The US Army has announced that it is looking for a "source of supply" for the possible purchase of Soviet-made AK-74 assault rifles, or structural analogues of these weapons. The American military wants to buy weapons in the following complete set: one machine gun, 4 magazines for it, a kit for cleaning weapons and a shoulder strap, instructions for the user, as The Drive reports.
The American military clarify that they are ready to buy assault rifles, even if the kit for them is incomplete. They continue that they are interested in the AK-74, or the structural analogues of the "Warsaw Pact" production, which is the Romanian md.86 or the East German MPi AK74.
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If the Russian-made AK-74 is found at a potential supplier, the US Army will be fine with that. Huwever, Bulgarian AR-SF assault rifles or Polish Tantal assault rifles are no longer suitable.
Maybe it's all about the cartridges. For example, the Bulgarian AR-SF was manufactured either for the "NATO" cartridge of 5.56x56mm, or for the "Soviet" cartridge of 7.62x39mm. And the Soviet AK-74 or its analogues from the time of the "Warsaw Pact" were manufactured for the 5.45x39mm cartridge.
Apparently, the American military, when choosing the model of the machine gun for purchase, was based on which cartridges are currently the most available on the world market. And it seems that the most available is the Soviet 5.45x39mm cartridge.
The US Army does not disclose how many AK-74 assault rifles they plan to purchase, at what cost, and for what purposes in general. But hey mention readiness to purchase assault rifles until November 2023.
The authors of The Drive do not rule out that AK-74s are partly needed for the American military for their Special Operations Forces. But more likely that the Pentagon decided to buy such Soviet assault rifles specifically to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, in the new package of military aid, the White House announced the delivery of small arms and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition, without detailing the nomenclature.
And it seems that the White House will not officially disclose the number of AK-74s purchased and delivered to Ukraine under this program. Especially since this program has a "floating" deadline.
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