If I remember correctly, the MIG-29 was largely copied from US by the Russians, and was copied from the F-15. In fact (and I'm thinking HARD) if I remember well, we caught them on several occasions stealing the technology back in the 80's. Does anybody else remember this?
I AM curious though....there's a company here in the US called Vulcan Arms Inc. (http://www.vulcanarms.com). They produce (amongh others) an AK-47 clone. I wonder what their word on this would be? :-)
What about every other firearms that's been copied on this planet?....the FN-FAL, numerous H&K models, the M-98 Mauser, Colt 1911 clones.
I do wonder though why the new Iraqi defense forces are equipping with AKs. Balistically, the 7.62x39mm cartridge is roughly equivalent to our .223 Rem (5.56 NATO). I suppose it's because of availability, but can't be certain.
The writer of this article is correct about AKs. I've had friends in the past who owned them, and they still functioned when they were dirtier, and hotter than anything else at the range. We've got a couple of Yugo M59/66 SKS rifles, and they "seem" to have this same reliability, although are notably more accurate. We've got some A-2 AR-15s as well, and they make me wonder why our military uses THAT rifle. Ah well...I'll always think it was a MISTAKE to replace the 7.62 NATO with that .223 Rem cartridge. ...sigh...
With all due respect, that's not quite so. Based on Remington Express Cartridges here's some data.
.223: 55 gr Pointed Soft Point, 3240 fps muzzle vel, 1282 ft-lbs of energy
7.62x39; 125 gr Pointed Soft Point, 2365 fps muzzle, 1552 ft-lbs of energy
Maybe you're thinking of the AK-74 that's chambered in the smaller 5.45x39mm caliber? (which I can't find the ballistic data on now)
No offense meant :-)