The AR-M1, also known as AK-47M1, is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n assault rifle designed primarily for export. It is a modernized Bulgarian derivative of the AKK, which itself is based on the Soviet
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
(specifically Type 3). The AR-M1 can be chambered for both the
5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...
and
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...
cartridges.
History
During the 1950s, the
Bulgarian People's Army
The Bulgarian People's Army ( bg, Българска народна армия, БНА, translit=Balgarska narodna armiya, BNA) was the army of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It comprised the Bulgarian Land Forces, Air Force and Air Defence, ...
was equipped primarily with AK-47s imported from the Soviet Union. However, by the early 1960s, the Bulgarian government became interested in producing the AK-47 domestically.
Assembly of AK-47s, initially from imported Soviet parts, began at the state arsenal in
Kazanlak
Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain ...
.
[ By the mid 1960s, the Kazanlak facility was equipped to begin licensed production of the weapon type and its associated parts. Kalashnikov rifles assembled and later manufactured in Kazanlak received the designation ''AKK''. A derivative with a folding stock was also produced under license as the ''AKKS''.][
After the dissolution of the ]People's Republic of Bulgaria
The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...
in the early 1990s, the Kazanlak factory became a joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
known as Arsenal AD
JSC Arsenal AD ( bg, Арсенал АД) is a Bulgarian joint-stock company based in Kazanlak, engaged primarily in the manufacture of firearms and military equipment. It is Bulgaria's oldest arms supplier.
History
The company's history can b ...
.[ Arsenal offered several modernized variants of the AKK for export, which were rebranded as the ''AR'' series.][ The ''AR'' pattern rifles are basically AKKs with different furniture and a few unique features, such as polymer stocks and handguards, as well as several external parts copied directly from 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 U ...
including new flash hiders, sights, gas blocks, bayonet mountings and bayonets.[ Their receivers are milled, rather than stamped, unlike other modernized AK derivatives, and are virtually indistinguishable from those of the early Type 3 pattern Soviet AK.][ A derivative of the AKKS is also offered for export as the ''ARF''.][
]
Versions
The -F model features a folding stock.
* AR-M1 / AR-M1F - improved AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
copy with an 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 U ...
front sight base, flash suppressor
A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that ...
, black polymer stock set, luminous spots on the iron sight
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly as ...
s and a rail for mounting optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
. Chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...
and 7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...
.
* AR-M2 / AR-M2F - improved AK-47 copy like the AR-M1/AR-M1F, but with a shortened barrel, AKS-74U
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 U ...
front sight base and muzzle booster
A muzzle booster or recoil booster is a device fixed to the muzzle of a firearm, intended to harness the energy of the escaping propellant to augment the force of recoil on portions of the firearm. In spite of its name, a muzzle booster does not ...
/flash suppressor hybrid.
* AR-M4SF - extremely short development of the AKSU with red dot sight
A red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non- magnifying reflector (or reflex) sight for firearms, and other devices that require aiming, that gives the user a point of aim in the form of an illuminated red dot. A standard desig ...
, provision to mount a night vision or laser sight. Chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×39mm.
* AR-M7F - improved AK-47 copy like the AR-M1, but with an AK-101
The AK-101 is an assault rifle of the Kalashnikov series. It's marketed at those looking for a weapon that combines the logistical compatibility and familiarity of the 5.56×45mm NATO round with the reliability of a Kalashnikov. The design of t ...
-style folding stock.
* AR-M9 / AR-M9F - improved AK-47 copy like the AR-M1/AR-M1F, features a thumb-operable fire selector and a different style polymer stock set.
* AR / AR-F - improved AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
copies with black polymer lining and optional luminous sights.
Users
*
*
*
*
*
* : 3500 5.45 AR-M1 rifles imported
* : 5.56 AR-M4SF used by the Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
*: AR-M and AR-F in use with Indian Army. Several Hundred Thousand AR-M, AR-F, AR-M1F41 and AR-M5F41 in use with ITBP, CRPF and other Central & State Police Forces
* : AR-M1F used by Tontaipur
The Combat Reconnaissance Platoon ( id, Peleton Intai Tempur, abbreviated as Tontaipur) is an elite special unit formation of the Indonesian Army in a platoon level to conduct special reconnaissance (SR) operations. Its members are recruited from ...
.
* : 751 5.56mm AR-M1F rifles, also AR-M1s
*
* : 11th ''Lightning'' Battalion uses AR-M9s
* : AR-M1s
* : AR-M1's used by the Police of North Macedonia
Law enforcement in North Macedonia is the responsibility of the Police of the Republic of North Macedonia (, ''Policija na Republika Severna Makedonija'').
The police headquarters are located in Skopje at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and ...
.
* : Philippine Army confirmed use of AR-M52F assault rifle from Bulgaria during 125th founding anniversary on 23 March 2022, used by First Special Forces Regiment.
* : Arsenal AR
* : Used by DANAB Brigade.
* : AR-M9s
* : AR-M9s
* : AR-M1's used by US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
OPFOR
An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. ...
.
* : AR-M9s
Non-state actors
*
* Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
: An example seen during the Deir ez-Zor campaign.
References
{{AK47 derivatives
5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles
7.62×39mm assault rifles
Firearms of Bulgaria
Kalashnikov derivatives