Acting General Director of OJSC Izhmash Maxim Kuzyuk in his interview to the Russian media said that the designers of the enterprise have begun to develop a completely new platform for the production of a modern assault rifle, which will significantly differ from its predecessor, the Kalashnikov assault rifle. The new automaton, as conceived by the designers, should become much lighter and more accurate. After all, it is for the heavy weight and poor accuracy of fire when firing single shots that the military criticizes the Kalashnikov assault rifle.
“This is a completely unique platform, where we literally from scratch will design completely new types of weapons that can potentially become both massive and used in special units. We have an army, special forces, ground forces, and everyone has their own requirements. And to create such a platform, which will functionally fulfill various combat missions and goals, is our priority task today, Kuzyuk said. At the same time, the Acting General Director of Izhmash promised to present an improved Kalashnikov assault rifle of the next, 200th series as soon as possible. “The main directions on the way of this development will be the improvement of ergonomics, the increase in the accuracy of fire, the convenience of operation,” M. Kuzyuk noted. According to the main representative of Izhmash today, the next direction of the 200th series of the Kalashnikov assault rifle will be modularity, which allows changing the configuration of the assault rifle taking into account combat missions.
At the same time, M. Kuzyuk refused to disclose the technical sheets of the future weapon, indicating that today the development is being carried out under the heading "secret".
AN-94 (Abakan)
In 1978, a competition was announced to develop an assault rifle capable of replacing the famous Kalash. In 1981, at the final competition, which was named "Abakan", 12 samples of automatic weapons were presented, the most successful was the submachine gun, which was developed by the designer of "Izhmash" Gennady Nikonov. However, despite the fact that this model surpasses the previous versions of the Kalashnikov assault rifle in terms of firing accuracy, it also has its own significant drawbacks. The Nikonov assault rifle has a very complex design, which greatly complicates the training of shooters. In 1991, this weapon passed State tests and was recommended for adoption by the troops. But the collapse of the USSR and the financial crisis disrupted these plans. Officially, the designer Nikonov assault rifle was put into service with the Russian army in 1997, after the competition it was named "Abakan", but later did not receive mass distribution due to the above shortcomings. Work on the Abakan project at the Izhmash plant does not stop today, and according to one of the versions, the new machine, which M. Kuzyuk spoke about, is being developed on the platform created by G. Nikonov. This version is confirmed by the words said in an interview by M. Kuzyuk: “This is a work that has been carried out for 15 years. First of all, to increase the accuracy of fire. The test results that we will conduct in the near future will be the basis for choosing a model for mass production."
PP-19 "Bizon"
Another novelty of the Izhmash plant is the Bizon submachine gun with a large-capacity cartridge magazine, which is an individual weapon of special forces and law enforcement forces. A number of modifications of the new submachine gun have been created for different pistol cartridges: 9x19 mm and 9x18 mm.
Among the main advantages of "Bizons", the designers also note a rather high accuracy of fire, effective accuracy during instinctive shooting, the use of silencers and various sights, stability when firing from one and two hands with single shots and short bursts, compactness, which allows you to carry weapons hidden.
The need to develop a completely new weapon to replace the Kalashnikov assault rifle is long overdue, experts say. “The fact that the Kalashnikov assault rifle needs to be changed is obvious,” says D. Felgenhauer, an expert in the field of weapons. I. Korotchenko, the editor-in-chief of the military magazine National Defense, completely agrees with this, noting that the Kalashnikov assault rifle was developed at the end of the 1940s, and since then the technologies have changed a lot. “At the moment there is an opportunity to significantly improve the circuit and design of the machine. The main goal, first of all, should be the maximum accuracy of fire in any situation. And the accuracy of hitting should be ensured only due to more successful and constructively convenient equipment , - notes I. Korotchenko. To launch a new machine into mass production, both new equipment and completely new components are needed, D. Felgenhauer points out. “We need new machines, good quality plastic. We have disgusting sniper rifles due to poor machine tools. And it is necessary to buy new ones, and not made in China and not used,”the military expert points out.
The launch of a new machine gun, in fact, will give a new impetus to the development of the military-industrial complex of Russia, and along with it, growth will begin in the machine-tool industry. As a result, the army will receive a new machine gun, and the civilian population will receive new jobs.
