Perhaps the main caliber of Russian small arms will be changed, and this will affect the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifles. At least, the relevant statements are made by gunsmiths. Why has the caliber of automatic weapons already been changed in the USSR, what can the new caliber be and for what is such a reform supposed to be? One cartridge for two – the main caliber of automatic weapons in the Russian Army since 1974 has been the 5.45 x 39 mm caliber cartridge, created for the AK-74 machine gun.
At the same time, the ammunition of 7.62 mm cartridges used by AKM and AK-47 assault rifles was also preserved. The advantage, for a number of reasons, was given to a smaller caliber, but the heavier one was preserved.
And now, according to the CEO of the Kalashnikov concern Alan Lushnikov, a shooting complex with a new caliber may appear. This weapon can be included in the new equipment of a serviceman under the conditional name "Legionnaire".
"We are talking about creating a new intermediate cartridge between 5.45 mm and 7.62 mm," Mikhail Degtyarev, a weapons expert and editor–in-chief of Kalashnikov magazine, told the newspaper VIEW. – That is, it will be a completely new ammunition, which may lead to the creation of new types of small arms, which nevertheless will retain all the existing automatic weapons systems."
It can definitely be argued that this will be a new cartridge, which will become the "middle" between the two existing main calibers. It will take into account such problems as a more powerful recoil pulse of 7.62 mm and improved accuracy of the 5.45 mm cartridge.
According to Alan Lushnikov, president of the Kalashnikov Concern, work on new ballistic solutions is being done all over the world, and Russian gunsmiths are no exception here. "We are also looking in this direction. It is impossible to exclude an increase in the caliber from 5.45 millimeters to a larger one, because today these are completely different solutions for individual protection, and the technologies are different."
However, what the caliber of the new cartridge for small arms will be, has not been announced. As well as the reaction of the army to possible changes that may require at least a rewrite of the instructions on rifle training.
The transition to the 5.45 mm caliber, which occurred in 1974 in connection with the supply of AK-74 assault rifles, was perceived ambiguously in the army. Despite the fact that the new machine gun itself was lighter, the cartridge itself weighed less – by six grams compared to the 7.62 mm cartridge (10.2 and 16.2 grams). And this, with an ammunition set of eight magazines of 30 rounds, amounted to a weight saving of 1.4 kilograms. With full combat gear, even extra grams matter.
The new caliber had other advantages. For example, a more flat trajectory of the bullet, a longer range of the shot, high accuracy, preservation of lethal force at a great distance.
The new cartridge also had opponents who considered the 7.62 mm less susceptible to weather conditions, which better shows it in combat operations in mountains or wooded areas. This was especially evident in Afghanistan, when the AK-47 or AKM "crumbled" a stone, stitched through thickets of reeds, doors of duvals, was sometimes "more lethal" than the AK-74 with its 5.45 mm.
Thrifty foremen saved 7.62 mm submachine guns, and they were especially popular with special forces and intelligence, whose aiming range at a distance no longer mattered in close combat. It happened that the reconnaissance companies in the rifle regiment preferred the AK-47, while all the other soldiers were armed with smaller caliber machine guns.
AK-47s have been preserved even now, just mostly in special forces. And since 2001, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation adopted the 7.62 mm machine gun PKP "Pecheneg", which is a single machine gun developed on the basis of the Kalashnikov machine gun. It uses not an automatic, but a rifle cartridge with increased power.
"Each combat cartridge always has its own advantages and disadvantages," reserve Colonel Mikhail Shorokhov, a veteran of military operations, told the newspaper VZGLYAD. – It's like hunters, some of whom prefer 12-gauge, others choose 16, others use exclusively rifled rifles. It's the same in the army, but the choice is determined not by personal desire, but by the regular armament of the unit.
It is possible to say which is weaker and which is more powerful – 5.45 mm or 7.62 mm, only depending on the situation and the nature of the tasks performed. Uniformity in this case with a certain intermediate cartridge of medium caliber takes place. At the same time, the ammunition already in service should be preserved."
Are the plans for a possible reform of small arms related to the ongoing in Ukraine SVO? Probably not. Bullet wounds in the course of ITS are not so common, there are much more fragmentation, which means that the most deadly means in the current conflict is artillery.
And yet the general trend of the world market of military weapons is now inclined to increase the caliber. Before us is the classic rivalry of shield and sword. In recent years, the soldier's protective equipment has grown significantly, the quality of bulletproof vests and helmets has improved. Accordingly, small arms have become less effective. This causes manufacturers and the military to want to increase the caliber of small arms.
The United States has already signed a contract for the supply of a new rifle complex for its army (automatic rifle and cartridge), where the bullet caliber has been increased from 5.56 mm to 6.8 mm. The US military explains the need to increase the caliber just by the desire to pierce Russian and Chinese bulletproof vests, which are considered highly reliable individual protection of a soldier. According to military experts, the penetrating power of a 5.45 mm caliber bullet no longer meets modern capabilities for individual protection of the military.
"We are not guided by any Western standards in the development of our weapons, including small arms ammunition," says weapons expert Mikhail Degtyarev. – The same promising American cartridge of 6.8 mm caliber has a crazy recoil pulse, which does not allow aiming automatic fire. The task of our gunsmiths is to create exactly the optimal variant of the cartridge both in caliber and in its combat qualities. It has already been developed, but it is too early to voice its characteristics. One thing can be said – it will be something between 5.45 mm and 7.62 mm."
However, one should not expect that the new caliber, even if it is developed and implemented in the coming years, will instantly replace both 5.45 mm and 7.62 mm submachine guns. The stocks of these weapons are millions of barrels and billions of cartridges. Perhaps we will see a massive transition to new shooting systems only in the early 2030s.
Victor Sokirko
