The AKM (Russian: Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный; Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle modernized") is a 7.62 mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is an upgraded version of the 7.62 mm AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s. Introduced into service with the Red Army in 1959, it is the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms and it has found widespread use with most members states of the former Warsaw Pact and its many African and Asian allies. Production of Soviet rifles was carried out at both the Tula Arsenal and Izhevsk Mechanical Works.