https://www.businessinsider.com/american-sniper-in-ukraine-prefer-soviet-rifles-easier-get-bullets-2024-4

  • VHS [he/him]
    hexbear
    85
    2 months ago

    Why do they describe the AK-74 as "Soviet-era" when it's the main service rifle of both Russia and Ukraine and still being produced? That's like calling the M16 "Vietnam War-era".

    • Flyberius [comrade/them]
      hexbear
      92
      2 months ago

      Because every sentence in Western media is meticulously crafted to push a narrative. In this case I imagine they are trying to push the idea that Russian tech is inferior

    • Moss [they/them]
      hexbear
      42
      2 months ago

      Also the "Soviet-era" ended in the 90s, but the implication is always that it's WW2 technology. The M16 should be called "Nixon-era" or some other nonsense

      • Bloobish [comrade/them]
        hexbear
        20
        2 months ago

        Yep but aren't those also chambered for the same rounds more or less? Either way kalashnikov stays winning

      • Tunnelvision [they/them]
        hexbear
        10
        2 months ago

        That’s probably not going to happen until after the war is over. It usually takes a while for a big change like that. Getting AK12s to units has been a problem for the Russians and those who did receive them told the MOD that there were problems with them that they have recently fixed from what I understand. Many units still prefer the AK-74 because they still have plenty of suppressors and other attachments for those where as suppressors for the AK-12 are not as readily available yet.

    • EmoThugInMyPhase [he/him]
      hexbear
      17
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      The soviets produced a shit ton of them, so a good percentage were literally produced in the Soviet era. But in this context it doesn’t matter since both modern and soviet era AKs are largely unchanged, and using one or the other doesn’t really matter. It would make sense to specify the era if the production quality was superior or something.