2011 turned out to be rich in sensational or sometimes even scandalous news regarding the Russian Armed Forces. The reform is moving along the planned path, and not all of its nuances are clear to the philistine masses. And scandalous news regularly receive official denials.
Another wave of controversy began in September. Then the Ministry of Defense announced that it no longer intends to purchase new copies of the AK-74 assault rifle. Immediately, the near-weapon public was divided into two irreconcilable camps: some began to insist that it was high time to stop buying this "old" and start equipping the troops with new weapons, especially since there were more than enough new types, while others began to appeal to the price, reliability and other "consumer characteristics "of the 74th. There is, however, one more group of people who reacted to this news as always: they demanded to disperse the Ministry of Defense, to jail everyone and shoot them for reliability.
But these are emotions, and in military affairs one cannot rely on them in any case. Let's try to figure out why the ministry decided to stop purchasing the AK-74, for what purpose it was done and what will be in the hands of our soldiers in a few years.
At the moment, the AK-74 and its modifications are the main small arms of the Russian army. The total number of produced 74s exceeds 5 million units, and the production of the AK-74M and the "hundredth" line continues to this day.
However, the army needs a new machine gun. And the faster the better. For this role, experts and amateurs put forward both the Kovrov AEK-971 and the Izhevsk AN-94. But economically and technologically more profitable will be the continuation of the Kalashnikov line.
In this case, you should pay attention to the AK-107 and AK-108 assault rifles. Like the AN-94 and AEK-971, they have balanced automation. Those. when shooting, recoil decreases, which has a positive effect on accuracy and accuracy. In the 107th and 108th Kalashnikovs, a system with two gas pistons is used: when, when fired, one of them cocks the automatics, the second moves in the opposite direction and compensates for the impulse of the first. A similar scheme is used in the AEK-971, but the Kalashnikov has a simpler and less clogging design.
In 2009, Izhmash announced the start of work on the 200 series. These machines, according to the then general director of the enterprise V. Gorodetsky, will be the new, fifth generation of the Kalashnikov family, and in terms of their characteristics they will be half the fourth (the first generation is AK obr. 49, the second is AKM, the third is AK-74 and its modifications, the fourth is the “hundredth” series). Initially, it was planned to start testing the "AK-200" this year, but due to financial problems of the enterprise, the dates have been postponed. Now the Ministry of Defense has issued a new technical task to Izhmash. It is not known how much the 200th episode satisfies him in its current form.
But we will try to analyze foreign experience, the desires of "end users" and imagine how the new weapon will look like.
Dimensions. For mass production, the classic scheme is now most advantageous: the store is in the front, the handle and the trigger are in the back. But in terms of convenience and size, the bullpup layout is more profitable. At the same time, the latter option has its drawbacks - a left-handed shooter can easily get a sleeve in the face.
Cartridge. No revolutionary new ammunition is foreseen in the coming years. And the warehouses full of ready-made cartridges must not be forgotten. Most likely, the cartridge will remain the same - low-impulse 5, 45x39 mm. So the dimensions of the store will also remain the same, and the capacity of 30 rounds suits everyone.
Materials. Receiver with lid, barrel and other "stuffing" will still remain metal, you don't even need to talk about it. But the butt, grip, magazine and forend will be plastic. This is not a tribute to fashion, but a concern for the soldier and nature. The same piece of wood or metal weighs more. Perhaps, new grades of plastic will be used, more durable and resistant to impacts. But the mass use of such composite materials, from which it will be possible to make a receiver, will have to wait until the sixth or seventh generation.
Automation … The most promising system looks like the AK-107, with two pistons. The scheme is a little more complicated than the usual one, but it has an excellent effect on the accuracy - it improves up to two times. Let's hope the soldiers of the future won't get confused about which piston to insert where.
Sights. The classic front sight - open sight system is not going anywhere. There will also be a side bar for installing the sight. But on export versions of the machine, it is quite possible to install Picatinny or Weaver rails. Accordingly, it will be possible to install any sight compatible with the seat on the machine. The assault rifle is planned for mass production in the amount of hundreds of thousands of pieces, so there is no need to expect a "native" collimator sight, as on the German G36 rifle. This is a very expensive toy for mass weapons.
"Body kit". Of course, there will be devices for attaching grenade launchers. Perhaps, even under the forend, fastening strips will also be installed. Moreover, this design feature should be to the liking of the special forces: under the standard fore-end it will be possible to attach a "tactical" handle, a flashlight or something else. In the meantime, it is necessary either to install a non-native forearm on the machine, or to invent creepy constructions from a machine gun, a flashlight and scotch tape.
But these are only assumptions. To what extent they will turn out to be correct, we will find out only in 2012. It was then that the new machine should be submitted for state testing.
We can hope that Izhmash will cope on time, because the company's financial problems are slowly beginning to be solved. At the beginning of this month (October 2011), it was announced about the restructuring of the debt of NPO Izhmash to Sberbank.
The existing terms of reference and the intention to continue to create their own weapons add points to the image of Russia. Many developed foreign countries, for example, arm their armies with purchased weapons or make them under license. And the Russian defense industry provides not only its army, but also works for export.
