Zastava M21
The Zastava M21 is a Serbian 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
Zastava M21
Aleksej fon Grozni at Serbian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 rs
- Name
- Zastava M21
- Field
- assault rifle
- Period
- 2004
- Region
- Serbia
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Documentary summary
The Zastava M21 is a Serbian 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
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wikidata · Q148248 · wikipedia · Zastava M21
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Zastava M21 • Origin — Serbia and Montenegro • Type — Assault rifle • Is Ranged — Yes • Used By — See Users • Wars — Iraq War Conflict in Peru Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War Boko Haram insurgency • Designer — Marinko Petrović • Manufacturer — Zastava Arms • Unit Cost — $630 (2016) • Production Date — 2004–present • Number — 15,000 • Variants — See Variants • Weight — 4.15 kg (M21 A) 4.07 kg (M21 S) 3.91 kg (M21 C) • Length — 1000 mm stock extended, 750 mm stock folded (M21A) 915 mm stock extended, 666 mm stock folded (M21S) 815 mm stock extended, 570 mm stock folded (M21C) • Part Length — 460 mm (M21 A) 375 mm (M21 S) 290 mm (M21 C) • Cartridge — 5.56×45mm NATO • Action — Gas-operated (rotating bolt) • Rate — 680 rounds/min • Velocity — 925 m/s (M21 A) 890 m/s (M21 S M193) 870 m/s (M21 S M855) • Range — 450 m with iron sights 600 m with optics • Feed — 30-round detachable box magazine • Sights — Adjustable iron sights, optional mount required for optical sights
Variants
Variants
• Illustration — Serbian gendarmes armed with M21s • M21 A – Standard baseline assault rifle. • M21 ABS – Built-in picatinny rail system. • M21 S – Compact short barrel assault rifle. • M21 SBS – Built-in picatinny rail system. • M21 C – Carbine. • M21 BS – Built-in picatinny rail system.
Users
Users
• Illustration — A map with users of the Zastava M21 in blue • Azerbaijan – Used by special forces • Bosnia and Herzegovina – Used by the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska. • Cameroon – Used by the Rapid Intervention Brigade • Iraq • Lebanon • – 500 purchased in 2005. • Peru • Serbia – standard service rifle of the Gendarmery and the reserve service rifle of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
The full dated record · 2 entries
2004
Zastava M21 first recorded.
2004
Zastava M21 is recorded from 2004.
Description
The M21 is based on the Kalashnikov rifle, chambered in the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. The current models use a 1.5mm thick stamped receiver. The M21 can incorporate picatinny rails for mounting accessories like optics, vertical grips, bipods, etc. The Zastava M21 is gas operated, long stroke piston with a rotating bolt locking system rifle. It features a hard chromium-plated, cold forged standard rifled or an optional polygonal rifled barrel, integrated 22mm flash hider grenade launcher, heavy-duty synthetic furniture with a polymer folding stock similarly to the AK-74M, and side optics rail as standard (optional adapter base for cover mounted picatinny rail also available). The rifle can also mount a 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher. It has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds. The cyclic rate of fire is 680 rounds per minute, and the sustained rate of fire is 120 rounds/min. The Zastava M21 uses a conventional barrel, while the Zastava M21B uses a polygonal barrel. The regular barrel has six grooves with a right-hand twist. An octagonal polygonal version is also available and has four grooves with a right-hand twist (M21B). Barrels are also hard chrome plated to provide a longer service life. The rifle has conventional iron sights that consist of a front post and a flip-up rear sight with 300m and 500m apertures. A set of picatinny rails on the hand guard can mount various optoelectronic devices. The M21 is a modular weapon, with configuration dependent on the task and mission. Choices of optical sights include "TELEOPTIK" (ON M04) and "ZRAK" (ON M04A). Optoelectronic devices include a reflex sight ("MARS" M04), two bookmark target lasers ("AIM2000" M04A and "INFIZ" M04), two passive monoculars (M04 MINI N/SEAS and "MARS" M04+MINI N/SEAS), passive sight ("SOVA" PN 3x50).
References
Citations
References
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Broader subject
1- assault rifleTerminology
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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