The Saudi military’s various branches utilize a wide variety of small arms, but among those deployed in and along the border with Yemen, derivatives of the Kalashnikov or AK-pattern self-loading rifle are surprisingly some of the most common. In the previous part of this article we examined the AK-pattern rifles in use with the Saudi armed forces. In this concluding part we will look at the various civilian owned AK-patterned self-loading rifles which have been seen in use with Saudi forces. As noted previously, this study draws its data and sources largely from an extensive private image collection provided to Silah Report of open-source social media photos and videos taken by soldiers of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, the Saudi National Guard, and the Saudi Border Guard and is thus able to paint a uniquely representative picture of the weapons they use. Indeed, the data provided showed that Kalashnikov derivatives make up well over half of the assault rifles in the dataset, far outpacing the presence of the Saudis’ signature G36, G3, and AUG self-loading rifles.
As Saudi Arabia has a robust civilian firearms culture in which Kalashnikov rifles are readily available, it is not surprising that civilian-owned AKs end up bleeding into active-duty units. However, most of these rifles seem to appear with the more rear echelon units of the Border Guard or with National Guard units that don’t venture far into Yemen, though some have been seen in the hands of regular army soldiers.
Fig.8.1. Several instances of on-duty use of the Zastava M92 self-loading carbines, a popular gun on the Saudi civilian market (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Fig.8.2. A selection of civilian-owned Type 56-1 self-loading rifles on the front line. Civilian ownership was determined by how many of these have non-standard furniture and attachments. From left to right: A Hungarian AK-63 patterned rifle with a Type 56-1 that has custom wood furniture, a Type 56-1 with an AK-74 style muzzle brake and additional optics, and a Type 56-1 with aftermarket muzzle brake (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Fig.8.3. A Zastava M70A under-folder (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Fig.8.4. An AKMS. Judging by how common the AKMS is in the Saudi civilian market and how rarely it appeared in the dataset, this weapon most likely came from a civilian source (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
The How:
How they are used in combat will not be discussed as that is part of a larger question of how the Saudi armed forces operate in combat as a whole and is beyond the scope of this article. The practice of taping magazines together, “jungle style”, is a common practice among Saudi soldiers, especially those wielding AKs. A time-tested method, it is unsurprising that it is practiced here.
Fig.9.1. Several instances of “jungle style” magazines on AK-103, Pm Md. 90, and Type 56-1 self-loading rifles (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Fig.9.2. An impressive triple “jungle style” magazine loadout on a Type 56-1 self-loading rifle (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Kalashnikov rifles are also used for hunting various types of game by soldiers. Hunting for food along with cooking and eating the resulting meal in the outdoors is a much enjoyed pastime in Saudi culture and long periods of time spent in and around the sparsely populated Saudi-Yemeni borderlands offers soldiers plenty of opportunities to hunt.
Fig.9.3. Various hunting successes with AK-103 and AR-M1F41 rifles (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
In-field maintenance of the weapons was also observed. In this case field stripping and lubrication with WD-40. While not an ideal gun lubricant, it can work in a pinch and routine maintenance of other weapon systems was also observed.
Fig.9.4. WD-40 lubrication on a Type 56-1 (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Rifles were also observed occasionally marked with morale boosting slogans such as the one pictured below that reads “علمو الحوثي ترانا جاهزين” or “Tell the Houthis we are ready!” This is a lyric taken from a popular song from the Saudi Sheela (شيلة) genre, which often has nationalistic or patriotic themes.
Fig.9.5. A Type 56-1 with the slogan on “jungle styled” magazines (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
It should also be noted that Kalashnikovs of a certain type tend to usually be seen around other rifles of that type. From the data available, it seems that most units are only issued one type of Kalashnikov rifle at a time, with rifles of different makes coming together most often in situations where different units meet such as at checkpoints and supply depots. The Border Guard also seems to have the highest variance of Kalashnikovs among its ranks with the regular army seeming to consist of mostly of AK-103 rifles. National Guard units seem to have a wide variety of Kalashnikov-pattern rifles, but like the army will usually have only type of rifle per unit. But where a certain Kalashnikov rifle ends up is of little importance as all of the rifles in this dataset use the 7.62×39mm cartridge and thus all have interchangeable ammunition and magazines. Only spare parts become a potential issue.
Fig.9.6. A spread of rifles on base showing a Type 56-1 with a Ministry of the Interior soldier, a Pm Md. 90 with a military police officer, and an AK-103 with a regular army soldier (Source: Private Social Media Collection).
Conclusions:
This study has demonstrated the sheer volume and variety of Kalashnikov-patterned self-loading rifles used by the Saudi coalition forces in Yemen despite how much focus is placed on the German-designed G3 and G36 rifles as the principal weapon of the Saudi infantry. The reasons for this prevalence is unknown, but it could have to do with the relatively cheaper cost of employing Kalashnikov-patterned rifles at the scale required for current Saudi commitments in Yemen than designs such as the G36. That is not to say that the G36 rifle was absent in this dataset, as there were many instances of the rifle observed. In fact, the dataset was geographically skewed towards the actual border between Saudia Arabia and Yemen, with those data points from deeper inside Yemen showing a greater prevalence towards the G36, suggesting that the G36 sees more use than the data here would suggest, it just isn’t as well documented. But regardless, the disparate variety of Kalashnikov rifles employed by the Saudis demonstrates that the Saudi-led effort in Yemen draws on far more different weapons systems and sources than is commonly thought. This variety also helps illustrate how the war is experienced for and undertaken by members of the Saudi coalition, from rugged counterinsurgency to boring border duty, a breadth of experiences that isn’t often seen.
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