The AO-46 was a gas-operated 5.45x39mm caliber, compact carbine/assault rifle prototype. It features a folding stock and the trigger is located just in front of the magazine, which doubles as pistol grip. In order to minimize the length of the gun, gas for automatic operation was collected not out of the barrel, but directly from the flash suppressor in the muzzle. Despite having the latter feature, the combination of a relative powerful cartridge and short barrel produced a flash comparable to that of a sawed-off shotgun.