It so happened that the general public, including foreign ones, first learned about the Kalashnikov assault rifle only a few years after its creation and adoption. However, this did not prevent the AK from becoming, perhaps, the most massive and popular weapon in the world. But the next "descendant" of the legendary assault rifle managed to become famous not only before the start of mass production, but even before the appearance of a prototype. Will the new AK-12 be able to match its "grandfather" in combat and quantitative indicators? It is too early to talk about it. But about the widespread popularity of the project and the controversy around it, one can already draw conclusions - most likely, the public's reaction was caused by the fact that Izhmash tried, to the best of its ability, to publish data on the work. In addition, public interest was fueled by last year's scandalous news about the termination of military purchases of the AK-74M.
And now, just the other day, another piece of news "from the life of AK-12" appeared. It became known that the new machine gun has been in the factory tests for several weeks already - now trial firing is in full swing in difficult climatic conditions. The reliability of the design of the weapon is checked when operating in heavy rain, in conditions of strong dust, low and high temperatures, etc. This means that if any serious shortcomings do not appear that require serious improvements, by the end of this year the AK-12 will go for state certification. After that, a test batch will be sent to the special forces of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after which these departments will draw their conclusions on the subject of mass purchases of new weapons and replacing the old ones with them. But such deadlines can be met only in the absence of problems with the design, and there is still no one hundred percent certainty of this. The fact is that the AK-12, unlike the previous Kalashnikovs, has more than a dozen major changes and innovations in its design. Earlier, when creating a new machine, they cost less of them, and even then, most of the improvements fell on the technological moments of production. As a result, the AK-12 is more susceptible to various "childhood diseases" that are common to all new types of equipment and weapons.
Nevertheless, representatives of "Izhmash" do not talk about the problems and improvements that emerged during the tests, if such were made. They, as is customary in arms circles, dispense with general phrases like: "tests are underway, the end of them is planned then and then, and the machine itself has such and such advantages over direct competitors." The American automatic rifle M16 of late modifications is called as a competitor (one might say, this is already a long-standing tradition). For some reason, comparisons with other foreign machines such as FN SCAR (HAMR), Heckler Koch G36, SIG SG550 or Beretta ARX-160 are not made. The reasons for this silence can only be guessed at. The most plausible and probable explanation can be considered the prevalence of rifles of the M16 family - in terms of their number, they surpass all the types listed above. There is probably logic in comparing the AK-12, which is planned for a truly large-scale production, and the M16, more than eight million copies of which have already been sold to military units and warehouses in many countries.
While the AK-12 has not yet finished testing, let's consider its differences from the previous Kalashnikovs. A large part of the design changes is visible without disassembling the machine. So, the receiver cover is now longer and stiffer. In addition, the front part is hinged, thereby improving the overall rigidity of the structure. Also on the lid is a Picatinny rail, on which you can install additional sighting equipment. The new receiver cover design provides greater stability of the rail-mounted scope compared to the old one. Another innovation concerns the bolt handle. On the AK-12, it is attached to the gas piston rod, which made it possible to remove the gap between the cover and the receiver - as conceived by the designers, the absence of a gap significantly complicates the entry of dirt into the machine. Also, the bolt handle can be installed on both sides of the machine, at the request of the shooter. The absence of a gap on the old Kalashnikovs, which was covered by a fire translator, made it possible to change the design of the latter. Now its flag is displayed on both sides of the receiver and is located above the pistol grip, which allows you to move it with your thumb. The fire translator still functions as a safety device at the same time, but now has four positions instead of three: safety catch, single-shot, three-shot cut-off and burst fire. The translator's move is relatively small, which can cause certain difficulties for the shooter, who is accustomed to the "classic" AK flag, until he gets used to the new design. The AK-12 was the first assault rifle of the family to have a slide delay, so now reloading the weapon will take much less time. Also, it should be noted, the new translator-fuse and slide delay will allow, if necessary, to replace the store and other operations to continue firing with one hand. Even before the demonstration of the prototype AK-12, the designers in their interviews repeatedly called it "one-armed" and focused on improving the ergonomics of the new assault rifle.
Otherwise, there are either no changes, or they are insignificant and have a technological and "cosmetic" character. The long stroke gas engine and barrel locking by turning the bolt are the same as before. The barrel has undergone minor improvements. Firstly, the pitch and shape of its grooves were changed, and secondly, the length was increased and the design of the muzzle brake-compensator was adjusted. The expansion joint upgrade allows the use of NATO standard rifle grenades with the AK-12. The "body kit" of the machine has been significantly modified. The stock still folds sideways to the left, but its design has been changed - instead of a monolithic or frame design, it is made adjustable in length and has a telescopic design. In its appearance, the new butt resembles the butt of the FN SCAR rifle, which has already passed repeated practice tests. The AK-12 forend can be manufactured in two versions. One provides for the placement of the Picatinny rail on the underside of the forearm, the other - the standard domestic mounts for the GP-25, GP-30 or GP-34 underbarrel grenade launchers. For the ammunition supply of the new machine gun, all available weapon magazines of the AK and RPK lines, designed for the corresponding cartridge, can be used. Also, new four-row magazines have already been created and are being tested, which, with the same length and width as the existing ones, can hold twice as much ammunition - 60 rounds. However, the fate of such stores does not yet look very clear, because the military may have their own considerations regarding the weight indicators of weapons with an attached store.
Recently it became known that the Ministry of Defense has no plans to purchase any Izhmash products this year. From this we can conclude that serial production of the AK-12 will not begin in 2012. On the other hand, even by December of this year, one should expect, as a maximum, the start of production of a trial batch for trial operation in special forces. But the Ministry of Defense has not yet published its plans for 2013. Perhaps the first serial AK-12 will go to the troops exactly next year. And the export prospects of the new Izhevsk automatic machine look good. Weapons of the AK family have been popular among the military all over the world for more than a decade, and the new machine has several innovations designed to bring its appearance closer to modern requirements for assault rifle weapons.
