With no recoil for two full shots, a soldier could hit the same exact spot twice, a feat previously impossible for all but expert marksmen It was essentially a two-round-burst rifle that fired faster and more accurately than any other assault rifle with one pull of the trigger.
In semiautomatic mode, the rifle operated as any other, but with very low recoil. On full automatic, the results were similar, but with the selector switch pushed into two-shot mode the shooter could become one of the most feared adversaries faced by enemy infantry, even those wearing the most sophisticated body armor. With armor-piercing rounds, a salvo of well-placed two-shot bursts could even penetrate tank armor.
The rifle was more reliable than the AK, with tests showing the mean number of rounds between failures at forty thousand, compared to thirty thousand for the AK. The rifle had flaws, however. It was not as easy to maintain, and some users said that the sights caught dirt in battle environments. Testers also complained that it could not be fired when the stock was folded over because it covered the trigger. This was an important feature to soldiers in urban situations, because they kept their rifle stocks folded to save space in cramped quarters but they wanted to be ready for action when they emerged. Others grumbled that the pistol grip was not as comfortable as it should be.
All of these shortcomings were more than made up for by the two-shot burst feature. What could not be overlooked, though, was the price: about five times more expensive to produce than the AK. Although the Russian army adopted the AN-94 as its official infantry rifle in 1997, budget constraints prevented it from being fully deployed. Unless economic conditions improve it will remain in limited production and distribution. So far, only Russia’s SPETSNAZ special forces and elite units police have been issued the AN-94, mainly to fight terrorists.
Even though his weapon was far superior to the AK, Nikonov’s firearm will never unseat the Kalashnikov as the world’s most deadly and popular rifle, especially among those fighting against establishment armies. It could be decades or more before the AKs now in circulation become decommissioned; and new ones are still being produced, especially by China, Bulgaria, and Romania. These weapons of mass destruction will be with us for a long time.
AND THEY HAVE BECOME EASIER and cheaper to obtain than ever. Almost anyone can buy one with little effort. During the late summer of 2005, the movie Lord of War was released, starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, a Ukrainian immigrant to New York who starts his gun brokering business by dealing a few AKs and ends up a millionaire. Director Andrew Niccol was astonished when he shopped for three thousand replica AKs. Niccol, who also directed Gattaca and The Truman Show, found that he could buy real AKs cheaper than the fakes. All it took was a phone call. When filming ended, Niccol sold the firearms. Without trying, he had become an arms dealer of the world’s most trusted weapon.
The AK’s longevity may be why Nikonov’s death in May 2003, at age fifty-three, barely made news, even in Russia. Despite his designing arguably the world’s most advanced assault rifle, the official state obituary simply noted, “It is a tremendous loss to the Izhevsk arms-making school.”
As for Kalashnikov himself, despite his age and growing feebleness, he continues to be the touted celebrity at military and even nonmilitary gun shows. His mission is to drum up interest in Izhmash’s weapons, including the AK-100 series, his son Viktor’s Bizon submachine gun, and even the AN-94, which is often referred to by the name Abakan—but never as the Nikonov.
In 2002, while he was opening a weapons museum in Suhl, eastern Germany, Kalashnikov’s demeanor changed. In marked contrast to his usually defiant defense that politicians and not arms designers caused wars, he displayed uncharacteristic sorrow and responsibility by announcing, “I’m proud of my invention, but I’m sad that it is used by terrorists. I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work—for example, a lawnmower.”
Unfortunately, Kalashnikov’s lawnmower, an odd-looking, three-wheeled contraption that looks like a weed whacker with a locomotive cow catcher in front, was never manufactured. He built it before lawnmowers were plentiful in the Soviet Union, but he still uses it to cut the grass at his dacha. A model sits on display at the Kalashnikov museum next to his other inventions including a gadget that holds shish kabobs for grilling.
With its different-sized wheels and blue gaffer’s tape holding its components together, Kalashnikov admits that the clunky lawnmower looks ancient, but he says it functions perfectly.
It gets the job done.
NOTES
EPIGRAPHS
♦ In some places, an AK-47 assault rifle Kofi A. Annan, “Small Arms, Big Problems,” International Herald Tribune, July 10, 2001.
♦ That rifle hanging on the wall George Orwell, “Don’t Let Colonel Blimp Ruin the Home Guard,” Evening Standard, January, 8, 1941.
♦ I’m proud of my invention Kate Connolly, “Kalashnikov: ‘I Wish I’d Made a Lawnmower,’” Guardian (UK), July 30, 2002.
INTRODUCTION
2 As the Apaches hovered in position Mary Beth Sheridan, “Ground Fire Repels Copter Assault; Two Crewmen Seized by Iraqis as Apache Goes Down,” Washington Post, March 25, 2003.
3 Why the U.S. military Ibid.
3 This “way we go to war” Interview with Major General William J. Livsey Jr. at Fort Benning, 1978.
4 Consider the U.S. Rangers in Mogadishu Jonathan Fryer, “Jingoism Jibe over Black Hawk Down,” BBCNews.com, January 21, 2002.
CHAPTER 1. PROTECTING THE MOTHERLAND
12 Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov was born Much of the personal information about Kalashnikov’s early life comes from his autobiography, From a Stranger’s Doorstep to the Kremlin Gates (Moscow: Military Parade, 1997), translated from the Russian. Where possible, all incidents were confirmed with those involved and with other objective historical accounts.
13 Only a few weeks after shipping out Ibid., 50, 92.
20 The U.S. military was oblivious William H. Hallahan, Misfire: The History of How America’s Small Arms Have Failed Our Military (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994), 402-404.
23 In addition, rather than build components See Kalashnikov, From a Stranger’s Doorstep, 231.
CHAPTER 2. A REPUTATION BORN IN THE RICE PADDIES
32 One of the champions of the .30 caliber Edward Clinton Ezell, The Great Rifle Controversy: Search for the Ultimate Infantry Weapon from World War II Through Vietnam and Beyond (Harrisburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 1984), 49-51.
34 But the Americans did not keep their promise Hallahan, Misfire, 435-437.
41 Stoner would not have known Much of the material about Stoner’s efforts to push forward the AR-15 project and resistance from the army came from the Ichord hearings (see page 44 note below) into M-16 malfunctions during the Vietnam War. Stoner also did a series of videotaped interviews for the Smithsonian Institution (as did Kalashnikov) in which he talked about his battles with the army. Also, The Great Rifle Controversy and Misfire, both referenced above, contain extensive documentation about this period. This particular quote can be found in the History Channel’s series Tales of the Gun: The M-16, in which Stoner explains on camera the genesis of the M-16 rifle.