MOSCOW, February 15-RIA Novosti. With the new Kalashnikov AK-19 machine gun under the NATO cartridge (5. 56x45 mm), the shooter is less tired due to the low weight of the weapon, Vladimir Onokoy, head of the Kalashnikov concern directorate for military-technical cooperation, told RIA Novosti.
As previously reported in the company, the new machine will be presented for the first time abroad at the IDEX-2021 exhibition, which will be held in Abu Dhabi on February 21-25. The AK-19 has already received several applications from foreign customers. The machine gun was created on the basis of the AK-12 submachine gun in service with the Russian army.
"The current design of the AK-12 made it possible to provide the minimum possible weight while maintaining the necessary strength and reliability. Usually, submachine guns with a modern "body kit" are quite heavy, the shooter gets tired faster, but with the AK-19 there is no such feeling, " Onokoy said.
He noted that this is not the first machine gun of the concern for NATO ammunition, brought to the international market. "The first attempt to create Kalashnikov assault rifles under the NATO cartridge took place in the early 1990s. AK-101 and AK-102 submachine guns were created for the new markets. The process was not easy - for the tests, foreign cartridges were needed, which at that time were not easy to get. The machines were supplied to a number of countries, " the representative of the concern said.
Onokoi noted that applications for the AK-19 began to arrive even before the adoption of the basic version of the AK-12 for the Russian Armed Forces. "Therefore, the development of the export version was necessary, and it was possible to introduce elements that appeared as a result of large-scale military operation of the AK-12: a new, lightweight and ergonomic adjustable butt, a new dioptric sight, a quick-release silencer," the expert said.
He added that the NATO cartridge 5, 56x45 mm and the Russian cartridge 5, 45x39 mm, which feeds the basic version of the AK-12 machine gun, are very similar in characteristics. "The main factor in choosing a cartridge is economic and logistical, because no matter how good the machine gun is, the army will not switch to a new ammunition for the sake of the sample itself," the company representative added.