The AKS-74U was intended as a personal defense weapon for tank, gun, helicopter and other vehicle crews, and for the special operations forces. The weapon is for infantry who require a compact but relatively powerful individual automatic weapon.
Development[]
In the late 1970's, the Soviet Union created the AKS-74U, a shortened variant of the AKS-74. The AKS-74U has the size and effective range of a typical submachine gun, but has the advantage of the general issue, assault rifle. In 1979, the AKS-74 was adopted into service with the Red Army.
Description[]
The AKS-74U has a severely shortened barrel, with the gas chamber moved back and appropriately cut down gas piston rod. Since the portion of the barrel after the gas port is very short, a special muzzle device was designed, which is used as a flash hider and the gas expansion chamber.