The war in Ukraine has shown the world that Russia is far more of a paper tiger than a mighty bear, and it also highlighted that Moscow’s military hardware isn’t all that good. The T-72 has proven to be a death trap for its crews, while the more advanced T-90 isn’t faring much better on the battlefield. Russia’s combat aircraft has failed to take control of the skies, and the Kremlin had to turn to Iran for drones.
Yet, despite all of those facts, Russia is still known to produce well-respected small arms. It should be noted that these may not be the “best” in the world, but they’re reliable and reasonably accurate. Moreover, as Nicholas Cage noted about the AK-47 in the film Lord of War, it is so simple a child can operate it.
That explains why the Kalashnikov Concern – Russia’s largest small arms manufacturer – saw an uptick in production last year.
It wasn’t just to supply Russia’s soon-to-be-corpses either. According to a report from Tass, the Kalashnikov Concern fulfilled a number of military contracts – and while most are for the Russian military, some were still for foreign military sales.
“Kalashnikov JSC Concern reviewed the 2022 results. In terms of contract fulfillment and boosting the volume of military product production, 45 state defense contracts, 24 military-technical cooperation agreements, and planned work on organizing licensed production under one contract were completed. These are the largest contracts in the company’s history,” a company statement announced.
Major Gun Maker
Last year, Kalashnikov – which was known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant and today produces about 95% of all small arms in Russia – saw production increase by 40% year-on-year, a record-breaking result over the past 20 years, the press service noted. The Concern, which is partly controlled by the Russian state-owned Rostec arms conglomerate, produces three brands: “Kalashnikov” (combat and civilian weapons), “Baikal” (hunting and civilian guns), and “Izhmash” (sporting rifles).
Named for the late Mikhail Kalashnikov, the alleged “inventor” of the AK-47, its products have included the Kalashnikov (AK) assault rifle series, the RPK light machine gun series, the Dragunov SVD semi-automatic squad marksman/sniper rifle, the SKS semi-automatic carbine, the Makarov PM pistol, Saiga-12 shotgun, Vityaz-SN submachine gun, and PP-19 Brizon submachine gun.
Last year the company delivered its first batch of the Chukavin sniper rifles, and undertook efforts to increase manufacturing capabilities.
“The arms production division has executed a record-breaking plan over the last 20 years, with production of military and civilian guns exceeding 2021 results by 40%,” the report added.
The firm has faced international sanctions from the United States and European Union since July 2014, following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. Despite those sanctions, Russia continues to export Kalashnikov arms around the world.
In addition, a number of civilian-friendly firearms are now produced by Kalashnikov USA, a separate company that manufactures its products in America.
Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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