Picatinny rails of new Kalashnikov make it unique weapon

Picatinny rails of new Kalashnikov make it unique weapon
03.04.2012
The new AK-12 Kalashnikov assault rifle, which was unveiled in Russia in the middle of February, meets the requirements of Russian customers. Furthermore, the new rifle has good chances to succeed on the foreign market, the designers of the legendary weapon say. According to them, the new Kalashnikov proves that the maker of the rifle has changed its line of conduct and started listening to complaints. The 12th Kalashnikov, Izhmash officials said, has a number of features that make it different from the previous series of the rifle. The AK-12 may therefore become the basic model for future developments.

"Nowadays, there is no point to produce arms only for military men. We are making a universal platform, and on the base of this platform we will be able to produce a variety of modifications. There will be a whole range of defense and civil products produced on the base of the AK-12. The Ministry for Interior Affairs and Defense Ministry have already evinced interest in the new rifle. We are negotiating the presentation of the product for the administration of the Russian defense department in April," Maksim Kuzyuk, the General Director of Izhmash, said in an interview with the Vedomosti newspaper.

Russia unveils fifth-generation Kalashnikov rifle

Tweet Print version Font Size Send to friendIzhmash officials said in the beginning of the year that it could be possible to design up to 20 different models of arms on the base of the AK-12. However, the head of the enterprise said that the engineers were busy with developing the design of future assault rifles.

The new AK-12 has caused quite a commotion in Russia. Defense officials noted earlier that the new rifle did not differ much from the modifications of the AK-47. Therefore, the new rifle will have the same drawbacks which the prototype had. Officials with the Russian Defense Ministry stated that they were not going to order anything from Izhmash in 2012. The ministry described the requirements to small arms in 2010, but received nothing in return.

Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated, though, that American specialists had acknowledged the advantages of the Russian rifle. Interior Ministry officials also said that they were satisfied with the new Kalashnikov. However, a number of military experts said that the AK-12 was far behind the fifth-generation category.

Izhmash, the maker of the AK-12, is satisfied with its new product. The main reason for satisfaction is the usage of the Picatinny rail that gives an opportunity to enhance the basic model with auxiliary equipment, such as sights, rangefinders, grenade launchers and so on.

"To a certain extent, Defense Ministry officials are right when they say that Izhmash does not have any new products. We realize that, so our new team set a goal to make a new assault rifle. We studied the advantages of the defense ministry, special services, as well as the range of automatic weapons that we have now. We found optimal solutions for a number of problems during our work. In the new AK, we managed to provide wide opportunities for mounting additional devices and to considerably improve ergonomics," Kuzyuk said.

The above-mentioned Picatinny rails will be used for the production of other weapons. They will allow Izhmash to make the products that meet customers' requirements, the general director of the company pointed out.

He also emphasized that Russian assault rifles still remained the most reliable rifles in the world. However, it did not help the company win a number of large tenders.