20th-21st century
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AK-47
The Soviet-designed Kalashnikov assault rifle, cheaply available throughout East Africa from decades of regional conflict and military surplus, and the standard weapon of modern Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean since the early 2000s. Variants including Chinese- and Yugoslav-made underfolding-stock models have been recovered from seized pirate skiffs. Its…
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RPG-7
A shoulder-fired, reusable rocket-propelled grenade launcher, used by modern Somali pirates to intimidate and threaten commercial vessels, and occasionally to fire on ships that refused to stop or slowed pursuit. Its warhead can penetrate a merchant ship’s thin hull plating. Available for roughly $300 from Somalia’s post-conflict arms stockpiles, it became a signature weapon of…