The Kalashinikov automatic rifle model 1974, or AK-74M, is an updated version of the proven AK design that was first developed by Mikhail Kalashinikov in 1946. This version of the AK design fires the smaller 5.45x39mm cartridge and utilizes polymer furniture that results in a lighter, more accurate and reliable rifle than its predecessor. Developed during the early 1970s, it first saw service in 1979 in the Soviet and Afghanistan conflict. It is still used by many of the former countries of the USSR, as well as other Eastern European countries, Mongolia, North Korean Special Forces, and the Vietnamese Peoples Naval infantry.