In the Soviet Army, the AK-74 had officially replaced all AKMs by 1985. East Germany had ~171,000 license-manufactured AK-74s in 1991, with a peacetime military of ~175,000 personnel that was planned to grow to ~560,000 in case of war.
For a Twilight timeline, the AK-74M being introduced in 1991 gives an opportunity for the Soviet Union to replace the original AK-74 rifles and either keep them for reserve units or begin distributing them to WP nations. However, one question is how many RPK-74 will be available. Without LMGs in 5.45x39mm, taking on the AK-74 makes logistics even more of a pain, since a military will have the AK-74 in 5.45x39mm, the RPK in 7.62x39mm, the PKM in 7.62x54mmR, and the DshK and/or NSV in 12.7x108mm. Sticking with the AKM at least means your rifles and LMGs use the same ammunition, while the PKM uses the same caliber as your designated marksman's rifle.
I suspect it's more likely by Y2K that Soviet Category A & B units mostly have AK-74M with some AK-74, Category C units have the AK-74, and the AKM have mostly been shipped out to other militaries that are still using 7.62x39mm in other arms. Any "spare" AK-74 will likely go to East Germany to bolster their numbers for that wartime growth.
__________________
The poster formerly known as The Dark
The Vespers War - Ninety years before the Twilight War, there was the Vespers War.
|