MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Kalashnikov assault rifles are operated in armies of over 50 countries all over the world, reads the press release of the Rosoboronexport arms trading company devoted to the 85th birthday of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the prominent Russian designer of weapons, to be marked Wednesday.
Received by Interfax-Military News Agency Tuesday, the press release reads that Russia sponsored license production of Kalashnikov assault rifles in 18 countries in the 1950-1970s.
"There are about 100 million Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine-guns in the world, which shows expressively that Kalashnikov weapons particularly and Russian small arms as a whole are internationally recognized, even if compared with M-16 rifles totaling 12 million," reads the press release.
Mikhail Kalashnikov worked at the Izhevsk Machine Building Plant and developed the world-famous AK-74, AK-74M, and AK-101, AK-102, AK-103, AK-104 and AK-105 series of assault rifles firing most widely used calibers. All in all, Kalashnikov developed over 150 pieces of small arms and hunting weapons, to say nothing of over 20 types of weapons manufactured abroad on the basis of technological solutions first applied in Kalashnikovs.
According to the press service, AK rifles showed best performance in armed conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. "The Kalashnikov assault rifle invariably proved the most easy-to-handle, reliable and effective weapon in deserts and jungles, in different climates and weathers," reads the press release.