kungpaosamuraiii said:
I thought that AK47 has become generic for AK type weapons?
Yeah but only for 7.62mm M43 variants... That's actualy what they teached us in instruction when I was in military dutty, it was something like : "...this is the modernized version of the AK47 called AKM, M stands for Modernized in english, the one you'll be using is manufactured in Khenchla (Algeria) and is a perfect clone of the russian AKM"
"... AKMS is the folding version of the AKM, S stands for short in english, it's a bit heavier than the integral one but it's more concealable" this sort of AK is equiping algerian paratroopers units since the 70s. We usualy call the AKMS "Klash pliant"... pliant means folding in french.
It was told to us too that russians designated their AK47 and derivative as submachine guns (PM : Pistolet Mitrailleur) in french, but the ammo they use and their effective range better place them in the assault rifles category. In the 90s, algerian police saw most of its AK rifles replaced by Beretta M12s... Some other urban counter-terror units were equiped with H&K MP5s.
Despite its old style, the AK is still the most spread and used weapon in Algeria, SKS carabines as we call it here "Seminov" for Semi-Automatic Simonov are also concidered as standard issue weapons and are still in stock.
To conclude : the 7.62mm M43 caliber with the 9mm Para and 9mm Makarov are the only calibers that are truely used by light infantry and personal units in Algeria... Aparently, AK weapons are and will still be used in Algeria, as they showed terrain and cost effectiveness... For two years, my Klash never failed to serve me properly, it's realy a perfect weapon for top north african geography which is mostly constitued of mediteranean forests... This weapon is very reliable and only require minimal maintenance, it's crude and efficient.