The Ak 5 or Automatkarbin 5 ("automatic carbine 5", "automatic carbine" being the Swedish term for assault rifle) is the Swedish version of the FN FNC assault rifle with certain modifications, mostly to adapt the weapon to the partially subarctic Swedish climate. The Ak5 is the service rifle of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Ak5 replaced the Ak 4 (a licensed-produced version of the Heckler & Koch G3) in Swedish service. Later versions also accept the Colt M203 grenade launcher attachment. The current standard issue version is the Ak 5C. In 2021, Sweden announced that they were looking to develop a new rifle in collaboration with Finland, which would replace the Ak5. History In the mid-1970s, despite the failure of the Nytt infanterivapen (New Infantry Weapon) program, the Swedish Armed Forces decided to continue to follow the general transition towards smaller calibre ammunition and directed the Försvarets MaterielVerk (FMV) (Defence Materiel Administration) to procure a suitable replacement for the Ak 4 capable of using 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition, which under STANAG4172 is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. The weapon was required to be highly reliable in the subarctic climate of northernmost Sweden, as well as being easy to handle and maintain, while meeting a certain minimum level of accuracy. From 1975 the FMV evaluated and tested the Colt M16A1, Stoner 63A1, ArmaLite AR-18, Steyr AUG, Beretta M70, IMI Galil, FN FNC, FN CAL, SIG 540, HK33 and FFV 890C (a Swedish Galil variant) 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles. The FN FNC and FFV 890C were tested in 1979-1980 at infantry regiment I11 in Växjö. After further testing from 1981-1985 the FMV eventually chose the Belgian FN FNC, which received several modifications. These included a larger trigger guard and cocking handle (to allow for operation while wearing winter gloves, a necessity for temperatures reaching down to ), a larger handguard, a different collapsible shoulder stock, different iron sights and gas block, a modified bolt, deletion of the 3-round burst capability, and a corrosion-resistant green (instead of black) finish. Further the detachable box magazines were modified to be interchangeable with the M16 rifle STANAG magazines. This rifle was finally accepted by the Swedish military as the Ak5 in 1986. Swedish blank ammunition uses a wooden plug in place of a bullet, so the flash suppressor was fitted with grooves to accept the Swedish blank-firing adaptor, which prevents