AEK-971

September 10, 2008

In the development the AEK-971 assault rifle at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant (KMZ) by the team of designers headed by S.I. Koksharov was used the so-called «bal-anced automatic configuration». The moving parts were segregated in two halves, that is a bolt carrier and a cradle connected with each other via toothed racks and a gear. The pistons of the bolt carrier and the cradle commence simultaneous movement actuated by the pressure of exhausted gases into the opposite directions at equal speeds. As a result, the impulses of their movement compensate each other and a shooter perceives only the shot impulse and shift of his weapon caused by the recoil in a more reduced form. While being a more complicated than «conventional auto¬matic configuration» with a gas-operated unit the configuration of the ‘balanced automatic configuration» is much simpler than the “Shift¬ed impulse». Among other things, the AEK-971 is lighter by 0.5 kg than the AN-94.

The firing mechanism is outfitted with a thumb safety-selector and when it is put in the «safety» position, it locks the firing mechanism and blocks the groove for trav¬el of an operating handle. The muzzle flash suppressor is attached to the barrel.
However, despite the process of its improvement, the AEK-94 had retained its conventional features and currently uses standard magazines. It has a frame-type plastic stock folded to the right and a plastic pistol grip integral with a trigger guard that makes the weapon lighter and less bulky. The AEK-971 features a plastic fore grip, barrel plate, and standard device for mount¬ing a bayonet-knife. It has a curve-slide sight. There is also a plate to mount stan¬dard collimating, optical, and night sights.

Inasmuch as the 5.45 mm standard car¬tridge, according to the point of view of some specialists, is not always capable of pene¬trating modern armor vests, the variant of the AEK-971 was developed especially cham¬bered for the 7.62 mm cartridge. During the process of its updating together with special¬ists from the TsNIITOCHMASH this variant acquired capability to deliver a fixed mode of fire with three-shot burst. This new 7.62 mm modification was designated the AEK-973.
The updated AEK-971 is also able to deliver fire with three-shot bursts. The fire with short bursts from unstable postures is preferable, however, during a high rate of fire it is very difficult to the shooter to control the length of a fire burst, so it was needed to cut the length of the burst automatically. The thumb safety-selector lever is located on the left side over a pistol grip within easy reach of a thumb of the firing hand of a shooter.
The AEK-972 modification of the same configuration is chambered for the 5.56×45 mm cartridge.
The AEK-973C modification is noted for its changed firing mechanism with the location of the thumb safety-selector lever on the right side and an extended light stock (to make the weapon less bulky). When the stock is retracted, a shoulder rest is being connected with the pistol grip, thereby forming a streamlined structure that doesn’t hamper the fire.

Specifications АЕК-971
Calibef……………………………5.45mm
Cartridge …………………. 5.45×39 (Mod. 1974)
Weight w/o magazine ……………………3.3 kg
Bullet muale velocity …………………880 m/sec
Rate ol tire ………………………900 ids/min
Sighting range ……………………… 1.000 m
capacity ……………………..ЗО tds