HDR
09-14-2003, 07:02 AM
from: The AK47 Story
by Edward Clinton Ezell
Steering Toward a Showdown: the 5.56mm AK versus the M16
Meanwhile, in addition to this diversity, military customers in the late 1980s had begun to ask Russian small arms makers for a 5.56mm AK type rifle. The Kalashnikov design had long since achieved worldwide recognition as a robust and reliable rifle, and some now wanted to combine these advantages with what was rapidly becoming an international standard caliber, the 5.56x45mm NATO round.
The Philippine military had been among the first to express serious interest, going so far as to say that if the Russians could offer an AK design rifle in 5.56mm, they would consider it.
IZHMASH planners realized that, in order to improve their position in the international market place, they had to deliver what the customer wanted, but this did not necessarily mean they welcomed direct competition with the other 5.56mm rifles already available on the world market. However, despite these original intentions, the Russians knew that embarking on such a program meant that, sooner or later, they faced head to head competition with their longtime rival, the M16.
The AK101 Outperforms the M16
Results of the first firing tests of the long barrel 5.56x45mm NATO model, designated the AK101, surprised even the Russian designers who had worked on the project. They discovered that the two rifles had different balance characteristics, but that the parameters of barrels chambered for the Russian 5.45mm and the US 5.56mm NATO round were not that different. The 5.56mm NATO round performed better than the 5.45mm round, yet both their new rifles in 5.56mm, the AK101 and even the short barreled AK102, performed better overall than did the M16.
The M16 did better than its AK100 series competitor when fired semi automatically from a standing position, but the Russian designed rifles outperformed the M16 in automatic fire, and the dispersion of the M16 fired from the was significantly greater than that of the AK101.
Stiff Military Tests Required to Secure Government Certification
Although none of the AK100 series rifles were intended to compete for governet contracts, the War Department bureaucracy continued to exercise its authority by requiring that the new line of weapons be tested and certified by the Russian government that they conformed to existing military specifications.
This included successfully passing a drop test, wherein each test weapon was dropped from a height of 1.5 meters (5') onto a concrete floor, six times on the muzzle, 12 times on the buttstock, six times on each side, and six times on the iron sights.
The final hurdle was a series of environment tests, wherein tempetures ranged from -50* to +50* centigrade (-50* to + 122*F). Each weapon was then placed in what IZHMASH designers referred to a "dust cyclone and fog/rain chamber" for a specified period, after which it was wiped clean and fired semi automatically and in short bursts. The rifles were then again subjected to the same environment extremes, but NOT wiped clean and then fired.
To test for function in extreme cold, the rifles were placed in the same dust cyclone and fog/rain chamber, and then in a sub zero Centigrade chamber. Again, this was done twice, once wiping the rifle clean followed by semi automatic and short burst firing, and once without cleaning the rifle before firing. To pass, each weapon had to successfully fire a minimum of 1000rds between failures after each test. All five of the 100 series variants surpassed the MINIMUM requirement.
By 1993 these stringent tests had been completed and the final documentation was approved by the War Department, an essential step in the Russian weapons design process.
A piece out of "Arsenal USA's American Made AK's", A review on these rifles done by Charles Cutshaw, I'm sure you all have all heard of him.
"We tested each rifle, the SSR-85B and the SSR85C, using Wolf Ammunition made by Tula Ammunition Plant in Russia. We conducted our test firing at 100 yards using both jacketed hollow point (JHP) and full metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition. Our three round group sizes from both rifles were approximatly 1.75 inches with the hollow point ammunition and just less than two inches using the FMJ. Functioning of both rifles was flawless, regardless of the ammunition we used."
From the book:
Fighting Firearms
by Peter Kokalis
"The kalashnikov rifle needs no test and evaluation by me to demonstrate its merits and idiosyncrasies. that would be the kind of pompus joke that only the popular gun press would perpetrate on its readers. however, i must make note of the fact that 5.56x45mm nato versions i fired in Izhevsk, Russia, displayed noticeably greater accuracy than any of those chambered for the 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm rounds. they were the accuracy equal of the m16 and any other assault rifle that was chambered for this cartridge."
