AK-103

The AK-103 is a member of the AK-100 export family, offered for export from 13 March 1993 and in service since 2001. It is essentially an AK-74M rechambered for the 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge, combining the modernised construction of the current Russian service rifle with the heavier round of the AKM. That combination is the reason for its commercial success: it lets customers who hold large stocks of 7.62x39mm ammunition and AKM-pattern magazines buy a current-production rifle without changing their logistics. More than 250,000 have been built by Kalashnikov Concern.

Construction follows the AK-74M closely. The action is the standard Kalashnikov long-stroke gas piston with a rotating bolt, firing at about 600 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 715 m/s. Plastic replaces wood and metal wherever possible: the pistol grip, handguards, side-folding buttstock and, on most versions, the magazine are made from high-strength shatterproof polymer, and metal parts carry protective anti-corrosion coatings. The current 30-round 7.62x39mm magazines are ABS plastic with steel reinforcement and weigh 250 g empty, roughly 25 mm shorter than early steel AK-47 magazines and considerably lighter, which lets a soldier carry more ammunition for the same weight; all 7.62x39mm AK magazines remain backwards compatible with older rifles. A dovetail side rail accepts optical and night sights, newer rifles add Picatinny rails, and the weapon takes a knife bayonet or a GP-34 underbarrel grenade launcher.

Variants include the AK-103-1, semi-automatic only, and the AK-103-2 with a three-round burst setting. The AK-104 is the compact version, with a shorter barrel and a muzzle brake derived from the AKS-74U. Foreign copies include the Chinese CS/LR11 by China Jing An, the Pakistani PK-21 built without licence by Pakistan Ordnance Factories, and the American semi-automatic KR-103 and PSA AK-103.

In Russian service the AK-103 is carried by Spetsnaz GRU, the Special Operations Forces, selected VDV and Naval Infantry units, Alpha Group and Interior Ministry special police. Licensed production has been established or agreed in Venezuela, where CAVIM received the first 30,000 rifles in 2006 and began domestic deliveries in 2013 after a troubled factory programme, as well as in Armenia from July 2020 and Saudi Arabia from 2017. Other users include Algeria's parachute commandos, the Indian Navy's MARCOS and the Indian Air Force, Iran's IRGC and special forces, Libya, the Maldives, Namibia, Syria, Uruguay and Yemen.