IZHEVSK, March 5. /TASS/. The Izhevsk Mechanical Factory, part of the Kalashnikov Group firearms manufacturer, will soon launch the serial production of the new Lebedev pistol, Factory Managing Director Alexander Gvozdik said at a presentation of the enterprise’s investment program on Monday.
"The serial production of the Lebedev pistol will start in the short term," he said.
As the Kalashnikov Group press office reported, the enterprise has launched a project to organize a new manufacturing site to prepare for the serial production of the Lebedev pistol while the stage of developing and presenting the pistol for acceptance trials is nearing completion.
Kalashnikov Group CEO Alexei Krivoruchko earlier told TASS about the company’s plans to complete the trials of the most advanced PL-14 handgun (the Lebedev pistol) by late 2017. He stressed that the new pistol may come in handy for Russia’s Defense Ministry and other law-enforcement agencies.
The Kalashnikov firearms manufacturer presented for the first time the PL-14 pistol prototype developed jointly with specialists of defense and security agencies and leading Russian sports marksmen at the Army-2015 International Military and Technical Forum.
The new pistol chambered for the 9x19 round is distinguished by its low thickness - from 21 mm at the front and up to 28 mm in the grip area.
The bilateral location and configuration of the pistol’s controls allow it to be used both by right-and left-handed users.
The handgun has a loaded chamber indicator, which allows checking the weapon by the touch and, coupled with a modified geometry of the chamber, it allows shooting with substandard ammunition.