Use by foreign military and mercenary forces

The AMD-65 has been exported to the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq. An increasing number of western mercenaries, including contract employees of Blackwater Worldwide who are serving in the latter two countries, use highly modified AMD-65s rather than conventional 5.56mm based rifles. The combination of a larger caliber and shorter size provides better punch for short range combat. The metal front handguard lends itself well to a relatively easy refit with multiple Picatinny rails, allowing use of red-dot optics, tactical lamps and other accessories. The wire buttstock rod can be reshaped to allow use of 75-round RPK drum magazines even with the stock folded, and the weapon's internal mechanism can be tuned with aftermarket recoil dampers for smoother behaviour in full-auto mode.