Kalishinikovs

Johnny45

A friend of mine told me that american special forces in afghanistan were using the weapons instead of their normal M-4's. He also said that they were very high quality and made by american companies. They were just meant to look like ak-47's and fire the same rounds to make it easy for american special forces to find ammo in the field. Who makes these rifles in america ?? are they good quality ?

andy12390

i believe they do, but what do i know? im not old enough to be there yet. haha

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. - Don Corleone

texastradingpost

I think they may be coming from any number of sources. Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, local captured rifles? Russian has been upset with our military aquiring AKs from any source other than Russia for some time, claiming patent violations.
http://www.eng.yabloko.ru/Forums/Main/posts/1507.html

JAK71454

"were just meant to look like ak-47's and fire the same rounds to make it easy for american special forces to find ammo in the field"

I find it very hard to believe that they best trained army in the world with the best equipment in the world would have to "find ammo in the field". I know in Nam the "special" ops used AK-47 so that the distince sound of the M-16 vs AK-47 would not give away there position. But I am sure they never intended to supply their ammo from the VC. And why were they meant to LOOK like AK-47's? Jim

Jim Kammerer

Johnny45

Did you see the program on CNN about the prison uprising in Afghanistan at Kali Jungi ? It is where the CIA officer Mike Span was killed. If you watch the video footage closely you can see the other American CIA officer is carrying a Kalashikov rifle. Later on in the video when the A team of American special forces guys arrive on the scene two of them are carrying Kalashikovs as well. I was told that because the types of American forces operate in situtations and areas where resupplying is difficult and they are fighting alongside the Northern Aliance that it was most prudent to equipe the soldiers with arms that could fire the most available rounds...which is the .300 or 308 I believe ( or the metric equivilent)

Regardless of what you think the reasons behind it are, the FACT is many of the american forces were carrying Kalashikov rifles when they could have been carrying M-4's or other standard issue weapons

rldowns3

quote:Originally posted by JAK71454
"were just meant to look like ak-47's and fire the same rounds to make it easy for american special forces to find ammo in the field"

I find it very hard to believe that they best trained army in the world with the best equipment in the world would have to "find ammo in the field".



You've never been in combat, I take it. Those supplies don't teleport instantly into your magazine pouch.

______________________________________________________________

kingjoey

Knights Armaments was designing M16's that would take AK47 mags and another model that would take AK74 mags for use by teams that were operating far from supplies. Haven't heard anything about it since, but "Speshul Wepunz" is making their AR47 which is the same idea

Love them Beavers

JAK71454

rldowns3, I was never in combat but I still find it very hard to believe that the best army in the world would have to "find ammo in the field" and there logistics couldn't keep up.
So, therefore if you don't get re-supplied on time you get it from the enemy?? Exactly how is this done on a regular basis? Jim

Jim Kammerer

competentone

quote:Originally posted by JAK71454
... "find ammo in the field" ....if you don't get re-supplied on time you get it from the enemy?? Exactly how is this done on a regular basis?


To put it bluntly: You kill the bad guys and then take their ammo.

---

"Strength is the outcome of need; security sets a premium on feebleness." -- H.G. Wells (The Time Machine)

Johnny45

Jim, after 9-11 the US military had literally hours to start planning for operations there and had to move fast. The plan all along was to link up with northern aliance forces and assit them and fight alongside them. The US military was responsible for supplying much of the amunition for nothern aliance soldiers. The initial special operations teams in Afghanistan were airlifted in with minimal supplies and DID NOT have a forward operating base where they could easily resupply. Therefore it became logical that some of the US forces should use rifles that fired the same type of amunition as the northern aliance soldiers. This made it easier for US troops and NA troops to have ammo. Remember that all CIA officers there lived among the population and didnt get supplies from US forces once in country. You find out very quickly that acuiring .223 ammo in Afghanistan was nearly impposible. The same held true for the initial special forces as well. They WERE NOT operating out of a US military base inside Afghanistan.

So yes, the best military in the world had some of their soldiers using untraditional weapons because initially they couldnt supply them. If you have the chance to see the footage from the prison uprising it is very interesting and you will see the CIA officer as well as the special forces guys using Kalashinikovs. I believe you can order the video from a company called Combat Films

sandwarrior

Guys,

When I was in the 1st Ranger Battalion, we had a few Kalashnikov's in our inventory for Opfor. After Grenada we had a whole bunch of every variant made of an AK. When we worked with SF they also had quite an inventory of AK's. They are very prevalent in the world. They are the most widely used assault rifle in the world. To my knowledge no one in the U.S. manufactures these. They are all captured and stored.
These rifles are extremely reliable if not greatly accurate. The rounds for these are much more prevalent than M-16 rounds on the 'world market'. It also made sense to use the same round as everyone else did initially in that theatre.
As mentioned in your last post resupply was incredibly difficult.

As to those who believe that the best trained people in the best trained army in world wouldn't use someone else's weapon system's that is exactly what they train to do. They go into area's beyond normal reach of the military and use what is out there. They teach the people not only how to fight for themselves but how to improve upon their living conditions. They have to use what is out there, and that is why you will see pictures of our SF soldiers carrying AK rifles.
A good book to read is The Hunt for Osama Bin Laden by Robin Moore, the only civilian to ever go through the 'Q' course.
-hope that helps answer your question.

We have the second amendment so that all the rest are secure....UNK>