The press secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Armenia has announced a contract between Kalashnikov Concern and Royalsys Engineering Ltd. This is big news and means AK-12 and AK-15 rifles will soon be produced in Armenia.
The contract was signed in Russia at the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2018. The deal was inked by Davit Galstyan, CEO of Royalsys Engineering Ltd. and Andrey Barishnikov, Deputy CEO of Kalashnikov Concern. Armenia’s Minister of Defense, Davit Tonoyan was also in attendance at the event and signing.
According to The Firearm Blog’s HRACHYA H:
So far, there is no information concerning the details of the contract. It is unclear whether the plant will be merely an assembly line or a full-scale production facility. It is also unknown if the new plant will produce the aforementioned rifles for the Armenian Armed Forces only or whether it will also be an outsourcing platform for the Kalashnikov Concern.
AK-12 and AK-15 rifles are the latest models in the world-famous AK family of rifles. The two models are basically identical with the exception of being chambered in different calibers. The AK-12 rifle is chambered in 5.45x39mm whereas the AK-15 is a 7.62x39mm rifle. Currently, Armenian Armed Forces use both of the mentioned cartridges. These rifles also have many other design improvements over the previous Kalashnikov rifle models such as the ergonomic grip, free-floated barrel, collapsible and folding stock, Picatinny rails on the top cover with a new and more rigid top cover fixation mechanism, new muzzle device etc. Both the AK-12 and AK-15 rifles have successfully passed extensive military testing and have been recently adopted by the Armed Forces of Russian Federation.
Would you prefer the AK-12 or AK-15 rifle? Why? Share your answers in the comment section.
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The AK15 would be my weapon of choice primarily because I am very partial to the 7.62×39 round.
I like the camo dip!
I wonder if it will be available in different camo patterns?
That would be a great selling point
Rails to mount a red dot are exactly what the AK needs to bring it into the modern age
The Soviet style side rail raises the sight height requiring a chin weld instead of a proper cheek weld
Also manufacturing in a former Comblock country will likely mean a cheaper price and a better quality build
I wish Kalashnikov concern good luck!
Would be interesting to see what these imports would do to the market.
One each please…
I don’t pick sides I’d buy one of each if I had the chance.
It would be nice to see the 5.45x39mm surplus ammo market revived again-provided the prices got down to previous levels.
I would like one of each. The 5.45 for my wife and the 7.62 for myself.