Popular with terrorists and armies in Asia and Africa, Kalashnikov assault rifles are not Russian anymore, for they are now being manufactured in the US.
The website of Kalashnikov USA , a firm, provides a menu of two semiautomatic rifles and two semiautomatic shotguns. One of the rifles features a curved, banana-style magazine, with 30 rounds.
The company has said on 30 June that it was now selling AK-47 assault rifles and shotguns manufactured at a US factory.
Thomas McCrossin, CEO, Kalashnikov USA, said in January, that, the company would make guns in the US once a factory was set up. The company, however, has not said where the factory has been set up in the US.
Russian Weapons Company owns the Kalashnikov USA brand in Pennsylvania. The company’s slogan is, “Russian heritage, American innovation.”
The company was set up by the Moscow-based Kalashnikov Concern to export it to the US, but that plan was checked by President Barack Obama’s anti-Russian sanctions for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
It may be noted the AK-47 invented by Soviet Lt Gen Mikhail Kalashnikov in the former Soviet Union in 1947. Its reliability in combat has made it the most popular assault rifle in the world, rivaling even the AR-15.
It is believed more than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have been sold worldwide. .
