K-3 (Armenia)

History

Through an internal initiative, the South Caucasian country Armenia developed its own bullpup assault rifle "K-3". The weapon, which debuted in 1996, was heavily influenced by the proven Kalashnikov action of Soviet origin. As such, the K-3 is internally arranged to fire the Soviet 5.45x39mm rifle cartridge, which is also found in the Kalashnikov AK-74 series of assault rifles.

The new rifle will be issued to Armenian special forces and some army units, while its development is led by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) "Ministry of Military Industry". The manufacture of the K-3 took place in Armenia, allowing the country's military-industrial complex to develop independently - once heavily reliant on imported Soviet small arms.

As a bullpup configuration rifle system, the K-3 features internal action and magazine feed, concentrated in an oversized stock that changes the center of gravity of the weapon and stores most of the weapon on the operator's shoulder . This forces the trigger assembly and pistol grip forward to the center of the design and allows for a shorter fore/foregrip area and limited exposed barrel section. The advantages of this configuration include a more compact overall design (for easy portability) and the use of a full-length barrel.

The K-3 weighs 3.4 kg, has an overall length of 700 mm and a barrel length of 415 mm. Like the Cold War-era AK-74, the K-3 operates in gas action using a rotating bolt function. It is a selective fire weapon that allows for single-shot (semi-automatic), burst, and full-auto fire modes via a selector switch. Usually 4x PSO-1 series sights are used, but iron sights are kept as a backup - the sights are mounted on the receiver in the usual way. The effective range is up to 400 meters, and the maximum range is 1000 meters.

A slotted flash suppressor is attached to the muzzle. The weapon's construction combines steel and plastic to improve field sturdiness while minimizing overall weight.

The weapon is fed from a curved AK-74-style detachable magazine and fires 30 or 45 rounds, with a quoted rate of fire of about 600 rounds per minute in fully automatic mode. By comparison, a single shot provides a semi-automatic rate of fire of about 40 rounds per minute. The ejection port is only on the right side of the receiver, limiting manipulation for right-handed users (some automatic weapons allow for dexterity abilities).

The barrel of the K-3 is also designed to fire standard Armenian military rifle grenades, expanding the tactical value of the K-3 weapon system.

By comparison, the original AK-74 from 1974 weighed 3.3kg, had an overall length of 943mm and a barrel length of 414mm. The rate of fire is specified at 650 rounds per minute. The effective range is 625 meters.

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