Infantry Weapons

AKKS rifle

Also known as
  • AKKS
  • AKKS-47
  • Bulgarian AKKS
  • Bulgarian AKS-47
  • 7.62 AR-F

The AKKS is the folding-stock Bulgarian AKK, a milled-receiver AK/AKS-47-pattern assault rifle from Arsenal's Kazanlak production lineage. Its conflict record is narrow and evidence-based: sources identify Bulgarian AKKS rifles in Islamic State captured-materiel contexts in Kobane in 2015 and the Sinai insurgency in 2017, not as proof of broad routine battlefield issue.

AKKS rifle, 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry Weapons
Image source: AKS Assault Rifle Illustration

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Bulgaria
Built by
Arsenal JSCo
Type
7.62x39mm assault rifle
Service note
Cold War Bulgarian Kalashnikov-pattern rifle documented in Islamic State captured-materiel inventories in 2015 and 2017
Designer
Mikhail Kalashnikov AK pattern; Bulgarian AKK/AKKS production through Arsenal's Kazanlak lineage
Designed
Bulgarian licensed Kalashnikov production began at Kazanlak in the late 1950s; AKK/AKKS designations belong to the Bulgarian Type 3 AK-pattern line
Produced
Late 1950s/1960s onward for Bulgarian AKK/AKKS production; post-Cold War Arsenal export derivatives used AR-series designations

Specifications

Caliber
7.62x39mm
Action
Gas-operated, rotating-bolt Kalashnikov action
Receiver
Milled Type 3 AK-pattern receiver lineage
Barrel length
415 mm class for full-length Arsenal 7.62x39mm export-family analogues
Overall length
About 945-950 mm stock extended and about 690-700 mm folded for sourced Arsenal 7.62x39mm folding-stock export analogues
Magazine
30-round detachable box magazine
Rate of fire
About 600 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity
About 710 m/s in sourced Arsenal 7.62x39mm export-family data
Effective range
About 400 m in sourced Arsenal 7.62x39mm export-family data
Stock
Folding shoulder stock on AKKS variant
Variants

Bulgarian AKK naming distinguishes fixed-stock, folding-stock, AKM-pattern, and later export designations; sources support AR-F as a successor/export designation lane rather than proof that every AR-F is the same historic AKKS rifle.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
AKKFixed-stock Bulgarian AK-pattern rifle

Armedconflicts/Valka identifies AKK as the Bulgarian AK-47 copy designation.

Sources: BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKM

AKKSFolding-stock Bulgarian AK-pattern rifle

The same designation source identifies AKKS as the folding-stock version of the Bulgarian AKK.

Sources: BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKM

AKKM / AKKMSBulgarian AKM and AKMS-pattern designations

The family mapping distinguishes AKKM as the AKM copy and AKKMS as the folding-stock AKMS copy.

Sources: BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKM

7.62 AR-FLater Arsenal export derivative

The cited designation mapping lists AKKS-47 alongside the later 7.62 AR-F export designation; this page treats that as related designation history, not direct conflict-use evidence for AR-F rifles.

Sources: BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKM

Ammunition Fired

The AKKS is documented as a Bulgarian AK-pattern rifle chambered for 7.62x39mm ammunition.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
7.62x39mm cartridge, Intermediate rifle cartridge, Munitions7.62x39mm cartridgeIntermediate rifle cartridge

The AKKS family is described in the sourced reference as a Bulgarian AK-pattern rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm, making the cartridge the rifle's documented ammunition.

Sources: BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKM

Timeline

AKKS rifle Key Events

  1. Bulgarian Kalashnikov production established

    Modern Firearms places licensed Kalashnikov production at Kazanlak in 1958, the industrial setting for later Bulgarian AKK and AKKS designations.

  2. Arsenal reaches large-scale AK production

    Modern Firearms reports that Bulgarian Kalashnikov production had reached one million rifles by 1982.

  3. Bulgarian AKKS documented after Kobane fighting

    Conflict Armament Research recorded a Bulgarian AKKS among Kalashnikov-pattern rifles captured from Islamic State forces in Kobane.

  4. Bulgarian AKKS identified in Sinai captured weapons

    War Noir identified a Bulgarian AKKS among weapons seized by Islamic State Sinai Province from Bedouin tribal forces.

