For decades, the Kalashnikov self-loading rifle has been a prolific design, put to use by various actors worldwide and revered by many as a symbol of either good or evil. Iran is no exception to its sphere of influence and shows no signs of loosening its reins on the weapon, which since the days of its war against Iraq, it has kept various variant of the rifle in service. In this article, we will document the history and functionality of the most recent variant of the Kalashnikov rifle seen in Iran: the AK-103.
Public Introduction
On 20 August 2016, the former Iranian Defence Minister, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan, announced the procurement of an unspecified amount[5] of AK-103 rifles from Russia (as a result of the UN Security Council’s arms embargo[26]) at a press conference in Tehran, almost three years after testing footage of the Nabi/Siavash-5 assault rifle was released[1][9][10][11], roughly two years after the Iranian-built Fateh 5.56×45mm assault rifle was unveiled[2] and less then a year after the 15th International Exhibition of Police, Safety and Security Equipment (IPAS) opened[3], which saw new Iranian small arms presented to the public. None of these projects are known to have reached mass production. These national developments, which eventually led to the purchase of the AK-103, makes one ponder about Iran’s view on the reliability of it’s domestic small arms projects which it seeks to bolster. Nevertheless, Brig. General Dehghan emphasized Iran’s readiness to domestically produce the rifles (through an alleged license[12][13][14]) but expressed urgency regarding its purchase through the allocated funds for it by stating this during the press conference:
“Production of light arms has been low in the last ten years due to the prioritization of air and naval projects. This purchase was made due to regional crises.”[4]
On 21 April 2017, during the Hazrat Ali Akbar ceremony, Brig. General Dehghan and Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi presented a copy of the AK-103, described as the ”Kalashnikov 133”, alongside a copy of the Russian OSV-96 anti-materiel sniper rifle, which is chambered in 12.7×108mm, dubbed the ”Nasr”. The abbreviation of the Kalashnikov 133 was not specified, which is an important factor to note due to Iran’s use of ”KL” as prefix to their domestically produced Kalashnikovs, while Russians use ”AK”, which sheds light on whether the product is of domestic or foreign built. Either way, both rifles made their public debut, which hints at Iran ordering them at the same time. According to Tasnim News Agency[5], which quoted a report by the Iranian Ministry of Defence, the Kalashnikov 133 and Nasr are domestically manufactured at the request of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by specialists affiliated to the Ministry. This hints about the abbreviation of the rifle to be ”KL”, which makes it the KL-133. The original classification of the AK-103 as a self-loading rifle chambered in 7.62×39 mm seems to be maintained by its copy, and by Fig. 1.1, there are no major changes noticeable about the weapon except for a ribbed metal magazine, instead of a polymer one, traditionally associated with the rifle and modifications like a locally made derivative of the LHV47-S handguard[15], on which a reflex sight from the Chinese trademark ”Vector Optics” is mounted[6], a copy of a Harris bipod and a Chinese copy of the Barska AU12392 laser/light unit[23] are mounted. However, by looking at Fig.12, a ‘L/D’ selector marking can be seen on the receiver, which are typically Chinese weapon markings, instead of the Russian OA/AB. So has Iran showcased a domestic version of the AK-103 it procured from Russia or from China? What is behind the use of Chinese weapon markings? Wouldn’t the change of selector markings be a violation of the alleged license it acquired?
