The old man AKS-74U, which has been in service since 1979, has been replaced. True, so far only in the videoconferencing. The shortened version of the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle may be replaced by the 9-mm PP-2000 submachine gun, which was created by the specialists of the Tula Instrument Design Bureau. Russian military pilots are going to arm themselves with a new submachine gun, which was first presented to the domestic public in 2004 at the Moscow exhibition "Interpolitech".
PP-2000 can enter the NAZ combat pilots
The PP-2000 submachine gun may become a new "last battle" small arms for military pilots who were previously armed with either the AKS-74U submachine gun or the Stechkin automatic pistol. The decision to modernize the NAZ, a wearable army reserve of pilots piloting combat aircraft, was made by the country's military leadership following the results of the Russian Aerospace Forces operation in Syria. The possible replacement of the AKS-74U with a more compact and convenient PP-2000 was reported last week by the TASS agency, citing its own sources in the Russian defense industry. It is noted that representatives of the Ministry of Defense took with interest the proposal to replace the AKS-74U with the PP-2000, which came from representatives of the military industry. At the same time, TASS journalists have no official confirmation of the information provided by their source.
Today, in addition to water, food, a portable first-aid kit and communications equipment, a shortened version of a Kalashnikov assault rifle of 5, 45 mm caliber - AKS -74U, a stock of cartridges for it, as well as grenades. This set represents the necessary minimum of things that can be useful to the pilot during a forced ejection, especially over the territory occupied by enemy troops.
The AKS-74U assault rifle, which was put into service back in 1979, generally meets all the requirements of small arms for self-defense. This is a relatively compact weapon (the barrel is two times shorter than that of the traditional AK-74), with high firepower and a good firing range (effective distance up to 300 meters). The main problem is related to the placement of weapons, their dimensions and weight. NAZ, together with the machine gun, are placed in an ejection seat, at the same time, the pilot does not always have the opportunity to get to the set. In some cases, the pilot has to engage in combat with the enemy immediately after landing by parachute, and sometimes even while in the air. That is, a combat pilot should be able to quickly get to the weapon. That is why in Syria, during combat missions, pilots took with them additional firearms - Stechkin or Makarov pistols, which, together with spare magazines, could be placed in the pockets of an unloading vest. But the combat capabilities of such pistols are extremely limited, and the firepower of such weapons is not great.
AKS-74U
This problem raised the question of re-equipping combat pilots with more compact and lighter models of automatic weapons than the AKS-74U. Fortunately, our country has small arms with the necessary firepower. We are talking about submachine guns, the development school of which is very well developed in Russia, and even schoolchildren are familiar today with mass samples of such weapons during the Great Patriotic War. As a possible replacement for the AKS-74U, it considers the Tula submachine gun PP-2000 for the 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge, which is widespread throughout the world. The new Russian submachine gun was created in the early 2000s in the Tula KBP under the leadership of recognized domestic designers V. P. Gryazev and A. G. Shipunov. The model of compact small arms created in Tula was initially positioned as a weapon for law enforcement officers, as well as a personal self-defense weapon for certain categories of soldiers (pilots, armored vehicle crews, gun crews, etc.). Despite this, so far PP-2000 has become widespread only in some divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, as well as in the Federal Bailiff Service.
Possibilities of the PP-2000 submachine gun
The main advantage of the PP-2000 submachine gun over the AKS-74U is the low weight of the weapon. A submachine gun without a magazine with cartridges and a stock weighs only 1, 4 kg, this is a very decent indicator for a weapon of this class, which makes the model one of the lightest on the planet. For comparison, the AKS-74U assault rifle without a magazine weighs 2, 7 kg. The submachine gun greatly gains in weight not only due to its smaller size, but also due to the fact that the body of the weapon is made of high-strength plastic. At the same time, magazines for 20 or 44 rounds can be used with the weapon, which also increases the variability of the tactical use of the PP-2000 submachine gun.
The submachine gun also wins in overall dimensions. The length of the weapon without the stock is only 350 mm, with the stock extended, it does not exceed 582 mm. At the same time, the length of the AKS-74U with the stock folded is at least 490 mm, that is, the machine gun is 140 mm longer than the PP-2000. The only thing that the submachine gun absolutely loses out to Kalashnikov is the maximum effective firing range, which for the PP-2000 does not exceed 100 meters. But this is the case when you can compromise between compactness and firepower of the model. All the same, the pilot will not have to conduct a combined arms battle, especially at long distances. First of all, a pilot needs a weapon for self-defense in close combat. Also, compact and lightweight weapons are better suited for combat in urban environments.
At the same time, like any modern small arms, the new Tula submachine gun has a number of features that make its operation and use more convenient, and the model itself is very practical. Although the safety-translator of fire modes is located on the left side of the submachine gun, the magazine latch button and the bolt cocking handle can be easily rearranged to either side of the weapon, which makes the PP-2000 convenient to use for both right-handers and left-handers. Another global trend is the regular use of Picatinny rail. On the submachine gun, you can easily place a collimator sight, which will facilitate the aiming process, especially in low light conditions, as well as other tactical attachments from a laser designator and tactical flashlights to night vision devices. The PP-2000 can also be used with a silent firing device.
In general, the designers from Tula have worked quite seriously on the ergonomics of the weapon, implementing several interesting solutions. If the pistol grip, which is also the neck for the magazines, is the traditional move of the designers of submachine guns, then the massive-shaped trigger guard is an interesting solution that allows the shooter not only to use it as a fire control handle, but also to fire at the enemy without removing from the hands of thick gloves. Another interesting design solution is the possibility of using a spare magazine with cartridges as a shoulder rest. At the same time, at the exhibition in 2006, the public was shown the PP-2000 model, which received a removable butt in the form of a sideways folding metal shoulder rest.
The ammunition used can be separately noted. PP-2000 is designed for the use of the common 9x19 mm cartridge, which is in many ways inferior to the 5, 45x39 mm cartridge of the AKS-74U assault rifle. But even in the 9 mm caliber, quite powerful ammunition has been created today. So, together with a submachine gun, a line of high-power armor-piercing cartridges can be used - 7N21 and 7N31. The use of 9-mm cartridges with the 7N31 armor-piercing bullet significantly expands the capabilities of firearms, increasing not only the penetrating, but also the stopping effect (in comparison with other cartridges of 9x19 mm caliber). According to the test results, the 7N31 armor-piercing bullet is able to penetrate up to 8 mm of steel at a distance of 15 meters, 5 mm at 50 meters and 3 mm at 90 meters. Such characteristics of the ammunition allow the shooter to confidently hit enemy soldiers using personal protective equipment (body armor, helmets), as well as targets located behind light shelters, for example, inside cars.
9x19 mm cartridge with 7N31 armor-piercing bullet
Another advantage of the PP-2000 is its low recoil and good balance of the weapon, which allows you to fire from a submachine gun even with one hand, including without a shoulder rest. In fact, you can shoot a weapon like a regular pistol. This is an indisputable plus, considering that during the ejection process, the pilot may be injured or injured even before he leaves the cockpit. In such circumstances, it is much easier to control the PP-2000 than with the same AKS-74U assault rifle.
