The AK-74 is a Soviet assault rifle developed in the 1970s part of the many developed by Kalashnikov. It was designed to replace the AKM and uses the smaller 5.45x39mm cartridge replacing the 7.92x39mm chambering of earlier weapons.
The AK-74 saw its first service in 1979 with the Soviet-Afghan conflict. Supposedly the CIA paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence during the war. Identical to the AKM in its firing and reloading mechanisms, the AK-74 is gas-operated with a rotating bolt. New features include a new buttstock, handguard, and gas cylinder. Several variants were made in the years following its introduction as the AK-74 is still used today mostly in countries of the former Soviet Union.
