This layer shows the global prevalence of the AK47 (Kalashnikov and its variants) grouped into five categories, for the year 2015.
Often, licenses are granted for the production of small arms and light weapons so that they are not produced in their country of origin. In other cases, special variants destined for the export of a weapon are produced. Small arms and light weapons kill more people globally than any other type of weapon. This is why they are often called the 'real weapons of mass destruction'. The large amount, their wide distribution, their durability, the often easy handling and the fact that they can be easily smuggled and traded illegally contributes to this. The UZI, the AK47 and the G3 have been chosen as examples for the most well-known small arms.
© picture-alliance / dpa
Assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms
Military small arms vary according to their function and requirements, but they all share the qualities of ruggedness and simplicity of operation Modern automatic weapons are relatively light (less than 10kg) and have high rates of fire(between 120 and 1200 rounds/minute).
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