Russia adopted the latest assault rifles.
New Russian AK-12 and AK-15 assault rifles have been adopted. Information on this "Interfax" was confirmed in the concern "Kalashnikov".
The official newspaper of the Ministry of Defense of Russia Krasnaya Zvezda (The Red Star) also reports that the military department decided to adopt not only Kalashnikov assault rifles, but also AEK-971 and AEK-973 assault rifles at the Degtyarev plant (Kovrov). It is noted that AK-12 and AK-15 for simplicity and reliability are more suitable for army units, and products of the Kovrov plant are recommended for various special forces.
The decision was announced at the coordinating scientific council on the problems of combat equipment, held on 25 January. All four assault rifles were tested for inclusion in combat equipment "Ratnik", which is positioned as equipment "soldier of the future".
The development of the AK-12 caliber of 5.45 millimeters was carried out from 2011 on the basis of developments over the previous 10 years. For several years, the manufacturer was denied state funding for the tests, since the military claimed numerous shortcomings of the prospective machine. In 2016, the AK-15, developed for the 7.62-millimeter cartridge, was demonstrated.
AEK-971 was developed in 1978 on the basis of the Konstantinov system automaton. In the same year, it participated in the "Abakan" competition, announced by the USSR Defense Ministry, but then the preference was given to the AN-94 automatic. In 2013, a modified AEK-971 called A-545 became a candidate for a new combined-arms machine. Its version for the 7.62-millimeter cartridge was AEK-973.
https://lenta.ru/news/2018/01/29/avtomati/