The A-91 bullpup assault rifle (also known as A-91M) was developed during the 1990s by KBP (Instrument Design Bureau) in Tula, as an offspring of the A-91 family of compact assault rifles described in the 9A-91 article. While the A-91 retains the basic gas-operated, rotating bolt action and a trigger unit design from 9A-91, it features a bullpup polymer housing, with an integral 40 mm single-shot grenade launcher mounted under the barrel. The earliest prototypes of the A-91 bullpup were fitted with the grenade launcher above the barrel, and with a front vertical foregrip; current models are fitted with the underbarrel launcher, which also serves as a forearm. The A-91 features a forward ejection system, initially developed in Tula by designers like Afanasiev during the early 1960s. In this system, the ejection port is located above the pistol grip, and points forward. Extracted cases are fed from bolt head through the short ejection tube to the ejection port, and fall out of the gun well clear of the shooter's face, even when firing from the left shoulder. As for now, the A-91 is made in small number and, probably, is used by some elite law enforcement units in Russia; it is also offered for export and domestic military and police sales.
Advantages[]
- Compactness.
- Weapon construction prevents gas contamination near shooter's face.
- The weapon can be used for shooting from both right and left shoulders, thanks to its progressive sleeve-extraction mechanism.