ASSAULT RIFLES Albanian Assault Rifles Argentine Assault Rifles Armenian Assault Rifles Australian Assault Rifles Austrian Assault Rifles Belgian Assault Rifles Brazilian Assault Rifles British Assault Rifles Bulgarian Assault Rifle Canadian Assault Rifles Chinese Assault Rifles Croatian Assault Rifles Czech Assault Rifles Dominican Assault Rifles Egyptian Assault Rifles Finnish Assault Rifles French Assault Rifles German Assault Rifles Hungarian Assault Rifles Indian Assault Rifles Indonesian Assault Rifles International Assault Rifles Iranian Assault Rifles Iraqi Assault Rifles Israeli Assault Rifles Italian Assault Rifles Japanese Assault Rifles Mexican Assault Rifles Montenegrin Assault Rifles Polish Assault Rifles Romanian Assault Rifles Russian Assault Rifles Singapore Assault Rifles South African Assault Rifles South Korean Assault Rifles Spanish Assault Rifles Swedish Assault Rifles Swiss Assault Rifles Taiwanese Assault Rifles Ukrainian Assault Rifles US Assault Rifles A-C US Assault Rifles D-F US Assault Rifles G-L US Assault Rifles M-Q US Assault Rifles R-Z Yugoslavian Assault Rifles Albanian Type 56 Versions Notes: Albania was never really a part of the Soviet sphere of influence, and early on after World War 2, it isolated itself from the West as well. For a long time, the only country with whom it really maintained friendly relations was China; China, in fact, supplied virtually all of Albania’s weapons and even some military training for some 50 years, until Albania decided to "reintroduced herself to the world," so to speak, in 1997. One of the infantry weapon that Albania received tons of was the Chinese copy of the AKM, the Type 56. At first, the Albanians used the Type 56s as they were, but they gradually made modifications to suit local manufacturing methods and perceived needs, creating essentially a new set of AKM variants. The Albanian military refers to these rifles as the Type I, Type II, and Type III Assault Rifles; however, the troops generally call all three of them AK-47s (and even call the unmodified Type 56s by the name of AK-47 as well). The Type I is more or less a direct copy of the Type 56, with only a very few modifications to suit local manufacturing conditions, and a different finish to help the rifles cope with the generally abysmal weather conditions in Albania. There is a also a slight weight difference, as well as a stock with a longer length of pull to suit the typical somewhat larger-statured Albanian soldier. Since the Albanians still use a number of the older-style Soviet-type rifle grenades, they came up with the Type II; this is a Type I with a grenade-launcher spigot attached to the end of the muzzle. There is a gas cutoff lever on the right side of the gas port, allowing the Type II to use both older Soviet, Polish, and Chinese-type rifle grenades as well as the newer BTU rifle grenades. The rear sight is moved to central location on the upper receiver cover, and is designed to be used with both the rifle and for firing rifle grenades. The upper receiver cover has had hinges added at the front instead of coming completely off when stripping the weapon. The Type II is not able to mount a bayonet, due to the design of the grenade launcher spigot. The Type III is also quite similar to the Type 56, but is modified for use as sort of a designated marksman/squad support weapon. It has a grenade launching spigot at the end of a slightly-longer barrel than the standard Type 56, but there is no gas cutoff provision, which means that the use of ballistite cartridges is essential for firing rifle grenades and the choice of rifle grenades for the Type III is much more limited. The front sight block has a special extension with a partial collar, and along with a slight modification in the grenade launcher spigot, this allows the Type III to mount a bayonet. The rear sights are also modified to match the extra range afforded by the longer barrel. Manufacture of these rifles continued until 1997, when they began to be replaced with more modern rifles of Russian origin; however, Albania is reportedly shopping around for even better rifles, though they are severely limited by the poor condition of the Albanian economy. Weapon Ammunition Weight Magazines Price Type I 7.62mm Kalashnikov 4.22 kg 30 $797 Type II 7.62mm Kalashnikov 4.13 kg 30 $827 Type III 7.62mm Kalashnikov 4.4 kg 30 $870 Weapon ROF Damage Pen Bulk SS Burst Range Type I 5 4 2-Nil 6 3 8 46 Type II 5 4 2-Nil 7 3 8 46 Type III 5 4 2-3-Nil 7 3 9 62 FARA-83 Notes: Budgetary restrictions led to the cessation of official production in 1984 after a little over 1000 of them had been made. Very few of them have been produced since them, and it is a mystery who those ones were produced for. The weapon is constructed by simple means, only the stock and handguard being made of glass-reinforced plastic. The front sight has a tritium post for low-light operation. An optional bipod is made for this weapon, and the sights have tritium inlays for use in poor lighting conditions. Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon was introduced shortly before the Twilight War. Only a little over 1000 were made before the war, and even fewer were produced during the war. Merc 2000 Notes: Very few of these weapons were produced for the Argentine Army (a little over 1000), but many more were produced and bought by mercenary outfits around the globe. Weapon Ammunition Weight Magazines Price FARA-83 5.56mm NATO 3.95 kg 30 $597 Weapon ROF Damage Pen Bulk SS Burst Range FARA-83 5 3 1-Nil 5/6 2 6 47 FSL 5.56mm Notes: When budgetary difficulties led to the near-cessation of production of the FARA-83, the Rosario factory, (at the time producing the Argentine copy of the FAL, the FSL 7.62mm), was asked to develop a smaller-caliber model of the FAL. They were told to make as little modifications as possible to the FAL design (in order to save money). They came up with the FSL 5.56mm. The only real differences are the barrel, bolt, magazine, and certain feed components. There are also differences in the gas system, but they are very subtle and not noticeable except upon close inspection. The FSL 5.56mm is made in a standard infantry pattern (the Tipo Infanteria) and a short-barreled model with a folding stock (the Tipo Paracudista). Twilight 2000 Notes: This comprised about a quarter of the infantry weapons used by the Argentine military during the Twilight War. Weapon Ammunition Weight Magazines Price FSL 5.56mm TI 5.56mm NATO 4.35 kg 30 $616 FSL 5.56mm TP 5.56mm NATO 4.2 kg 30 $650 Weapon ROF Damage Pen Bulk SS Burst Range FSL 5.56mm TI 5 3 1-Nil 6 2 5 59 FSL 5.56mm TP 5 3 1-Nil 4/6 2 4 48 K-3 Notes: Though the K-3 (also known as the AK-3) was first revealed in 1996, by 2000 only about 40 had been built, and the Armenian government had not yet authorized series production. (In fact, little has been heard about the K-3 since it was shown at an arms show in 1996; it has apparently been demonstrated to a few "unnamed parties," but its exact status, and whether it will ever be mass- produced, is unknown.) Though similar in appearance to the British L-85, the K-3 is based on the tried-and-true Kalashnikov action. As a rather simple bullpup conversion of the AK-74, it is considerably more compact than the standard AK-74, but the rather simple conversion also presents a number of problems. The biggest is perhaps that the K-3 may be fired only by right-handed shooters, as the ejection port would be buried in the shoulder pocket of a left-handed shooter and the K-3 might easily jam. The second is that the selector lever is still the standard AK-74-type selector; this is awkward for a shooter to manipulate from the shoulder. The third is that the charging handle is still connected to the bolt and reciprocates with it during firing, and it can hit the face of the shooter when he fires the K-3. The fourth is that the sights had to be put on top of risers, since the bullpup layout raised the sight line, but the AK-74’s sights were still used for the K-3. The K-3 may is normally used with iron sights, but may be fitted with the PSO-1 4x sight of the SVD sniper rifle. Like the AK-74, metalwork is largely of stamped steel; the pistol grip, trigger guard and short ribbed fore-end are of dark green plastic. The muzzle brake is different than that of the AK-74; it allows the use of rifle grenades without having to have a special version for rifle grenade launching. The Armenians have also modified the standard AK-74 magazines so that the shell is entirely polymer, instead of the steel magazines within a polymer shell of the AK-74. (The K-3 can also use standard AK-74 magazines, however.) Twilight 2000 Notes: Seeing the writing on the wall, the Armenian government authorized production of the K-3 in early 1996, though many more resources were placed into domestic AK-74 and AKM production.