AK-47

"It's coming from up ahead, but Lambert... when I think 'guerilla', I think 'Kalashnikov' ... I've had enough AKs fired at me in my time to tell you that wasn't one."

― Sam Fisher to Irving Lambert^[src]

The AK-47 (Russian: Автомат Калашникова) is an assault rifle that was first developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the Soviet Union in 1945. Officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova, model 47, the AK-47 is one of the most widely used assault rifles in the world because of it's reliability and low manufacturing cost.

Overview[]

The AK-47 is a select-file, gas operated 7.62x39mm assault rifle with a 30 round standard magazine. It was first designed after the final year of World War II in 1945 by Russian general Mikhail Kalashnikov. In 1949 the AK-47 was accepted into the Soviet Armed Forces. The AK-47's design took influence from other weapons, including the German StG 44, U.S. M1 Carbine and the Remington Model 8.

The AK-47 is a powerful assault rifle, and it's simple, compact design and cheaper production cost makes it a very popular assault rifle around the world. It is easy to clean and maintain, something many of the other variations of the AK-47 (such as the AK-74) don't have. The AK-47 uses a notched rear tangent iron sight and the weapon's accuracy itself is not considered very accurate, with the weapon being heavy and possessing a strong recoil. This meant that the weapon was best used for close to mid-range combat, with close-range benefitting the user while firing in full-automatic mode. Perhaps it's most popular feature is it's ability to withstand harsh conditions and abuse in the environment, and still remain reliable to the user. Combining cheap production with reliability means many militaries and conflicts will involve numerous AK-47s seeing very common use on the battlefield.

It could be also noted that in popular culture the name "AK-47" is often applied not only to original model 1949 AKs, but also to later AKMs and all 7.62mm (and sometimes 5.45mm) direct clones of the AK-47 or AKM (like the Chinese Norinco Type-56 assault rifle). This also applies to the later AK-74.

Gameplay[]

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell[]

The AK-47 is seen numerous times during Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and is used by most personnel and guards that appear throughout the game. Although the AK-47 cannot be used by the player, it is favored by Vyacheslav Grinko's mercenaries and the Georgian soldiers. Despite being mostly used by almost every guard encountered in the game, the few exceptions are the CIA HQ security guards (who use MP5-Ns) and the Chinese officers during the Chinese Embassy mission who are armed with Type-95 rifles. The AK-47s in the game are typically unmodified, only attached with a metal stock but no other attachments.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow[]

The AK-47 is again present through much of the campaign of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. Suhadi Sadono used it as well as most of his guerilla fighters throughout the game, however, the player is unable to use it during the course of the game. Both the stock on the AK-47 and the sound it produces when fired sound very identical to the AK-47s found in Splinter Cell: Essentials.

Splinter Cell: Essentials[]

In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials, the AK-47 is very common, often seen in use by Columbian guerillas, Serbian soldiers, American thugs and most enemies in the flashback missions. Despite its large cailber, it is one of the weaker firearms in the game, being outperformed by the M16 and the MP5 in terms of damage.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory[]

In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Splinter Cell agent Sam Fisher tells Irving Lambert how he has been shot at enough by AK-47s that he can recognize the sound that it emits. Interesting enough, however, is that the AK-47 is only used only by North Korean soldiers during the Seoul mission; most other guards in the game use more advanced weaponry.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Version 1)[]

The AK-47 in Splinter Cell: Double Agent is used by various different groups and organizations encountered through the single player campaign, such as the Islamic terrorist cell located at the Geothermal Plant located in Iceland. During the first mission, Sam Fisher (along with rookie Splinter Cell John Hodge) had to investigate the Geothermal Plant for suspicious activity, but Hodge was shot and killed by one of the terrorists using an AK-47. The AK-47 is very common, and is the prime weapon used by both forces in the Kinshasa mission where both rebel and government soldiers alike used the assault rifle. Despite this, there are a lot of other non-AK weapons seen in the armory (and shooting range) in the JBA Headquarters.

Splinter Cell: Conviction[]

In Splinter Cell: Conviction, the AK-47 appears again and is now available as a usable weapon for the player to use (marking the first time in the Splinter Cell series to be able to use the AK-47, among other weapons). One is acquired by Victor Coste in the flashback mission that took place in Iraq. The AK-47 provides excellent stopping power across long distances and is ideal as a standard and reliable assault rifle to carry along with a sidearm. The AK-47 is not only usable, but the player can upgrade the it as well with a 4× scope as well as with an 55-round Extended Magazine, and Match Grade Ammo.

Below are the current upgrades and required P.E.C. points required to purchase the respective upgrades for the AK-47. Only when the upgrade is purchased can the upgrade be applied to the weapon:

Upgrade	P.E.C. Points
4x Scope	300 points
Extended Magazine	300 points

Splinter Cell: Blacklist[]

In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the AK-47 returns again as a usable weapon by the player. The AK-47 is a Black Market firearm, but obtainable via fallen enemies throughout the game (though without attachments). Although the HK416 has the highest DPS (Damage Per Second) out of all the weapons available (with an average of 416 DPS), the AK-47 has the second highest DPS rating out of all the weapons. This makes the AK-47 a very effective assault rifle to use.

Trivia[]

The AK-47 has appeared in every Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell title to date.
- Despite appearing in every Splinter Cell title, it is only first useable by the player in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction.
- Before Conviction, the AK-47 is the most common weapon used the enemy.
The AK-47, just like any other assault rifle equipped with it, will switch to burst fire when the player aims down the sights using the 4× scope. Despite being select-fire, the AK-47 cannot have it's firing rate alternated during normal gameplay in Splinter Cell: Conviction and Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
The AK-47 is perhaps not only the most commonly used weapon in the Splinter Cell series, but is commonly used in other forms of media as well as used by both military and organizations around the world in real-life. This is because of it's reliability and relatively cheap manufacturing cost.