The design also incorporates an upward-curved charging handle, a wire side-folding stock (based on the East German design, but offset slightly to the left and featuring a button-release instead of a lever), and a traditional vertical handgrip.

The rifle is one of only a few AK versions that have a 3-round burst option, with the Polish Tantal being the only other Warsaw Pact variant.

The burst mode is achieved through a ratcheting device on the left side of the receiver that interacts with the trigger group on the trigger-disconnector and hammer pins.

Its location eliminates the need for an anti-pin walkout device, such as a Shepard's Crook on semi-auto AKs and extended auto sear spring on full-autos.

The Tantal functions in a similar manner with ratcheting device on trigger-disconnector and hammer pins, though has a separate safety and selector switch and eliminates the rate reducer.

[3] The safety stop is cut lower allowing the selector to travel further down just off the edge of the receiver for its burst mode position and as such has the following markings, from top to bottom: ∞, 1, 3.

Combat divers also use a version with straight handguards, as the forward grip is considered to be cumbersome for amphibious operations.

An earlier, short-lived version used a fire control group similar to the 7.62 mm md.