The Zastava M85 is a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

designed and produced by then Yugoslavian

Zastava Arms Zastava Arms ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Застава oружје, Zastava oružje) is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery, based in Kragujevac, Serbia. It was founded in 1853 when it cast its first cannon. It is the leading producer of firear ...

. It is a shortened version of the original rifle, the

Zastava M80 The Zastava M80 was a 5.56 mm assault rifle produced by Zastava Arms. The M80 had a fixed wooden stock while the M80A had an under-folding metal stock. It was introduced in the early 1980s. It was the 5.56 mm version of the Zastava M70, wit ...

, which is itself successor to the Zastava M70 assault rifle. The M85 is practically same as the carbine version of the M70, the

Zastava M92 The M92 is a carbine developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms Zastava Arms ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Застава oружје, Zastava oružje) is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery, based in Kragujevac, Serbia. It was founded in 1853 ...

, the only difference being in caliber, and in this case, the magazine design, as same as with original rifles, the M70 and M80. Like its original variant, the M80, the M85 was intended to be a new weapon in the arsenal of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

, but the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

disrupted production. It is currently produced largely for commercial sales and export.

Design and features

The Zastava M85 is an AK-pattern rifle incorporating design elements of the Soviet AKS-74U carbine, but chambered for the Western 5.56×45mm round. It is gas-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed, and offers

selective fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire w ...

capability. It can be distinguished from traditional members of the AK family by its unique polymer pistol grip, 5.56x45mm magazine, and most significantly by its distinctive "Yugo" handguard, which is longer, and has three cooling vents instead of the usual two. The M85 also features a flash-hider muzzle device copied directly from the AKS-74U. Additionally, the M85 is built using a receiver stamped from 1.5mm sheet steel, which is thicker than the 1.0mm steel used in most AK derived rifles. This results in increased durability at the cost of increased weight.

Derivatives

– Original rifle * Zastava M90 – Improved version of the original rifle *

– Near identical variant chambered for the Soviet 7.62×39mm round (carbine version of the Zastava M70 assault rifle)

References

External links

Zastava Arms
M85 5.56 mm assault rifles Carbines Zastava Arms Kalashnikov derivatives {{rifle-stub