The Russians at IZHMASH state "The 5.56mm NATO round performed better than the 5.45mm round"
by Edward Clinton Ezell
Steering Toward a Showdown: the 5.56mm AK versus the M16
Meanwhile, in addition to this diversity, military customers in the late 1980s had begun to ask Russian small arms makers for a 5.56mm AK type rifle. The Kalashnikov design had long since achieved worldwide recognition as a robust and reliable rifle, and some now wanted to combine these advantages with what was rapidly becoming an international standard caliber, the 5.56x45mm NATO round.
The Philippine military had been among the first to express serious interest, going so far as to say that if the Russians could offer an AK design rifle in 5.56mm, they would consider it.
IZHMASH planners realized that, in order to improve their position in the international market place, they had to deliver what the customer wanted, but this did not necessarily mean they welcomed direct competition with the other 5.56mm rifles already available on the world market. However, despite these original intentions, the Russians knew that embarking on such a program meant that, sooner or later, they faced head to head competition with their longtime rival, the M16.
The AK101 Outperforms the M16
Results of the first firing tests of the long barrel 5.56x45mm NATO model, designated the AK101, surprised even the Russian designers who had worked on the project. They discovered that the two rifles had different balance characteristics, but that the parameters of barrels chambered for the Russian 5.45mm and the US 5.56mm NATO round were not that different. The 5.56mm NATO round performed better than the 5.45mm round, yet both their new rifles in 5.56mm, the AK101 and even the short barreled AK102, performed better overall than did the M16.
The M16 did better than its AK100 series competitor when fired semi automatically from a standing position, but the Russian designed rifles outperformed the M16 in automatic fire, and the dispersion of the M16 fired from the was significantly greater than that of the AK101.
Stiff Military Tests Required to Secure Government Certification
Although none of the AK100 series rifles were intended to compete for governet contracts, the War Department bureaucracy continued to exercise its authority by requiring that the new line of weapons be tested and certified by the Russian government that they conformed to existing military specifications.
This included successfully passing a drop test, wherein each test weapon was dropped from a height of 1.5 meters (5') onto a concrete floor, six times on the muzzle, 12 times on the buttstock, six times on each side, and six times on the iron sights.
The final hurdle was a series of environment tests, wherein tempetures ranged from -50* to +50* centigrade (-50* to + 122*F). Each weapon was then placed in what IZHMASH designers referred to a "dust cyclone and fog/rain chamber" for a specified period, after which it was wiped clean and fired semi automatically and in short bursts. The rifles were then again subjected to the same environment extremes, but NOT wiped clean and then fired.
To test for function in extreme cold, the rifles were placed in the same dust cyclone and fog/rain chamber, and then in a sub zero Centigrade chamber. Again, this was done twice, once wiping the rifle clean followed by semi automatic and short burst firing, and once without cleaning the rifle before firing. To pass, each weapon had to successfully fire a minimum of 1000rds between failures after each test. All five of the 100 series variants surpassed the MINIMUM requirement.
By 1993 these stringent tests had been completed and the final documentation was approved by the War Department, an essential step in the Russian weapons design process.
A piece out of "Arsenal USA's American Made AK's", A review on these rifles done by Charles Cutshaw, I'm sure you all have all heard of him.
"We tested each rifle, the SSR-85B and the SSR85C, using Wolf Ammunition made by Tula Ammunition Plant in Russia. We conducted our test firing at 100 yards using both jacketed hollow point (JHP) and full metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition. Our three round group sizes from both rifles were approximatly 1.75 inches with the hollow point ammunition and just less than two inches using the FMJ. Functioning of both rifles was flawless, regardless of the ammunition we used."
From the book:
Fighting Firearms
by Peter Kokalis
"The kalashnikov rifle needs no test and evaluation by me to demonstrate its merits and idiosyncrasies. that would be the kind of pompus joke that only the popular gun press would perpetrate on its readers. however, i must make note of the fact that 5.56x45mm nato versions i fired in Izhevsk, Russia, displayed noticeably greater accuracy than any of those chambered for the 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm rounds. they were the accuracy equal of the m16 and any other assault rifle that was chambered for this cartridge."
The Russians at IZHMASH state "The 5.56mm NATO round performed better than the 5.45mm round"