[IDEF 2025] Turkish Akdas SEMX-55 Rifles

In recent decades, the Turkish defense industry has experienced exponential growth, with new firearms manufacturers emerging every year. Although most factories produce copies of well-established designs: FN Minimi (M249), AR-15s, AKs, and various 12-gauge shotguns, there is a small list of companies that tried to go beyond making copies of known designs. One of those manufacturers is Akdas. James Reeves from TFB TV did a few videos about their products, and in this post we will take a look at their latest rifle called SEMX-55.

Some called this rifle “The Turkish MCX” because it doesn’t have a buffer spring in the stock. However, the SEMX-55 bolt carrier group is very different compared to the MCX and was developed independently.

This new version of the rifle features an M-LOK handguard with two rows of slots on the sides and ironsights mounted on the top rail. The stock is mounted via Picatinny rail, and the ergonomics are conventional and familiar to anyone who knows how to use an AR-15.

The rifle at the Akdas booth was equipped with an under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) AK-40GLJ made by the same manufacturer. It can be used both as a standalone grenade launcher and a UBGL.

Akdas imports this rifle to the USA as a pistol with a 10-inch barrel under the designation Akdas SEM-55 .223. The importer is Classic Firearms; they also import spare barrels for the rifle chambered in 300 BLK.

Last year, SEMX-55 appeared in Bolivian news. A large batch of Turkish weapons was being smuggled to the country, including six SEMX-55 rifles, pistol caliber carbines from the same manufacturer, as well as some AKs and shotguns.

This incident highlights the fact that in the coming years, we will see more and more Turkish firearms all around the world, sometimes in the most unexpected places.