AEK-971 [SEP] designer
AEK-971
The AEK-971 is a Russian (formerly the Soviet Union) selective fire 5.45×39mm assault rifle that was developed at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant (KMZ) by chief designer Sergey Koksharov in the late 1970s and 1980s (currently manufactured by Degtyarev Plant).
The A-545 is a successor variant of the AEK-971 that was announced on 23 December 2014, which features numerous internal and external improvements over its predecessor.
History.
The AEK-971 was developed to participate in a competition announced by the Ministry of Defense of the USSR
, RPK-74 and other similar 5.45×39mm Russian weapons.
Variants.
There are three main variants of the AEK assault rifles: the AEK-971, AEK-972 and AEK-973. The different variants are most easily recognized by their respective magazine curvatures. The AEK-971S and AEK-973S are improved variants of the AEK-971 and AEK-973 which features a three-round burst fire mode and numerous improvements. A heavily improved variant of the AEK-971 and AEK-973 lines' designated as A-545 and A-762 was later released and is set to be used in the Russian Special Operations