Russia’s AK-12 Rifle: The Best In the World or a Waste of Time?

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By Charlie Gao,The National Interest

On April 6, 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a three-year contract with Kalashnikov Concern for 150,000 AK-12 rifles. This is Russia’s first large purchase of an updated rifle since the AK-74M in the 1990s. But how does the AK-12 improve upon the AK-74M, the last service rifle of Russia?

The heart of the AK-12 is the free-floated barrel. On all previous AK rifles, the lower handguard of the rifle was mounted directly on the barrel with a stamped steel handguard retainer. As a result, any force on the handguard will affect the zero of the rifle. This could be a soldier pulling down or resting the handguard on a sandbag, using the sling of the rifle to stabilize it. The direct attachment also can cause the handguard to heat up faster, as the handguard is in direct contact with the barrel in some places.

Free-floating eliminates the contact between the handguard and the barrel, improving accuracy. The AK-12 free-floats its handguard by making the lower handguard lock into the upper handguard with matching slots and bolts. The upper handguard remains on the gas tube, which remains relatively isolated from the barrel by the light contact between the barrel and gas tube.

This approach to free-floating is not novel. H&K used a similar solution to free-float barrels on G3A3 rifles and later MP5s. But the AK-12 marks the first time a production AK rifle has a free-floated barrel.

The AK-12 also incorporates a variety of ergonomic and functional improvements. Little spikes have been added to the front of the flash hider so soldiers can easily break glass in a building to create a firing position. The stock is adjustable for length and folding, to allow for better adaptation to soldiers of different heights.