AK-1 PDW design 01

This design is for a Personal Defense Weapon, PDW, that exists in my A&K-1 dreamscape where Earth has been fighting off an alien invasion for over two years now. All the governments on Earth are working on a wartime economy. The problem confronting strategists is that aliens which Earth has been able to keep from establishing strong, permanent bases on the planet are still capable of dropping forces almost anywhere on the planet at anytime. Yes many of these attacks are repelled or greatly diminished before they even finish their drop from orbit, but you can still end up with enemy forces landing where you have no full-time ground forces stationed. Therefore it has become important to arm a good portion of the general population and to provide them with some level of self-defense so they can act as stop-gap militia until regular forces show up on the scene. In many ways the entire world looks like certain parts of Israel.

One of the key weapons of that arsenal is this PDW. Personal Defense Weapon. Larger than a pistol but lighter than a full size rifle this carbine-like weapon, it is easier to shoot accurately than pistol but not so heavy and cumbersome to make unfeasible for constant carry. The designers also had to account for the wide range of heights, weights and body strengths that are present in this universe while at the same time providing a weapon with a cartridge that had enough oomph to be of some use. Also several economic and manufacturing elements were added to the equation.

This was a weapon that had to be mass-produced in very large numbers. 6 to 7 million of this design would be needed just to start the arming process! Then you'd needed to allow for continual replacement for attrition and further expansion of the program. Since the worlds governments are all ready pouring their economies into the war this weapon would have to be made on the cheap! Valuable aluminum and titanium alloys are being slated aircraft and other high priority projects. All available CNC and polymer manufacturing is also primarily targeted for front-line forces. What's available still? Steel-stamping and lots of it! Yes it makes it heavier than ideal for a PDW but it's available.

In many ways this PDW design has more in common with WWII weapons than with newer designs of the post Cold-War era. No investment casting, no stainless steel, no polymer frames. It is almost as if someone was trying to reinvent the STEN gun. Just with better quality control. No complex curves or shape to it. Machining is kept to an absolute minimum and again simple shapes only. It designed to be produced by companies and members of the population who probably have never fabricated weapon before.

In many ways it is very crude device, and yet it still has some neat little bits of design in it. Grip panels can be changed to allow the widest range hand sizes to use it. Instead of a trigger the weapon has a squeeze-bar. This allows people with weak or small hands use their entire hand strength, or if the person was wearing mittens they fire it without taking them off.The front hand grip also acts as screwdriver and as the handle for the cleaning rod that stows on one side of the weapon.

Unfortunately it is right hand eject only, southpaws either fire it from the right or not at all, but it made the design simpler. It has two modes of fire, semi-auto and three round burst. With a 30rd magazine you get 10 bursts then it's reload time. There are no tritium sights. No Picatinny rail system for dotscopes. lasers, and tactical lights. It has a basic two position aperture sight and the front can only be adjusted by an armorer.

It is meant for civilians who have passed a qualification course and are then expected to have with them at all times. It fires a small caliber HV cartridge that trades some stopping power for increased penetration and reduced recoil impulse. Very much like a FN P90.