The K-3 is an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n bullpup assault rifle chambered for 5.45×39mm ammunition with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode, burst mode, and full automatic fire mode. Little is known about the production and variants of these firearms, as its production is veiled in secrecy, but it is evident they are being used by the Armenian Special Forces, as was displayed in the 2006 military parade. A new variant of the K-3 was unveiled to the public nearly a decade after its initial debut.

Design

First unveiled in October 1996, the K-3 5.45 mm assault rifle is based on the Kalashnikov action, reconfigured into a bullpup layout. By October 1996, over 40 examples of the K-3 had been manufactured in Armenia, although series production had yet entered mass production. Conceived by the Military Industrial Department of the Armenian Ministry of Defence, the K-3 has been produced in a basic iron-sight form, with the option of mounting a standard PSO-1 ×4 telescopic sight, also produced in Armenia. K-3 is said to inherit all of the

AK-74 The AK-74 ( Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974) is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974. While primarily associated with the Soviet ...

's advantages in terms of durability and firepower. Yet K-3 supersedes AK-74 in terms of minimisation of recoil, accuracy, ergonomics, balancing and mobility. Due to the position of its ejection port, the K-3 can only be fired right-handed. The muzzle of the barrel has an attachment that allows firing of

rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...

s. The new version of K-3 allows firing of grenades without the need for any separate attachments - the grenade can be fired by simply placing it on the barrel. Most of the furniture is nylon-based hard plastic, as is the 30-round curved box magazine, based on that of the

rifle series.

References

External links

Another video in Russian
{{Bullpup Firearms 5.45×39mm assault rifles Bullpup rifles Firearms of Armenia Armenian inventions Military equipment introduced in the 1990s