The AK-9 is a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

9×39mm The 9×39mm is a Soviet rifle cartridge. The cartridge yields increased performance in shorter barrels and effective subsonic performance. History and design The 9×39 is based on the Soviet 7.62×39mm case but with the neck expanded to fit a ...

compact

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

. Its development began when Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (Izhmash), now known as

Kalashnikov Concern JSC Kalashnikov Concern (; ), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (; ), is a Russian Arms industry, defense manufacturing Concern (business), concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic ...

started working on a new silent, flame-less, compact AK rifle in the early 2000s. When creating the new weapon, the manufacturers have tried to surpass all available competitors, such as the

AS Val The AS Val "Shaft" (Russian: АС «Вал»; Автома́т Специа́льный, Romanization of Russian, romanized: ''Avtomát Spetsiálny "Val"'', Literal translation, lit. 'Special Automatic') and VSS Vintorez "Thread Cutter" (Russi ...

and SR-3M. The basis for the silent, flame-less shooting complex rifle was designated as the AK-9, where it uses a quick-detachable suppressor. The AK-9 is primarily designed for special units of the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

and the Russian Army.The Russian Special Forces wanted to develop a rifle that combines the reliability of the AK platform with the advantages of maneuverability and It is one of the latest models of the popular Kalashnikov

series. It is based on the

AK-100 series The AK-100 family is a series of Kalashnikov rifles, based upon the AK-74M, intended for export sales. The family of rifles offers the AK-74M system, in multiple cartridges and lengths. AK-100 series The original AK-100 series rifles were int ...

, which is a modernization series of Kalashnikov assault rifles. A unique feature of the rifle is the use of the SP-5 and SP-6 special

subsonic cartridges. According to its characteristics it competes against the

9A-91 The 9A-91 is a compact assault rifle currently in use with Russian police forces. It is used as a cheaper and more versatile alternative to the SR-3 "Vikhr". The 9A-91 is a gas operated, rotating bolt weapon, which utilizes a long stroke gas p ...

and SR-3M, but has seen limited use compared to these counterparts, which have already seen service in Russian military and police units.

History

In 2006, Russian authorities wanted the

Izhmash JSC Kalashnikov Concern (; ), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (; ), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capita ...

factory to design a rifle with Kalashnikov properties, but suitable to be used in

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

. Factory manager Vladimir Grodetsky stated that the rifle was for

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

for anti-terrorist operations. Alexei Dragunov, one of the designers of the AK-9, says "It shoots virtually without a sound and it can go through a

bullet-proof vest Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. Fragmentation (weaponry), shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials ...

". The AK-9 is also lighter than earlier Kalashnikov models. From the Vladimir Zlobin interview in February 2013:

We are working on an entire line of various small arms based on the
AK-12 The AK-12 (Russian: ''"Avtomat Kalashnikova, 2012"'' – GRAU index 6P70) is a Russian Gas-operated reloading, gas-operated assault rifle chambered in 5.45×39mm, designed and manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash), making it the ...
. These would be submachine guns and compact assault rifles, automatic carbines and hand-held machine guns. On the basic AK-12 platform a series of special-purpose weapons is being developed. For example, the AK-9 was transferred to this platform. The weapons are going to be tested this spring.

Design

The AK-9 is based on the so-called "hundred series" of Kalashnikov assault rifles, such as the

AK-104 The AK-104 is a carbine variant of the AK-103 chambered in 7.62×39mm which feeds from any standard 7.62x39 AK pattern magazine. Design The AK-104 is a 314mm (12.4 in) barreled carbine in the AK-100 series of rifles, the dimensions of the gun i ...

, but with certain improvements. It is a selective fire compact assault rifle chambered in 9×39mm subsonic cartridge. The AK-9 features the same tried and proven

gas operated Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

, rotary bolt action, and same "Kalashnikov-style" controls including reciprocating bolt handle, safety/fire selector lever and overall layout with side-folding polymer

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...

. The

Polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

furniture is improved with the addition of accessories such as a

Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...

on the bottom of the forend and the left side of the receiver is fitted with a

Warsaw Pact rail Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The barrel can be fitted with a specially designed quick-detachable

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

(sound moderator), which is especially effective with the 9×39mm subsonic cartridge. The

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

is made of black polymer, holds 20 rounds of ammunition and appears to be of proprietary design, making it not compatible with other (competing) weapons of the same caliber, which are already in service with

military and law enforcement. The AK-9 supports wide range of attachments such as a mounted grenade launcher, laser sights, tactical lights and other tactical accessories. The trigger mechanism allows it to fire in semi-automatic fire and fully automatic fire. The firing module is similar to that of the Kalashnikov assault rifle and is located on the right side of the weapon.

Users

*: Used by the Mongolian Armed Forces and Police, S.W.A.T. *: In very limited usage. *: Used by the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

and

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

References

Russian gunmaker develops 'anti-terrorist' Kalashnikov
.''

Brisbane Times ''Brisbane Times'' is an online newspaper for Brisbane and Queensland, Australia. It is owned and run by Nine Publishing, publishers of ''The Age'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and other mastheads. As of 2024, the editor is Sean Parnell. H ...

''.10 August 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
Article at Weapon.at.ua
* Article at http://spec-naz.org/armory/automats_and_assault_rifles/avtomat_kalashnikova_ak_9/ {{DEFAULTSORT:AK-009 9×39mm firearms Silenced firearms Assault rifles of Russia Kalashnikov derivatives Izhevsk machine-building plant products Military equipment introduced in the 2000s