AN-94

Design and operation

The most conspicuous identifying feature of the AN-94 is its magazine which is canted several degrees to the right of center (when viewed from a firing position). This design feature is necessary to accommodate the unique ammunition feed mechanism. The AN-94 is chambered in the same 5.45×39mm M74 cartridge as the AK-74, and it utilizes a rotating bolt to lock the action. Gennadiy Nikonov and his engineers used the Russian term смещенный импульс свободного затвора (ru) to describe the rifle's method of operation, meaning "recoil shifted pulse". The AN-94 was made to fire in semi and full-auto.

When a round is fired, residual energy from the propellant charge in the cartridge acts upon the safely locked breech and bolt carrier. Simultaneously, a quantity of powder gases driving the bullet through the barrel is tapped and acts upon the piston in the gas tube located above and parallel to the barrel. The movement of the piston and its connecting rod acts upon the locking bolt, causing it to rotate and allow the breech to safely open. This initiates the extraction and ejection cycle for the first spent cartridge. After the first round has been fired, the bolt and carrier group move toward the rear, ejecting the first casing towards the front of the ejection window. The movement of the Carrier is directly connected to a pulley system which is connected to a small metal rod on the rear side of the magazine well. The rod pushes a second round into the firing position.

Once this action has completed, the bolt and carrier group will stop and move back towards the front of the gun before it has hit the rear of the receiver. When the bolt has fully locked it will fire the second round. This whole process happens very quickly, and it is how the 2 round burst works. For any follow-up rounds, the hammer – in fact a horizontal striker, as opposed to the rotating hammer of the AK rifle – is held until every full recoil cycle is finished, to prevent the rifle firing at the extremely high rate continuously. This means that after every bullet the bolt and carrier group will travel the whole distance of possible travel, resulting in a more manageable rate of 600 RPM.

Service history

Production is estimated to have been between 2,000 and 2,500 guns, according to Jonathan Ferguson, a British firearms historian and Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum.

At least one was carried by Russian troops carrying out the 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea.

Users

• Kyrgyzstan: 60 AN-94s received as part of a Russian aid package in 2012.
• Russia: Used in limited numbers by the Russian Army, Police, Federal Security Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs; paratroopers and naval infantry

Non-state actors

• Provisional Irish Republican Army: The IRA reportedly imported 20 examples in late 2001.

References

References

1. (March 2006). "Tactical Small Arms of the 21st Century". Krause.
2. Lake, David. "The Blackest Rifle: Avtomat Nikonova 94". Small Arms Defense Journal.
3. (11 April 2017). "Russian AN-94 self-loading rifle". [[Armament Research Services]].
4. link. (9 September 2019)
5. "Nikonov AN-94". Shooting Illustrated.
6. Ferguson, Jonathan. (27 November 2024). "World's Rarest Production Rifle: The AN-94, Part 2 with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson". Royal Armouries.
7. Ferguson, Jonathan. (27 November 2024). "World's Rarest Production Rifle: The AN-94, Part 2 with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson". Royal Armouries.
8. Gorenburg, Dmitry. "External Support for Central Asian Military and Security Forces".
9. "Nikonov AN-94 'Abakan' assault rifle (Russia)".
10. "For the first time in a long time, Russians have used AN-94 Abakan assault rifles".
11. (21 April 2002). "IRA reported rearming as Castlereagh burglary denied". [[The Irish Times]].