Nikonov NA-2 and NA-4

The NA-2 and NA-4 were two early factory prototypes created by Gennadiy Nikonov during the development of AN-94. Although they used a similar mechanism with the later prototypes of Nikonov AS and ASM, the NA series differed in that they were of bullpup configuration, which was later abandoned by Nikonov stating with the first AS prototype.

The pistol grip of NA-2 and NA-4 is rather unusual even for this type of design. It is angled forward rather than backward, forcing the shooter to lean significantly into the gun; it was also located very close to the magazine. As with the early prototypes of AN-94, these guns cold fire a three-round burst at 1,800 rpm before switching to a lower cyclic rate of 600 rpm. (The 1,800 rpm cycle was reduced to just two rounds later in the development of the AS-series prototypes.)