Unlike the AK-74 and AKS-74, which were provided to allies of the Soviet Union and allowed to be produced under license, the AK-74M continued production solely in the Russian Federation due to the collapse of the Soviet Union shortly after its deployment.
The AK-100 series is based on the AK-74M and is designed for export, chambered for the Western-standard 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and the older 7.62x39mm cartridge. The AK-74M can be considered a full-size model comparable to the AK-105 (a carbine model that uses 5.45x39mm ammunition), similar to the relationship between the AK-101 and AK-102.
The Russian military developed the AN-94 as a successor to the AK-74M. However, it was only issued to a limited number of troops due to its greater complexity, higher cost, and susceptibility to malfunctions compared to earlier AK models. Although several prototype successor rifles were introduced, none were adopted, and procurement of the AK-74M continued until September 2011.
In September 2011, the Russian military suspended the purchase of new AK-74Ms, as they already had a surplus, and the rifle was considered outdated in terms of performance—being somewhat large and lacking modern features such as Picatinny rails. The official policy was to halt the acquisition of new automatic rifles until a higher-performance model was developed and adopted.
Following this, an upgrade kit (KM-AK) was developed. This kit included a newly designed grip, a larger muzzle brake, a telescopic folding stock, a receiver cover with a Picatinny rail, and a foregrip/handguard. The kit was made available in three versions for different types of units: standard troops, reconnaissance troops, and special forces. It was first unveiled during the 2015 Victory Parade commemorating Germany's defeat in World War II.
Currently, due to budget constraints and the large number of existing AK-74 models, the Russian military is expected to both procure the new AK-12 and upgrade existing AK-74Ms with the KM-AK kit.