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Russia completes state trials of new Kalashnikov submachine-gun

During the experimental design work, the serial-produced Vityaz-SN submachine-gun was used as the basis to develop the new weapon

IZHEVSK, July 22. /TASS/. The Kalashnikov Group has completed the state trials of a new submachine-gun developed under the Vityaz-MO experimental design work, the Group’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The inter-agency commission has recognized the item as suitable for its serial production and recommended that it should be assigned the name of ‘the 9mm Kalashnikov PPK-20 submachine-gun’ in memory of Viktor Mikhailovich Kalashnikov," the press office said in a statement.

During the experimental design work, the serial-produced Vityaz-SN submachine-gun was used as the basis to develop the new weapon. At the development stage, specialists took into account the faults exposed during the gun’s serial production and brought the new submachine-gun’s design and structure into compliance with the requirements of the technical assignment. They improved the Kalashnikov submachine-gun’s ergonomics and its ammunition, increased its reliability and supplemented it with a noiseless fire device, the press office said.

"The PPK-20 includes a belt with one-and two-point fastening on the submachine-gun. A bag made of the material with the digital camouflage color was introduced into its accessories to carry magazines, fastening devices, noiseless fire devices, an adapter, clips and a gun oiler," the company said.

A group of designers led by Viktor Kalashnikov developed a family of submachine-guns: Bizon-2 (the 9x18mm caliber), Bizon-2-01 (9x19) and Bizon-2-03 (the prototype took part in state trials under the Baksanets R&D work).

In 2004, the designers’ group used the Bizon-2-01 weapon to develop the Vityaz-SN submachine-gun supplied with a 30-round box magazine. In 2005, the submachine-gun was adopted for service in Russia’s Interior Ministry. The gun is currently operational in special-purpose units of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service and the Federal Guard Service.

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