accuracy and accuracy of fire, announced by the USSR Ministry of Defense in 1978 as part of the Abakan design and development project. In the framework of this competition, the winner was the Nikonov assault rifle - AN-94, which was later named "Abakan".
At the same time, the initial version of the AEK-971 assault rifle differed from modern models. Since many innovations were perceived by the military as overkill, this became the reason for the simplification of the machine. The assault rifle was produced at the Kovrov Machine-Building Plant in small batches until 2006, when its production was transferred to the Degtyarev Kovrov Plant (ZiD); it was in service with a number of Russian law enforcement agencies.
The AEK-971 assault rifle (GRAU 6P67 index) was made according to the traditional layout scheme (with a front-mounted store) and was in many ways a development of the ideas laid down in the Kalashnikov assault rifle - automatic reloading was used based on a gas engine, which was set in motion by powder gases discharged through a gas outlet pipe located above the barrel and a butterfly valve. Initially, the assault rifle was designed for cartridge 5, 45x39 mm, the version for cartridge 7, 62x39 mm received the designation AEK-973 (index GRAU 6P68), there was also an option for the NATO cartridge 5, 56x45 mm (AEK-972). To power the machine, standard magazines were used from AK-74 (indexes 6L20 and 6L23) or from AKM, depending on the caliber of the weapon.
The AEK-971 automation scheme was redesigned to eliminate one of the main drawbacks of the Kalashnikov assault rifle - the insufficiently high accuracy of automatic fire, which was caused by the shaking of the weapon from the movement of the bolt group when reloading each cartridge during firing. To this end, a balanced automatic scheme based on a gas engine was implemented in the new machine (a similar scheme was then used in the later models of the Kalashnikov assault rifle - AK-107 and AK-108). A special balancer was added to the AEK-971 automation unit, corresponding in weight to the bolt group. The balancer and the bolt carrier were interconnected through toothed racks and a gear, the axis of which was fixed in the receiver. The frame and balancer pistons acted as the front and rear walls of the gas chamber. When firing under the pressure of powder gases, they began to simultaneously move in opposite directions with equal speed, while the impulses of their movement compensated each other. As a result, the displacement of the machine gun during firing caused by the operation of its automation was minimal. The accuracy of firing bursts from the AEK-971 from unstable positions improved significantly, exceeding the same indicator of the AK-74M by 1.5-2 times.
The body of the AEK-971 assault rifle was metal, the pistol grip, forend and barrel pad were made of high-strength plastic. The flag of the fuse-translator of the fire modes was displayed on both sides of the receiver (on the left - only the translator of the fire modes). The implemented mechanism provided the shooter with three possible firing modes: single cartridges, continuous bursts, bursts with a cutoff of 3 rounds (in the early version, the cutoff was 2 rounds). The assault rifle had seats for mounting a bayonet-knife, as well as grenade launchers (GP-25 "Koster", GP-30 "Obuvka" or GP-34). The assault rifle used a conventional sector sight, similar to that installed on the AK-74, the aiming block was in front of the receiver cover. In the initial version, the stock could be folded to the left, but then it was replaced by a permanent stock. On the version that appeared later, the butt began to fold to the right side. Also, the first model of the AEK-971 assault rifle had a muzzle brake-compensator with the ability to change the holes (it could be increased and decreased when firing from stable and unstable positions, respectively), in the later version it was changed by the compensator from the AK-74M.
The guaranteed service life of the AEK-971 assault rifle corresponded to that of the AK-74 and amounted to 10 thousand shots. The combat rate of fire was 40 rounds per minute when firing single cartridges and up to 100 rounds per minute when firing bursts. The rate of fire of the machine gun was 800-900 rounds per minute. Experts noted that despite a little more weight compared to the AK-74M, the AEK-971 seemed lighter, as it was more ergonomic - due to a more massive forend and a comfortable pistol grip.
The AEK-971 assault rifle gained its rebirth already in the 21st century, when the Russian military finally thought about a real replacement for the AK-74M. On the basis of the AEK-971, two new models of automatic machines with balanced automatic equipment A-545 (caliber 5, 45x39 mm) and A-762 (caliber 7, 62x39 mm) were created, which became a further development of their ancestor. They differ from their predecessor, first of all, in the refractive receiver (in contrast to the removable cover, which was used on the AEK-971). This solution allows you to mount the Picatinny rail on the machine, which allows you to install various sights on it, the fire mode switch is on both sides of the machine.
The ergonomics of the A-545 have been improved. The pistol grip has become more comfortable for the shooter, its tilt has been brought to a more natural angle. The fire mode translator is usually installed on the right above the pistol grip. It has 4 positions: a fuse, fire with single cartridges, fire with fixed bursts with a cutoff of two shots (judging by the published photographs, the A-545 switched from firing with a cutoff of 3 shots to firing with a cutoff of 2 shots), fire with continuous bursts. The assault rifle uses a retractable butt, its lock is located just above the pistol grip. The stock of the machine is not removable, but it can be almost completely removed. The shape of the plastic butt plate is such that it allows you to fire with the butt folded.
Automatic machine A-545 (6P67)
The A-545 assault rifle received new sights. Borrowed at the time from the AK-74, the sector sight with an adjustable whole and a movable block was replaced by a sight with a rotating diopter. The sight has been moved to the rear of the assault rifle, which makes it easier for the shooter to aim and increase the accuracy of the weapon.
The second youth of the AEK-971 assault rifle is not accidental. The A-545 and A-762 assault rifles were created to participate in the competition for a new combined arms assault rifle for the Russian army. It is known that in 2014, the A-545 successfully proved itself during state tests as an assault rifle for equipping a soldier of the future "Warrior", having satisfied all the tactical and technical requirements of the RF Ministry of Defense. During the tests, the A-545 demonstrated better accuracy when firing in long bursts, but was inferior to the AK-12 in terms of price-quality ratio. The balanced automatics provide the A-545 with 10-15 percent better accuracy of fire than the Izhevsk AK-12.
According to the latest publications in the media, we can say that both Izhevsk and Kovrov machine guns will most likely be put into service. Dmitry Rogozin, in particular, spoke about this in an interview with Interfax in 2017. According to him, the AK-12 can become a massive army machine gun for arming motorized riflemen, and the A-545 will go into service with the special forces of the Armed Forces, the FSB and the National Guard. In particular, in July 2017, Nikolai Anokhin, head of the logistics department of the Russian Airborne Forces, told reporters that the special forces of the Airborne Forces would receive new machine guns from the Degtyarev plant.
According to Rogozin, a cheaper machine gun will, relatively speaking, become a soldier's one. The army needs a cheap, simple and at the same time effective machine gun; in this regard, the AK-12 has every chance. At the same time, the A-545 is a more complex machine with more functions and more high precision. It can also be useful, but not for ordinary army units, but for special forces.
