AK "Official 3rd-Generation" Rifles to be built in Venezuela

Venezuela has become the first nation in the world to make the iconic Kalashnikov third generation assault rifle on Russia's official license..."The construction works are being conducted according to the schedule. We will also build another plant here which would produce ammo for Kalashnikovs," the official spokesman for Russia's defense export enterprise said...the contract stipulates a $2.2 billion loan, which Russia provided to Venezuela for the purchase of arms, including 92 T-72 tanks...The Russian rifle can fire both NATO 5.56 mm caliber cartridges and Soviet 7.62 mm caliber cartridges, which is the main advantage of this weapon..."Kalashnikov rifles of the 100th series have the more advanced production technology. They are enhanced, universal and meet the requirements of modern-day wars. We learned the mistakes that we made in the past, and all Kalashnikovs of the 100th series have been patented and licensed. The situation that happened to AK-47, which was patented only in 1997, 50 years after it had been invented, won't repeat again," the official said...The Clinton administration banned the import of AK-47 (as all Kalashnikov models are referred to in the West) rifles...Washington is concerned about the penetration of the new rifle into the black arms market...Now Washington has another reason to give angry looks to Hugo Chavez, who owns the official Kalashnikov production license...
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Full details on these developments by Ivan Tulyakov from Russia's "Truth" news online
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I assume these fab new AK's will all be machinegun selective fire models. It is unclear if the new rifle is capable of firing both 5.56mm and 7.62mm or if there will be separate versions chambered for each. If one can fire both, it will be a major coup, and Vietnam era veterans well remember that the Russian designed heavy mortar and machine-gun deployed in that war were capable of firing both their issued ammo and American 81mm and 7.62 NATO fodder, effectively arming enemy troops from our own stocks to use against us, a perfect example of the diabolical Russian Communist mindset. Nonetheless, these new AK's will be high value items once produced in quantity. After Chavez has armed his political Police and Death Squads, I would not be surprised if semiautomatic-only versions start turning up as a way for him to generate much desired underground and/or legitimate foreign currency for his offshore personal bank accounts (A Communist millionaire? Gee, that's never happened before, right?. OK, so call me cynical, Eh? /;-J- S9)