Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 415 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.14 kg
- Introduced
- 1972
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Maadi AKM (officially designated 'ARM' for Automatic Rifle Misr) is the Egyptian license-built variant of the Soviet AKM, manufactured by Factory 54 of the Maadi Company for Engineering Industries in Cairo. Production began in 1972 using imported Soviet components, with full domestic manufacturing established by 1976; by the mid-1980s the factory was producing roughly 50,000 rifles annually. Functionally identical to the Soviet AKM - a stamped steel receiver gas-operated assault rifle in 7.62x39mm with selective fire and a slant muzzle brake - the Maadi gained particular fame in the United States as one of the highest-quality AKM-pattern rifles ever imported, before the 1989 import ban.
Maadi's tooling came from the Soviets in the 1950s, taught to Egyptian engineers under Nasser; when Sadat pivoted to the Americans in the 1970s, the Russians left but the line kept running - and within twenty years Egypt was selling its AKMs back to American collectors as some of the best-built AKs in the world.
Maadi rifles fall into several model families: ARM (full-auto military), MISR (semi-auto US export), RML (long-barrel), and RPM (RPK-pattern squad automatic). Pre-ban Maadi imports remain among the most valued AK-pattern rifles in the US civilian collector market.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Factory 54 (Maadi Company for Engineering Industries)
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- Egypt
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 1972
- Variant of
- License built
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 415 mm
- Overall length
- 870 mm
- Sight radius
- 378 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.14 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 3.70 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated long stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 715 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2010 J
- Effective range
- 350 m
- Maximum range
- 1000 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Stamped steel receiver
Slant muzzle brake
Rotating bolt
Rate reducer
Compatible with ak drum magazines
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 59 7.62x39mm assault rifles | 3.14 kg | 3.60 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 58 7.62x39mm assault rifles | 870 mm | 880 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 57 7.62x39mm assault rifles | 415 mm | 415 mm | Near the median |
| Magazine capacityAmong 59 7.62x39mm assault rifles | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)
How much does the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) weigh?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) weighs 3.14 kg (6.92 lb) empty and 3.70 kg (8.16 lb) loaded. It is the 10th lightest of 59 7.62x39mm assault rifles in the catalogue.
What caliber is the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) is chambered in 7.62x39mm.
How many rounds does the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) hold?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) is 870 mm (34.3 in) long overall, with a 415 mm (16.3 in) barrel.
Who makes the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) is made by Factory 54 (Maadi Company for Engineering Industries) (Egypt). It was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
When was the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) introduced?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) was introduced in 1972.
How does the Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) operate?
The Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM) uses a gas operated long stroke action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Egyptian Armed Forces
- 1972
- Iraqi Armed Forces
- Iraq
- Lebanese Armed Forces
- Lebanon
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/maadi-akm' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "maadi-akm", "name": "Maadi AKM (Misr / ARM)", "manufacturer": { "id": "factory-54", "name": "Factory 54 (Maadi Company for Engineering Industries)", "countryCode": "EG", "foundedYear": 1954, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-05-04 12:38:54", "updatedAt": "2026-05-04 12:38:54", "version": "ad404316ffc2b281a1f18c2a67057f3e329ca70a28007a0f17e1db7f9ffbe736" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "EG", "year_introduced": 1972, "barrel_length_mm": 415, "weight_empty_g": 3140, "action_type": "gas_operated_long_stroke"}