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The 5.45×39mm (5.45 Russian, 5.45) cartridge was introduced into service in 1974 for use with the new AK-74 assault rifle. It gradually supplemented and then largely replaced the 7.62x39mm round in service with the Russian military, and is now the current standard service ammunition for the Russian military.

It was designed to compete with the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge.

Design details[]

The 5.45×39mm is a rimless, bottlenecked cartridge, and virtually all of the military 5.45 produced is steel-cased. Most 5.45×39mm cartridges are Berdan primed; some are Boxer primed, and use small rifle primers.

The bullet diameter is nominally 5.45mm; the actual diameter is 5.62mm. It fires with a maximum pressure of about 55,000 PSI, and is best fired in a barrel with a 1:10 rifling twist; if the barrel is shorter, the twist may be considerably tighter to help stabilize the bullet in flight.

Variants[]

There are a few variants of 5.45×39mm, and it has a growing commercial market; new developments are very recent.

Military[]

5N7[]

This cartridge was introduced in 1974. It has a full metal jacket boattail bullet with a mild steel core, and a hollow cavity near the tip. The bullet weighs in at 49 grains.

7N6[]

This cartridge has a red ring above the cartridge neck to identify it. It has a steel core (the steel rod penetrator), and was developed in response to increased body armor use on the battlefield. The bullet weighs in at 52 grains. With the huge number produced in the soviet union and its redundancy due to being replaced the 7N6 round is now cheaply sold into the civilian market as a surplus round.

7N6M

This cartridge is an improved version of the 7N6 Cartridge featuring the same specifications but with a thermally hardened steel rod penetrator.

7N10

Further improvement on the 7N6M cartridge. 7N10 has a longer high carbon steel penetrator and a smaller internal cavity at the front of the bullet. The 7N10 round replaced all previous cartridges as the standard service round and features identical ballistics to the 7N6M round allowing it to share the same optics and sighting mechanisms.

7N24

This cartridge was introduced in 1999 as a "super armor piercing" round with a stub cone nosed tungsten carbide penetrator. 7N24 rounds are identified with a black ring above the neck of the cartridge.

7N39

An experimental cartridge produced in 2013 in a combined effort between the Vympel Plant, FSUE TsNIItommash and TekhKomplekt LLC under the codename Igolnik. Designed to replace the 7N24 cartridge 7N39 features an advanced tungsten carbide and cobalt alloy penetrator providing 1.8 times the penetration characteristics of the previous 7N24 round and is identified with a red ring above the neck of the cartridge and a blue tip.

Commercial[]

There are several commercial 5.45×39mm loads. Some are JHP, and are usually marketed under the Wolf brand, though Tula (Tulammo) produces some 60 grain bullets. Hornady produces a 5.45×39mm load with a ballistic tip.

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