Fig. 1.1. An Iranian officer from the Law Enforcement Force, abbreviated as NAJA, posing with the Kalashnikov 133 during its public debut at the Hazrat Ali Akbar ceremony on 21 April 2017 (Source: via Tasnim News Agency)
Fig. 1.2. Cropped image with evident L/D selector markings on the Kalashnikov 133 receiver
Fig. 1.3. A weapon markings table from an operator’s manual for the AK-47. The L/D selector markings seen in figure 1.2 corresponds with PRC (China). The AB/OA markings originate from the USSR, still in use by Russia (Source: ARES CONMAT)
The Sino-Iranian Tale
According to multiple pro-IRGC sources familiar with the operational status of the AK-103 in Iran, by being affiliated to the organisation and having used these rifles into practice, the L/D selector markings seen on the AK-103 public debut ceremony has a rather interesting backstory, which goes back to Iran’s M4/M16-pattern self-loading rifle stockpiles it acquired from Iraqi loot which poured into the country. After a series of events which spanned over a course of several years, Iran allegedly cooperated with Norinco to reverse engineer[14][17][18] the AK-103[19][20] it attained from the Syrian Civil War (reportedly through free samples given as a gift from Russia which were shipped to Iran)[14] to replace the Sayyad and CQ 5.56 rifles for the IRGC special forces (SOF), aiming for low production costs.[17][18][21] The rifle that resulted from the Sino-Iranian cooperation was given the name KL-133, bearing the prefix of the KL-series of self-loading rifles it locally produced from the Chinese Type 56 series of self-loading rifles Iran purchased during the Iran-Iraq war. The KL-133 was produced by Shahid Hamedani Industries[22], which is a manufacturing plant of the Defense Industries Organization (DIO), whose function is to provide Iran’s Armed Forces with military equipment. The rifles had L/D selector markings, which are used in China and the older Iranian KL-series but apart from that, there are no noticeable differences on the exterior of the rifle compared to the original AK-103. The KL-133 did not go beyond a few samples due to low quality, such as the barrel and plastics used for the buttstock and handguard of the rifle as reported by its users and production stopped. Despite Iran’s desire to avoid reliance on foreign sources, Iran subsequently sought an AK-103 license from Russia[12][13][14] and purchased the rifle, as stated by Brig. General Dehghan in his 2016 press conference. Iran’s licensed copy of the rifle is dubbed the ”AK-133”, which bears the legacy of its Russian prefix. This version can be distinguished from the KL-133 by its Russian AB/OA selector markings, compared to the KL’s Chinese styled L/D markings. It is reportedly produced by Shahid Karimi Industries of the DIO in Tabriz, which is also responsible for upgrades to the rifle if necessary. Iran managed to put a temporary end to its search for suitable small arms for it’s SOF requiring compliance to modern standards. It remains to be seen whether the AK-103 means that the older KL-series variants can be phased out of service, and whether we will see its proliferation outside Iranian borders.
Fig. 2.1. The KL-133 rifle informational chart. Note the similarities of this rifle to the one which was presented in the 2016 press conference, the only difference between them being the selector lever; in this being of Type 56-pattern while the other being of AKM-pattern. The pistol grip is the G22 Ergonomic Pistol Grip made by CAA USA[16], which is presumably installed on the other rifle as well (Source: DIO’s 2021 Catalogue)
Fig. 2.2. The AK-133 rifle informational chart (Source: @SNTankograd on Telegram)
Fig. 2.3. KL-133 identified by it’s L/D selector markings (Source: @sorenam_ on Twitter)
Fig. 2.4. The KL-133 rifle (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 2.5. Iranian Hostage Rescue Team of the SOF Brigade of the 16th Armored Division of Qazvin as part of a deployment to northwestern borders during rising tensions with Azerbaijan on 6 November 2020 (Source: IRNA News Agency)
Fig. 2.6. Cropped image with evident L/D selector markings on the KL-133 receiver. Note the usage of a AKM-style selector lever opposed to the Type 56-style selector lever in the former images, which hypothetically could point to the presence of at least two visually confirmed variants of the KL-133, the details of which are lacking
Fig. 2.7. AK-103/133 identified by it’s AB/OA selector markings (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 2.8. AK-103/133 in the hands of a Fatehin SOF unit of the Basij militia, which is one of the branches of the IRGC. The inserted polymer magazine is of note (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 2.9. Cropped and inverted image for better visibility on the AB/OA selector markings
Usage
On 21 September 2016, just one month after Brig. General Dehghan’s press conference on the AK-103 procurement, IRGC officers were seen parading with AK-103 rifles, during Iran’s anniversary of the Iraqi invasion in 1980. On 20 January 2017, Tasnim News Agency[8] reported the sighting of the AK-103 during the Imam Ali military exercise by the IRGC Ground Force (IRGC-GF) in western Iran, marking it the first time photographic evidence was issued regarding operational use of the AK-103.
Since then, notable contemporary sightings of the AK-103 include the IRGC-GF drill ”Great Prophet-12” in 2018, which was the first time the IRGC conducted a offensive wargame and saw the rifle in abundant use and the joint Russo-Iranian ”Maritime Security Belt 2021” exercise in the Indian Ocean, which featured Russian naval infantrymen from the Baltic Fleet with Iranian naval SOF from the IRGC and Artesh (Iranian Army).