Media

AKKS rifle Images

AKKS rifle, 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry Weapons - view 1
Source: AKK Bulgaria Image
AKKS rifle, 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry Weapons - view 2
Source: AK-47 Type 3A Assault Rifle Image
Related Weapon Systems
AKMS, Folding-stock 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAKMSFolding-stock 7.62x39mm assault rifleThe AKMS is the under-folding-stock member of the Soviet AKM assault-rifle family, retaining the stamped receiver, long-stroke gas system, select-fire controls, and 7.62x39mm chambering while shortening the rifle for airborne troops, vehicle crews, and compact carry. Conflict Armament Research and ARES documentation places AKMS-family rifles in Islamic State stocks around Kobane and in a 2022 Ukrainian police seizure from an alleged Russian saboteur, showing how older Kalashnikov-pattern rifles remain visible in modern war.
Type 56 assault rifle, 7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsType 56 assault rifle7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifleThe Type 56 is China's 7.62x39mm Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifle family, adopted in 1956, built in very large numbers, and exported widely through state, surplus, and illicit channels. Its early rifles followed the Soviet AK-47 with milled receivers, later production used AKM-style stamped receivers under the same designation, and many examples are recognizable by a permanently attached folding spike bayonet. In the 2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, Small Arms Survey and Stimson reporting link Chinese Type 56 rifles to weapons seized from Boko Haram members and to materiel captured during the 2016 Bosso camp attack in Niger.
AKM, 7.62x39mm assault rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAKM7.62x39mm assault rifleThe AKM is the stamped-receiver modernization of the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle, chambered for 7.62x39mm and built around a long-stroke gas piston and rotating bolt. Adopted in 1959, it reduced production burden compared with earlier milled-receiver AK rifles and became a widely licensed baseline for later 7.62mm Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. CAR and ARES field documentation continues to place AKM and AKM-pattern rifles in modern conflict stocks, from Islamic State recoveries in Iraq and Syria to Taliban captures in Afghanistan.
AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsAK-47/AKM rifle familySelective-fire assault rifle familyAK-47/AKM-family rifles are Kalashnikov-pattern small arms derived from the Soviet AK-47 and 1959 AKM modernization, usually chambered in 7.62 x 39 mm. In the post-2015 catalog they appear with FARC dissidents in Colombia, gangs in Haiti, PKK fighters, GNA scouts in Libya, insurgents in Mali, Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, militants in Sinai, RSF units in Sudan, Hamas fighters in Gaza, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Boko Haram-linked militants in the Lake Chad basin, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.

Sources

Weaponry of the Islamic State in EgyptPublisher: Militant Wire | Note: Supports 2011 Sinai Insurgency direct capture/possession evidence: War Noir identified a Bulgarian AKKS among weapons seized by Islamic State Sinai Province from Bedouin tribes in May 2017. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Islamic State Weapons in KobanePublisher: Conflict Armament Research | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct captured-materiel evidence: CAR documented a Bulgarian AKKS assault rifle among weapons captured from Islamic State forces in Kobane in February 2015. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BGR - AKK / AKK-M1 / AKKS / AKKMPublisher: Armedconflicts.com | Note: Supports AKK/AKKS background, Arsenal producer attribution, folding-stock AKKS designation, and basic 7.62x39mm rifle specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Arsenal Assault RiflesPublisher: Arsenal JSCo. | Note: Official manufacturer site for Arsenal assault-rifle production; used only for current Arsenal manufacturer background because the historic AKKS itself is not presented as a current product page. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Arsenal AK Assault RiflesPublisher: Modern Firearms | Note: Supports Bulgarian Arsenal/Kazanlak Kalashnikov production history, milled Type 3 receiver context, and Arsenal AR-family export background. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Kintex 7.62 x 39 mm AR-1 and AR-1FPublisher: Kintex | Note: Supports sourced Arsenal-linked 7.62x39mm AR-1/AR-1F export-family specifications used as analogues where direct historic AKKS manuals were not available. | Accessed: 2026-07-04AKS Assault Rifle IllustrationPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: CC BY-SA 3.0 representative AKS-pattern image used for the folding-stock AKKS page where a clearly licensed Bulgarian AKKS photograph was not available. | Accessed: 2026-07-04AKK Bulgaria ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. Department of Justice/ATF image of a Bulgarian Factory 10 AKK in 7.62x39mm, used as representative Bulgarian AKK-family imagery rather than a verified AKKS folding-stock photograph. | Accessed: 2026-07-04AK-47 Type 3A Assault Rifle ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain Type 3A AK image used as a secondary reference image for the milled AK pattern underlying the Bulgarian AKK/AKKS family. | Accessed: 2026-07-04