MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. The Kalashnikov firearms manufacturer has launched the contractual deliveries of the Lebedev modular pistol and the first batch is undergoing operational evaluation in troops, Kalashnikov Group President Alan Lushnikov said at the Expotechnostrazh advanced technology exhibition on Monday.

"The Expotechnostrazh exhibition is traditionally important for us from the standpoint of its organizer and the customer of our products, the Federal Service of the Troops of the Russian National Guard. The Russian National Guard is a reliable, proven and extremely important partner. Our current exposition focuses on the Lebedev modular pistol. This year, we have launched its production and are carrying out the first contractual deliveries. Presently, a batch of these items has been passed over to the customer and is undergoing troop tests," the Kalashnikov press office quoted Lushnikov as saying in a statement.

The Lebedev family of pistols began to be designed in 2014. The Lebedev handgun is designed to replace the Yarygin 6P35 pistol in Russian Guard units. In November 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin bestowed the Order for Military Merits on leading engineer-designer of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant Dmitry Lebedev who developed the Lebedev family of pistols.

The Expotechnostrazh 2023 technology and security exhibition will run at the Expoforum Congress and Exhibition Center in St. Petersburg on March 15-17.