Fig. 3.1. IRGC officers seen parading, featuring the AK-103 for the first time (Source: IRNA News Agency)
Fig. 3.2. IRGC-GF units during the Imam Ali exercise, with an AK-103 on the forefront, equipped by a biker through a rifle sling (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
As Iran has a nature of trying to keep its defence industry largely behind classified doors, photographic material to fact-check claims by the Iranian Ministry of Defence regarding the AK-103 is useful for measuring the operational use and frequency of the rifle in the ranks of the Armed Forces. As Iran’s defence industry is predominantly state-owned, the responsibilities regarding the implementation of upgrade kits, which is presumably drafted by the factories tasked to produce the rifle on which it is installed, may require approval by high-ranking military officials before being handed over to their respective units. However, the import of weapon accessories through the black market is an common alternative to fulfil desired needs faster. Therefore, we will analyse some photographs of particular interest to see which forces have been spotted using the AK-103 and any potential modifications done to them. Note that due to vast similarities of Iran’s AK-103 variants, which makes it impossible to identify them on some pictures, the low amount of KL-133s built before production stopped[14] and the presumed high quantity of AK-133s produced over the years, we will name the rifles the ”AK-103/133”. Exceptions to this will be noted.
Fig. 3.3. Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari’s visit to an AK-133 production line of the Iranian Ministry of Defence[27] (Source: @militaryiran1 on Telegram)
Fig. 3.4. NAJA border guards at a border checkpoint in Sardasht, featuring an AK-103/133 in the middle (Source: Fars News Agency)
Fig. 3.5. 65th Airborne SOF (NOHED) unit equipped with an AK-103/133 (Source: @militarism._.iran on Instagram)
Fig. 3.6. 75th Iranian Navy (NEDAJA) Fleet units posing with Rear Admiral Shahram Irani during a welcome ceremony after a deployment mission, featuring folding-stock variant AK-103/133s (Source: defapress)
Fig. 3.7 NEDAJA SOF units during the delivery ceremony of ”Dena” destroyer and ”Shahin” minehunter in Bandar Abbas, featuring AK-103/133s (Source: defapress)
Fig. 3.8. IRGC-GF border guards from the Ashura Corps in East Azerbaijan province during a visit by Ayatollah Ale-Hashem in Tabriz, featuring an AK-103/133 equipped by an unit second from the left (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 3.9. Fatehin SOF weapon instructor of the Basij explaining the capabilities of his AK-103/133 to Second Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh in Tehran. The rifle has a Spike 2.5-10x40EG scope with integrated laser[28] mounted on a probable MI-AKSM picatinny rail top[29] derivative locally made by Rayan Roshd Afzar[31] (company known to be behind the manufacturing of Iranian thermal scopes which proliferated in Iraq, Syria and Yemen[30]), a tri-rail mount configuration on the default polymer handguard and a tan rubber grip glove (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
Fig. 3.10. AK-103/133 mounted with a Schmidt & Bender 5-12×50 PM II-style scope equipped by an IRGC-GF unit (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 3.11. Fatehin SOF unit of the Basij with a presumably Chinese copy of the EOtech 512 Holographic Weapon Sight mounted on an AK-103/133 (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 3.12. AK-103/133 mounted with a locally made RU-03 optic from Rayan Roshd Afzar equipped by an IRGC-GF unit (Source: @iranian_militarism on Telegram)
Fig. 3.13. Fatehin SOF unit of the Basij during a military exercise with a presumably Chinese copy of the EOtech EXPS2 Holographic Weapon Sight and a clear polymer magazine on an AK-103/133 (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
Fig. 3.14. Fatehin SOF Rapid Reaction Force unit of the Basij during an aerial exercise near the city of Karaj with a NPZ PO4x24 optical sight mounted on an AK-103/133 (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
Fig. 3.15. Saberin SOF unit of the IRGC-GF during the ”Great Prophet-16” drill with a Barska 4×20 mm sight[34] mounted on an AK-103/133 (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
Fig. 3.16. Fatehin SOF units as part of the ”Tactical Shooting Team” Iran sent to Russia’s International Army Games 2021. The AK-103/133 rifle has a UTG PRO side mount[32] derivative with a mounted Firefield Impact XLT Reflex Sight[32], a DLG-056/051 stock[33], M-LOK handguard and modded compensator. This rifle configuration is the most extensive one so far (Source: Tasnim News Agency)
This is Ali K’s first contribution to Silah Report, he is interested in geopolitics and military affairs of the MENA in the contemporary world. Twitter.
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