One Design, Many Descendants: The Kalashnikov Family from the AK-47 to the Saiga-12

The Kalashnikov rifle is the name for the whole family descended from Mikhail Kalashnikov's original design. Its page puts the number of rifles of the family in circulation worldwide at an estimated 72 million, and ties that spread to a simple design that was easy to produce and licensed for manufacture in many countries.

The AK-47 was adopted by the Soviet military in 1949 and chambered for the intermediate 7.62x39mm cartridge. Its page credits a robust gas-operated action that kept working in sand, mud and neglect, and says the rifle traded some accuracy for durability and ease of manufacture and maintenance.

The AKM was introduced in 1959 as a lighter, more easily manufactured successor to the AK-47. Built at Izhmash and the Tula Arms Plant and later under license abroad, it became the most widely produced variant of the Kalashnikov family, with total production estimated above ten million units.

The Type 56 is the Chinese variant. China began adopting it in 1956 after the Soviet Union supplied information and production equipment for the AK in 1955. Early rifles were licensed AK-47 copies with milled receivers, and a fully enclosed hooded front sight sets it apart from other AK variants.

The AKS-74U is the compact carbine of the AK-74, adopted in 1979 in 5.45x39mm. Its shortened 206.5mm barrel and folding stock let it fill the close-quarters role of a submachine gun, and it remains in service with Russia and other former Soviet states.

The AK-100 family is a series of Kalashnikov rifles based on the AK-74M and intended for export sales. Its page says the original series was officially offered for export from March 1993, giving the AK-74M system in several cartridges and lengths.

The AK-103 belongs to the export AK-100 family. It rebuilds the AK-74M to fire the older 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge used by the AKM, and its page records design in 1993, production from 1994 and service since 2001.

The AK-101 is the AK-100 family model chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO. Its page describes it as built along the lines of the AK-74M with composite furniture and aimed chiefly at customers whose forces already use NATO-standard ammunition.

The AR-M1 is a Bulgarian derivative made by Arsenal AD, a modernized version of the AK-47 Type 3 produced since 1998. It uses a milled receiver rather than the stamped receiver of the AKM, comes in 5.56x45mm NATO or 7.62x39mm, and was built primarily for export.

The PP-19 Bizon carries the family name beyond rifles. This Russian submachine gun was developed by Izhmash under a team led by Victor Kalashnikov, son of Mikhail, and issued from 1996. Its 64 round helical magazine under the barrel is often mistaken for a grenade launcher.

The Saiga-12 shows the same action in a shotgun. Designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1990s and made by Kalashnikov Concern since 1997, it uses the gas-operated rotating bolt of the rifle series, takes 12 gauge, 20 gauge and .410 bore, and is named for the saiga antelope.