Show great strength in the Vietnam War
Kalashnikov assault rifles first became famous in the1960s. First, in the Vietnam War, Soviet AK-47s and China's imitation Type 56 assault rifles (assault rifles) armed regular troops in Hanoi and guerrillas of the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front on a large scale. This reliable automatic weapon is not only trusted by Vietnamese regular army and guerrillas, but even American soldiers like to use captured AK. It is said that during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese guerrillas had a tactic: they threw AK-47s into the water when they were farming, and when a small patrol of the US army passed by, they took their guns out of the water and shot at them from behind the US army. Over time, some AK wooden sockets have been soaked, but the gun still works normally. During the same period, the Southwest African People's Organization and the African National Congress, which are fighting for Namibia's independence and anti-apartheid, also received this automatic rifle. Moscow supplied AK-47s to some independent countries such as Algeria and Libya, and also to some regimes and movements in the Horn of Africa. For example, the Soviet Union supplied such weapons to Mogadishu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Libya has also become a supplier of weapons because it has acquired a large number of Kalashnikov assault rifles.
So far, the automatic weapons of Kalashnikov system are widely used all over the world, from Southeast Asia to Central America, from the Middle East to Africa, and many government forces and anti-government forces are equipped with AK rifles. Including Albania, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Angola, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Hungary, Vietnam, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Gambia, Guyana, Honduras, Georgia and Djibouti. Northern Yemen, Southern Yemen, Israel, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Kingdom of Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Vader Island, China, Qatar, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, North Korea, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Mauritania, Madagascar, Macedonia, Mali. Nigeria, Netherlands, Nicaragua, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Slovakia, Serbia, Syrian Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, North Africa * Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden.
The AK series is widely used by Israeli special forces. Although many troops don't use AK now, the navy's 13 commandos will still use AK-47 in some missions.
In addition, six countries have Kalashnikov assault rifles on their national emblems, and Eastern European countries have established Kalashnikov assault rifle manufacturers. So far, more than 75 million Kalashnikovs have been produced all over the world. Because Kalashnikov was an officer of the Soviet Red Army, and according to the practice of the Soviet period, the patent fee earned by individuals was only collective property, and Kalashnikov himself had no right to possess it, and the Soviet Union exported revolutionary weapons and manufacturing technology at the same time during the Cold War, so many countries that produced Kalashnikov assault rifles did not pay patent fees.
At the same time, there are many products that imitate the design of AK rifles. For example, Finland, Yugoslavia and Israel produced their own assault rifles on the basis of AK-47. Although the structure of Czech Vz58 assault rifle is different from that of AK, the designer deliberately made it look like AK in order to sell it well. In Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda and many other war-torn areas, those teenage rebel fighters may not have uniforms yet, but they will never be without "Kalash"; Even some guerrillas in non-Russian areas will name newborns "Kalash".
AK was often used by criminals in the "drug war" in the United States in the 1980 s-in fact, this situation appeared in fictional TV dramas far more often than in reality, but its psychological influence on the public led to the appearance of several so-called "offensive weapons" for AK, which was banned from being imported by the United States in 1989. But not long after, semi-automatic AK, which uses similar sports rifle butt to comply with relevant regulations, was re-imported into the United States.
AK produced in Eastern European countries is also very popular with Americans.
According to the statistics of American light weapons critic Dr. eser, AK series is the most produced rifle in the world. European critics said: "Kalashnikov monopolized the field of light weapons in the Soviet Union. The army of more than 60 countries in the world is equipped with AK series or part of it. In the history of the development of light weapons, I am afraid that only Ma Keqin, Mao Se and Browning can compete with him. " Experts in the field of light weapons in China commented: "In the design of firearms in today's world, stoner is the only one who can be on an equal footing with Kalashnikov!"
The American magazine Congjunle summarized Kalashnikov's achievements in light weapons as follows: "The strong love for Kalashnikov is well-founded, and AK-47/AKM has almost all the possible excellent attributes of modern assault rifles-amazing reliability, simple structure, easy production, loading real medium-power bullets (7.62×39mm), excellent operation simplicity, and so on. With a little improvement, many other bullets now equipped can be fired, such as 5.45×39mm, 5.56×45mm, 7.62 × 5 mm, 7.62×54mm R and 7.92×57mm bullets. "
AK rifles are known for their reliability. Although the current material technology and processing level are much more advanced than 50 years ago, many places in AK seem to be behind the times. However, the reliability of this crude and cheap weapon, whether in high or low temperature, rivers, deserts, ice and snow or tropical jungles, has reached a level that other automatic weapons in the West can't reach. The mechanical structure of AK series still exists even when the metal is heated and expanded by continuous shooting or foreign objects, especially dust, entering the gun. Even the later AKM and AK-74 series are not as reliable as the earliest AK-47. 199 1 before the gulf war, a British general once said to the officers and men when inspecting the troops, "when your weapon breaks down, the first step of the standard handling procedure is to pick up the captured AK and continue fighting."