
Pathway to the Kalashnikov’s Future Development By Lynndon Schooler Vladimir Zlobin, the former director of the AK-12 project, can be characterized as an ambitious weapons…

The Russians still say that the 65 year old Avtomat Kalashnikova would soldier on for decades, yet they are painfully aware that it’s getting out of touch with modernity – despite numerous modernizations. That’s precisely why they created the AK-12, or 5th Generation Avtomat Kalashnikova, presented in January 2012. The AK-100 series successor wasn’t created overnight – the first models were already evaluated by 2009. The new rifle even got designated then as the AK-200 – but still arguments abounded whether that should be another modified 100-series rifle….