View source for AO-46 (firearm)

{{infobox weapon
| name               = AO-46
| image              = [[File:Army-2020-274.JPG|320x213px]]
| caption            = An AO-46 model at the TsNIITochMash Museum in Klimovsk, Russia
| origin             = [[Soviet Union]]
| type               = Carbine/Assault Rifle<br> [[Personal defense weapon]]
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = YES
<!-- Service history -->
| service            =
| used_by            =
| wars               =
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = [[Peter Andreevich Tkachev]]
| design_date        = 1969
| manufacturer       =
| unit_cost          =
| production_date    =
| number             =
| variants           =
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         =
| weight             = 2.0 kg (4.4 lb)
| length             = 655 mm (25.7 in) stock extended / 458 mm (18.0 in) stock folded
| part_length        = 245 mm (9.7 in)
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = [[5.45×39mm]]
| cartridge_weight   =
| caliber            = 5.45 mm
| barrels            =
| action             = [[Gas-operated]], [[Select-fire]]
| rate               = 700 rpm
| velocity           = 715 m/s
| range              =
| max_range          = 400 m
| feed               = 15-round box magazine
| sights             = [[Iron sights]]
}}
The '''AO-46''' was a gas-operated [[5.45×39mm]] caliber, compact [[carbine]]/[[assault rifle]] prototype. It features a folding stock and the trigger is located just in front of the magazine, which doubles as a pistol grip. In order to minimize the length of the gun, gas for automatic operation was collected not out of the barrel, but directly from the [[flash suppressor]] in the muzzle.<ref name="Monetchikov">{{cite book|last=Monetchikov|first=Sergei|script-title=ru:История русского автомата|trans-title=The History of Russian Assault Rifle|year=2005|publisher=[[Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps]]|location=St. Petersburg|isbn=5-98655-006-4|language=Russian|page=165|url=https://coollib.com/b/195891/read|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209150404/https://coollib.com/b/195891/read|archive-date=December 9, 2022}}
</ref> Despite having the latter feature, the combination of a relatively powerful cartridge and short barrel produced a flash comparable to that of a [[sawed-off shotgun]].<ref name="soldat"/>
The weapon was an unsolicited design by [[Peter Andreevich Tkachev]] working at [[TsNIITochMash]]. Although not accepted for service, this design, in combination with report of the US use of the [[XM-177]] in Vietnam led the [[GRAU]] to start the competition known as [[Project Modern]], which led to the adoption of [[AKS-74U]] for service.<ref name="Monetchikov"/><ref name="soldat">"Солдат удачи" номер 9 (72) 2000 Д.Ширяев "Кто изобрел автомат Калашникова?"</ref>
Although the Soviet doctrine did not have an equivalent concept, the AO-46 design corresponds to the Western concept of [[personal defense weapon]] (PDW).<ref>[http://weaponland.ru/load/avtomat_ao_46/21-1-0-663 AO-46] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033513/http://weaponland.ru/load/avtomat_ao_46/21-1-0-663 |date=2016-03-04 }} at weaponland.ru. Retrieved 2013-4-7</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of Russian weaponry]]
* [[Joint Venture Protective Carbine]]
* [[TKB-408]]
* [[TKB-059]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Personal defense weapons}}
[[Category:5.45×39mm assault rifles]]
[[Category:Personal defense weapons]]
[[Category:Kalashnikov derivatives]]
[[Category:Assault rifles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Trial and research firearms of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:TsNIITochMash products]]
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