If you’re into Kalashnikov rifles, you probably miss the good old days. It has been a while since AK enthusiasts heard any good news about their hobby, and it seems that things are only getting worse every year: sanctions, tariffs, bans, and other troubles are constantly driving prices up and availability down.
But before SHOT Show 2026, “Atlantic Firearms” announced that they’re starting to import AK parts from Azerbaijan. The fact that Azerbaijan manufactures AKs was a surprise for many, but not for me, since I have been trying to research this topic since 2020.
In 2022, after visiting the ADEX exhibition in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, I published two posts about Azerbaijani armaments here on TFB. The first one covered AKs, machine guns, and sniper rifles; the second was about heavy machine guns and anti-materiel rifles.
Since Azerbaijani weapons are becoming available to the US, I think it makes sense to take a closer look at what their defense industry can offer for the US civilian market.
First, a little bit of history. When the Soviet Union collapsed, some newly independent countries inherited parts of the USSR’s military-industrial complex. For example, Kazakhstan had a manufacturing plant that makes NSV heavy machine guns, which is still operational, Uzbekistan had an ammo manufacturing factory called “Vostok”, and Kyrgyzstan has a BSP ammo factory in Bishkek.
Some other former Soviet republics did not get significant assets related to weapon manufacturing, and that was the case of Azerbaijan. In the time of the Soviet Union, it had no small arms production, and after gaining independence, the country had to build everything from scratch.
Originally, the Iglim factory was an aerospace engineering plant, but in 2003, it was transferred under direct control of the Ministry of Defense. By 2011, the factory was producing AK-74M chambered in 5.45x39. Some sources indicate that the local name for this rifle is "Khazri", but I’ve only seen this name in the media. The license to produce this rifle was obtained in Russia, and Izhmash engineers consulted the factory during the construction and setting up of production facilities.
Within a few years, the Iglim factory announced production of AKs in other calibers: 7.62x39 and 5.56x45. Allegedly, a third country provided equipment and expertise that allowed the Azerbajani factory to expand its product line.
The 5.56x45 version is called EM-14, and over the years, several versions of this rifle have been demonstrated at various exhibitions. Generally, EM-14 looks almost exactly like the Russian AK-101, since both the EM-14 and AK-101 are direct derivatives of AK-74M.
The Azerbaijani AK in 7.62x39 is designated “AZ”, at different expos I’ve seen versions called “AZ 50” or “AZ M”, but most likely those are not official designations.
This “AZ” is often demonstrated with an increased capacity 7.62x39 magazine. A similar magazine was designed at the Kalashnikov Group in Russia, however, it never went into mass production.
Since Iglim AKs are very similar to Russian-made Kalashnikov rifles, the best way to identify them is to look at markings. First of all, on Iglim rifles you will see a dot-pinned caliber designation on the left side of the rear sight; Russian guns don’t have that.
Another giveaway is the selector markings, “AU” for full auto, and “SA” for semi-auto mode. As far as I know, no other manufacturer uses the same selector markings. It is unclear what selector marking will be used for the semi-automatic version.
Since Iglim parts are now available in the US, the question I get the most is: “What about the quality?” These AKs have been available in the international market for almost a decade; multiple countries purchased them, and so far, I haven’t heard any complaints.
Some sources say that even before Atlantic started officially importing parts from Iglim, the same parts were brought in and sold under the brand name “Russian standard”. However, when it comes to AK parts kits, it is hard to be sure - many of those deals and contracts are worthy of spy fiction novels.
Personally, I think that the Iglim factory has at least one more product that can be successful in the US market. At the IDEX 2025 expo, they demonstrated a domestic version of the Dragunov SVD semi-automatic sniper rifle.
At the exhibition, this rifle was called YST-24. There is very little information about it available, but it seems to be a decent Dragunov clone, and with classic wood furniture, it might become a sought-after weapon among US collectors.
But for now, there are only parts, and nobody knows if actual guns will ever become available.
