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Old 07-27-2023, 10:39 AM
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Just to spitball without any exact figures, I'd imagine Pact armies that did switch from the AKM to AK-74 likely did so in phased rollouts on a company by company basis. Front line units would get AK-74s and then settle on RPKs or PKMs for their MG sections. Their former AKMs (and ammo stockpile) would go to lower readiness units and support formations.

If they already have doctrine and supply chain supporting squads with mixed ammo types (AKM and PKM) is not a big change to swap the AKMs. Going all in on the AK-74/RPK-74 means a lot of money on new weapons without much support from the USSR and leaves a ton of ammo with no users and little in the way of buyers. The USSR would likely block any attempts to sell old gear to non-aligned/third world armies because they would want those sales.

All conjecture on my part.
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