Tag Archives: Kalashnikov

Russia and also USSR

Larry Vickers Interview in Russia – Is the AK Outdated?

During his visit to Russia in 2018, Larry Vickers was interviewed by
Vladimir Onokoy, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, about Larry’s views on the traditional AK platform.

The two discussed a number of topics and I’ll just hit some personal highlights that I found interesting:

  • Larry mentioned that people get hung up on the design of the safety and the short sight radius but the positives of the design far outweigh the negatives. This is especially true because the safety works just fine once you get used to it and the addition of a good red dot is a game changer. I agree with both points.
  • Vladimir asked Larry his caliber preference. Larry said if he had to only pick one, it would be 7.62×39. That’s definitely my go-to caliber for the rifle.
  • Larry made a really interesting point – the tapers of the 7.62×39 and 5.45×39 aid in reliable feeding in the AK platform. The 5.56×45 is at a disadvantage because it does not have the same degree of taper. That caught my attention – I never really stopped and thought about the impacts of case taper on reliability given how to AK operates. Interesting point.

So, is the AK obsolete? In my opinion, it is an extensible platform but watch this interesting video and here Larry’s thoughts first hand.

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Russia and also USSR

Kalashnikov Concern’s Own Video About Early AK Variants

As you well know, I am very interested in AK rifles, their history and how they are evolving.  In September 2018, Kalashnikov Concern released a very interesting video that shows you some of their early AK variants.

In the video, Vladimir Onokay, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, will show some unique AKs manufactured in 1948 at the Izhevsk motorcycle factory as well as models produced until the 1950s.

Please note that the following video is hosted in Russia and you may need to let it buffer a bit for smooth viewing.  It’s just over 4 minutes long and any student of the AK design will find it very interesting.

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Russia and also USSR

Kalashnikov AK-308 Promotional Video

This is a promotional video hosted by the Kalashnikov Concern of the 7.62×51/.308 AK-308 rifle.  It looks pretty slick and borrows quite a bit from the AK-12 but some noticeable differences are the 20 round magazine and different muzzle device.

Here’s the Video

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

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Russia and also USSR

Really Interesting Overview Video of AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K at the Army-2017 Defense Exhibition Outside Moscow

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In 2017, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation held their annual international military-technical forum known as ARMY-2017 outside of Moscow.  There were over 1,000 exhibitors and over 500,000 visitors.  It was an ideal spot for the Kalashnikov Concern to show off their short AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K weapons.

In the video, Vladimir Onokay, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, does a great job showing the three weapons and giving an overview of each’s design points.

AK-12K in 5.45×39

Some things he pointed out were:

  • Free floating handguard
  • It has Picatinny Rails for mounting accessores
  • Front sight on the gas block and with the rear sight at the end of rail, the sight radius is longer than traditional AKs
  • The muzzle device is more for controlling flash during night operations
  • He showed the windowed magazine for quick round counts
  • The rear stock is adjustable

AK-15K in 7.62×39

The AK-15 is simply the AK-12 but chambered in 7.62×39.  He does make the interesting comment that they found a sweet spot in weapons weight of 3.2-3.3 kilograms for controllable fire in 7.62×39.  They try to make the weapons as similar as possible and this is really a family of weapons that can be made in different calibers.

The RPK-16K in 5.45×39

This light machine gun sports a 95 round drum and has swappable barrels.  A short one for close quarters battle (CQB) that requires a shorter weapon and a longer barrel for other use.

The Video

It’s an 8:00 video and has some great footage.

I hope you enjoyed this!

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.

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Russia and also USSR

A Fascinating Video Showcasing The Adoption of Quality at the Kalashnikov Concern in Izhevsk, Russia

I always find turnaround stories interesting.  While we often focus on the older AK rifles, there is a fascinating story about how Kalashnikov Concern modernized and developed world class capabilities.  They produced the video that spurred me to write this post to share with you.

In the 1990s, Izhmash and Izhvesk were in tough shape.  They were only using 10% of their capacity and government orders were reduced.  By 2010, they were in a deep crisis.  In 2012, the two groups were consolidated into the Kalashnikov Concern as part of RosTec — I’ll just say “Kalashnikov” going forward.

Kalashnikov leadership embarked on a large scale improvement journey leverage lean quality management concepts, CNC automation,  and significant IT investments (ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning, MES – Manufacturing Execution System and WMS – warehouse management system are mentioned or briefly shown).

Kalashnikov wisely focused on their people — and I think this last part is key.  They addressed a poor work environment with medical facilities, a cafeteria and training in modern methods.  They even have a university that produces 300 graduates each year.  Getting people to learn and change are always the hardest things to  do yet also the most critical.

As a result, they improved productivity by 2.5 times, shrunk their time to market and removed a considerable amount of waste.

This video is a few years old but is a fascinating 8 minute journey starting with their origins through their turn around story.  There are a lot of photos of CNC systems, brightly lit and clean factory areas, the warehouse, class rooms and more.   It’s very impressive.

If you are interested in more information on the Kalashnikov Concern, click here.

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Russia and also USSR

Video of Larry Vickers Touring the Kalashnikov Concern Factory in Izhvesk

In April 2018, Larry Vickers visited the Kalashnikov Concern factory in Izhvesk, Russia.  Given that armory was established on the orders of Russian emperor Alexander I in June 1807 plus most Westerners having mental images of antiquated machines and dimly lit dirty facilities, one might make some very, very wrong assumptions about the modern JSC Kalashnikov Concern.

The very modern Kalashnikov Concern facility is brightly lit, clean and using world class machines.  I thought it was interesting seeing all the quality boards and neatly arranged tooling.

Also worth noting was Larry’s observation that with many AK manufacturers trying unsuccessfully to product cast trunnions and bolts that Kalashikov still forges those parts and there is a reason for it – durability.

At any rate, it’s a cool but brief 6 minute video.

Here is the link to Larry’s book on AK rifles that he is selling directly and not through Amazon.

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AK & Related Rifles, Military

Video: Inside the Kalashnikov Factory: Home of the World’s Most Reliable Weapon AK-47 – In Russian With Subtitles

There are some great scenes of machinery and firearms in the Kalashnikov factory by Russian Insider.  This was released in March 2017 and is pretty cool.  You’ll also see a lot of firearms we never get to see over here.  I’m fascinated about the evolution of the Russian arms industry.  Growing up we heard about how backwards they were in terms of processes and equipment but in these videos you see a fairly modern plant with well laid out work centers, clean, a lot of CNC equipment and so forth.

The Video

If you are interested in Kalashnikov firearms and manufacturing, then you’ll want to watch this video.

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

AK & Related Rifles

Video: Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle (RT’s Documentary)

I have a number of books both about the Kalashnikov rifles and also biographies of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the chief designer.  I always find documentaries of either the rifle or the man very interesting.  This particular video combines some fascinating footage about current use, manufacturing and testing with historical information and perspectives on Mikhail Kalashnikov vs. Stoner.

The video was released in 2013 and is 25:57 minutes long and is well worth the time.

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