American veterans of the war in Afghanistan argue over whether, what small arms are most optimal for conventional army and special units when they perform combat missions in this country.
Given the fact, that in Afghanistan itself they prefer Soviet / Russian small arms, in the American army, to a certain extent, they decided to study the experience of its combat use and use as a technological basis for creating a new version of weapons - on the one hand, unpretentious to use, on the other - accurate and powerful.
So, two former US Army Special Forces fighters (2-1st Ranger Battalion) Joe Stenzel and Jared Potter analyzed the merits and demerits of Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifles (AK-47, AK-74) and American automatic and semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15.
Blake Stillwell's article was published in the American press, who writes about, that Stenzel and Potter decided to use their own experience of using Russian and American-made weapons and create something new, which would absorb exclusively the advantages of the AK-47 and AR-15.
From the material about enterprising ex-special forces:
After leaving the army, they decided, that fixing these shortcomings could be a better post-war career for both of them. The result was a modernized version of the AK-47 assault rifle. – AK-21 from the new company Stenzel Industries (by the name of one of the very former special forces of the US Army - approx. «IN»). This is the first AK aluminum platform, launched on the market, and it is just as reliable in the field, as well as AK, but at the same time it has ease of use and manufacturability, like AR family.
For obvious reasons,, there is no need to talk about any licensed production of such weapons by American "masters". In fact, we are talking about a violation of technological copyright for the creation of weapons, owned by the Russian concern. However, in the United States, such production and theft of intellectual property are considered quite normal..
Jared Potter:
Russian Kalashnikov assault rifle is not so ergonomic, as AR, and it is not so easy to modify. But during our stay in Afghanistan, we realized, what if AK add ergonomics and modularity, then that would be great.
As a result, a kind of weapon "hybrid" of AK and AR with a modular layout was created., which allows the use of different magazines and ammunition of different calibers. In this case, the main caliber - 7,62 mm.
Joe Stenzel:
We designed the AK-21 assault rifle like this, so that it is versatile and easy to manufacture. Its details, basically, can be produced in any country.
The created version of the AK-21 has an aluminum platform. The US media write about, that this is the first aluminum platform of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, launched on the market. In other words, Stenzel and Potter do not hide, that their main goal is to obtain financial gain. The retail price of the AK-21 has already been announced - 3999 dollars in the domestic American market.
Described features and characteristics of the American "hybrid":
Aluminum alloy receiver, double-sided shutter, short stroke system, fire mode switch and fuse in the version of the M249 SAW light machine gun.
used photos:Stenzel Industries
