AO-63 assault rifle
Soviet twin-barrel AK derivative with a 6000 rpm burst rate.
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The AO-63 (Автомат АО-63) is a Soviet two-barrel assault rifle derived from the Kalashnikov design, chambered for the 5.45×39mm round. It was designed by Sergei Simonov and Peter Tkachev and manufactured by TsNIITochMash. The weapon is notable for its side-by-side barrel configuration and an extremely high rate of fire, reaching 6000 rounds per minute in two-round burst mode, making it technically the fastest-firing rifle known.
Background
The AO-63 was developed for the Abakan trials in May/June 1986, where it was used by Spetsnaz forces in a search for a more accurate alternative to the standard AK-74. The official report described the rifle as highly accurate, simple, and reliable. Despite its performance, it was dropped from the competition for unknown reasons, and the AN-94 was ultimately selected.
The weapon features side-by-side barrels with the right barrel predominant, twin rotating bolts and gas pistons, and ejects spent casings from both sides. The trigger group has a three-position selector on the right side of the receiver: semi-auto firing one barrel, full auto firing both barrels with a 0.01 second delay, and a third mode that first fires a two-round burst at 6000 rpm then switches to one barrel at 850 rpm full auto. The magazine is unusual, combining a main double column holding 30 rounds with a single column holding 15 rounds.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: AO-63 assault rifle (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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