Russian Airborne Forces received 10 000 AK-12 assault rifles and new equipment.

The Russian Airborne Forces received close to 10,000 AK-12 assault rifles in 2019 and the first half of 2020. AK-12 was for the first time demonstrated to the public on May 9, 2019, at V-Day parade in Moscow. Close to 400 paratroopers marched in Red Square with AK-12.
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Kalashnikov AK-12 (5.45mm caliber) assault rifle (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The AK-12 is chambered in 5.45×39mm designed and manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash) and is the latest in the family of Kalashnikov rifles. Kalashnikov also offers the rifle in 7.62×39mm cartridge, designated as the AK-15. Short barrel variants of the AK-12 and AK-15 have been announced, respectively the AK-12K and AK-15K.

The AK-12 project began in 2011 by the IZHMASH factory which became part of the Kalashnikov Concern as a private venture, in an attempt to participate in the "Ratnik" trials which were held by the Russian Army. It was further developed by Kalashnikov Concern, and throughout its development and evaluation stage, it has received multiple modifications to meet the Russian military's standard and to address the Russian Army's concerns regarding the cost and issues in the fully automatic fire of the earlier prototype models. It went through several revisions in order to improve upon the "range of defects" that were discovered on the earlier prototype models that were derived from the AK-200. These were later abandoned in favor for the proven and improved AK-400, which became the finalized model of the AK-12.

The Airborne Forces continue to receive new and upgraded armor and hardware which will be engaged in the summer training period, the Defense Ministry said. "This year, airborne units received over 160 hardware units, including the latest BMD-4M airborne vehicles, BTR-MDM Rakushka armored personnel carriers, upgraded BMD-2KA-U combat airborne vehicles, BTR-D and BTR-82AM APC and MTO-UB2 maintenance workshops," it said. The hardware was supplied to all units and formations of the Airborne Forces.