What is the SK assault rifle?

The SK assault rifle is a Soviet-designed, semi-automatic, 7.62 x 39-mm-caliber carbine produced from the late 1940s to the early '90s in Russia, Germany, China and other Soviet-friendly countries. The SKS designation comes from the Russian Samozaryadnyj Karabin Simonova or Simonov self-loading carbine.

The SKS was designed by Simonov, one of Russia's leading weapons engineers. The box magazine contained 10 rounds. While the Soviet and Chinese versions of the SKS both had integrated bayonets, the Soviet model had a standard blade shape, while the Chinese was more spike-like. Though an outdated design, the SKS remained in use by various Soviet honor guards through the turn of the century.