AEK-971
Produced by Kovrovskiy Mekhanicheskiy Zavod (original) Degtyarev plant (current)
The AEK-971 (Russian: Автомат единый Кокшарова 971, "Automatic (rifle), Universal, (of) Koksharov, 971) is a selective fire 5.45×39mm assault rifle that features a balanced automatic recoil system, developed at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant (KMZ) by chief designer Stanislav Ivanovich Koksharov (Cyrilic: Станислав Иванович Кокшаров), also known as Sergey Koksharov, in the late 1970s and 1980s (currently manufactured by Degtyarev Plant). Variants in 5.56×45mm NATO (AEK-972) and 7.62×39mm (AEK-973) were also developed. The 6P67 KORD and 6P68 KORD were developed for the Ratnik trials on 23 December 2014 and are based on the AEK-971 and AEK-973 respectively. The 6P67 KORD and 6P68 KORD feature numerous internal and external improvements over their predecessors and were later adopted by the special forces units (Spetsnaz) of the Russian Armed Forces.