Russia retires the AK-74M

(To Tiziano Ciocchetti)
27/06/18

It would seem that the Kremlin has decided to replace the AK-74M assault rifle as a standard weapon for its armed forces.

The Western analysts could see it in the 1977, on the Red Square, during the military parade for the celebrations of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, noting immediately the different break from the mouth of the previous Kalashnikov series (AK-47 and AKM).

In fact, the new weapon fired a different type of ammunition compared to the M43 standard caliber 7,62x39 mm, or a shot in caliber 5,45x39 mm. Lighter than the previous and therefore with the advantage of making the rifle less unstable in the burst. The small bullet has a heart in steel and copper cladding, with lead intercom and empty tip, in this way it is unstable on impact and therefore causes greater damage on the target.

The choice, to replace the AK-74M, fell on two new weapons: the AK-12 in caliber 5,45x39 mm and the AK-15 in caliber 7,62x39 mm.

Today's war scenarios have multiple aspects, so soldiers must be able to rely on different calibers so that they can deal with threats in the best possible way. So also the Kremlin has decided to follow the western trend that sees the presence in the infantry squad of weapons in two different calibres, in the case of NATO forces the 5,56x45 mm and the 7,62x51 mm, to be chosen on the basis of the different operating scenarios.

However, it seems appropriate to express some considerations about the ammunition used by the two Russian weapons.

In fact, while the 7,62x51 mm NATO lends itself to use, due to its power, not only by battle rifles (Beretta ARX-200, SCAR MK-17, H&K 417) but also to weapons for snipers ( SAKO TRG-22, H&K G-28), the M43 ammunition in caliber 7,62x39 mm offers much lower ballistic performance (although it can be found in large quantities anywhere in the world). On the other hand, this ammunition allows better control of the weapon in automatic shooting when used from the side.

From the standpoint of ballistic performance, the 5,45x39 mm caliber is also below the 5,56x45 mm NATO, so much so that even some countries of the former Soviet bloc are planning to adopt Western ammunition.

The AK-74 had a good spread, but lower than its predecessors such as 7,62x39 mm, AK-47 and AKM.

The Russian Federation did not want to invest money for the introduction into service of a new caliber, as budgeted in some programs. The controllability of a weapon in the caliber 5,45x39 mm is acceptable but the projectile has a useful range lower than its western competitors.

As for the new weapons, they have an architecture that incorporates that of their predecessors (the crutch football is telescopic); the shutter is the classic rotating one with a gas recovery operating system; the materials used are in technopolymers to lighten the weight and reduce costs (the AK-74M loaders themselves are used to reduce costs). A grenade launcher from 40 mm GP-25 can be applied under the cover.

Compared to their predecessors, the new rifles will have the advantage of having slides for the application of accessories (big limit of the Kalashnikov series), such as targeting systems and laser target indicators.

(photo: MoD Russian Federation / Concern Kalashnikov)