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Handgun Udav developed not as substitute for Makarov — designer

The Udav has passed government certification tests and been recommended for standard use

Makarov pistol Marina Lystseva/TASS

Makarov pistol

© Marina Lystseva/TASS

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Russia’s newest handgun Udav was developed not as a substitute for the Makarov pistol (PM). They have different functions, the CEO of the company that designed the weapon, TsNIITochMash, Albert Bakov told the daily Izvestia in an interview.

"Udav and PM are different. They are meant for coping with different tasks. PM is a peacetime weapon for police patrolling the streets. Udav is a powerful combat gun with far greater fire power," Bakov said.

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Civilian version of Udav handgun to compete with Colt, Glock

Only the contractor, the Defense Ministry, is in the position to make a decision to replace all Makarov guns with Udavs in the Russian Armed Forces. In his opinion the Udav fully matches the military’s expectations.

"We met all terms of reference," Bakov said.

The self-loading handgun Udav uses a powerful 9x21 mm cartridge. Entirely Russian-designed and made of Russian parts and components, it has a sighting range of 50 meters and an 18-round magazine.

The Udav has passed government certification tests and been recommended for standard use. New special ammunition has been designed for it. TsNIITochMash plans to deliver standard military, special and civilian configurations of the weapon.

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