Country of origin |
Russia |
Caliber |
5.45 x 39 mm |
Weight (empty) |
3.3 kg |
Length |
945 mm |
Length (with folded stock) |
725
mm |
Barrel length |
415
mm |
Muzzle velocity |
900 m/s |
Cyclic rate of fire |
700 rpm |
Practical rate of fire |
40 - 120 rpm |
Magazine capacity |
30, 60 rounds |
Sighting range |
800 m |
Range of effective fire |
~ 500 m |
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The AK-12
was developed by IZHMASH factory as a private venture both for domestic use and export
market. A prototype of this assault rifle was first revealed in
2012. Though since its introduction the prototype was heavily
modified and simplified. This weapon is intended to replace the
AK-74,
which is a standard-issue infantry rifle in service with the Russian
military. On the export market it is intended to replace an
AK-100 series. Development
and testing of the AK-12 has been completed and this weapon is ready
for production. In 2018 production of this assault rifle was being
launched. It was planned that the first batch of assault rifles will
be delivered to the Russian military by the end of 2018. In 2019
some sources reported that this assault rifle is being produced in
large numbers for the Russian military. The
new AK-12 was strongly criticized by the media as being not as cutting-edge
weapon, as some latest designs proposed by other manufacturers.
The main
goal developing the AK-12 was to improve tactical flexibility and ergonomics of the
previous weapons. Poor balance and
ergonomics were the main drawbacks of the AK-74. Even though the
AK-12 resembles previous AK-100 series weapons, and uses similar
operating principle, this weapon has been redesigned in many ways.
Though it is likely that numerous tweaks and modifications, as well
as introduction of small and fiddly parts will negatively affect
legendary reliability of AK series weapons. Also the new AK-12 is
more troublesome to field strip for cleaning.
The AK-12 is
a gas operated, selective fire weapon. It is based around the
traditional Kalashnikov design. It is expected to be simple, rugged
and reliable weapon as its predecessors. This new assault rifle is
planned to be available in two versions. The light version is
chambered for 5.45x39 mm Soviet, or 5.56x45 mm NATO ammunition, while
the AK-15
is the heavy version, chambered for a more powerful 7.62x39 mm Soviet,
or 7.62x51 mm NATO rounds.
Barrel of
the AK-12 has revised rifling for improved accuracy. The old AK-74 has inferior accuracy to most Western assault
rifles of the period.
Early
prototype of the AK-12 had a new
ambidextrous safety / fire mode selector lever. It was located above
the pistol grip, on both sides of the weapon. It had four positions
for "safe", "semi-auto", "3-round burst" and "full-auto".
The combined safety and fire mode selector lever can be
operated by a thumb, without releasing the pistol grip. It was a
huge improvement over the traditional AK-style fire mode selector,
which is awkward to use. Prototype also had a revised charging
handle that could be installed on either side of the weapon. However for some reason on later
prototypes this arrangement was dropped in favor to the traditional fire
mode selector and charging handle. Also a 3-round burst mode was
replaced on production model by a 2-round burst mode.
This new
assault rifle is compatible with a standard 30-round AK-74
magazines, as well as 45-round magazine of the
RPK-74 light
machine gun. Newer magazines for the AK-12 allow to see how many
rounds are left in the magazine. This weapon can also use newly-developed 60-round
box magazine.
Originally the AK-12
had a side-folding, adjustable telescopic stock, which
folded to the right side. However improved models of this assault
rifle have a telescopic stock, which resembles that of the US
M4 carbine.
This stock can be folded sideways.
The new
assault rifle has iron sights as standard. Sighting range is 800 m. There is also an integral Picatinny-type rail at the top of the cover. It is used to mount
various scopes and night vision sights. There are also accessory
rails at the forend. Bottom section of the forend is also available
without rail. The plain version accepts standard
GP-25 or GP-30
40 mm underbarrel grenade launchers.
The AK-12
has a redesigned muzzle brake, which now has a standard NATO
diameter. This improvement allows launching rifle grenades. The new
muzzle brake also reduces recoil and flash during firing. The muzzle
brake can be easily removed and replaced with a sound suppressor.
Variants
AK-15
is a version of the AK-12, chambered for the more powerful 7.62x39 mm round.
It is compatible with 30-round magazines of the
AKM
assault rifle, and 40-round box magazines and 75-round drum
magazines of the
RPK
light machine gun.
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