You're barking at the wrong tree here. The one sitting on their laurels were Izhmash. Confer the AK200 fiasco.
How can that be if they already had the 100 series upgrade and the balanced recoil 107/108 rifles in development too... they were improving and expanding the design types well enough IMHO.
Nope they were slapping rails because they needed a "halo" product and wanted something flashy over logic.
I hardly think full length rails are flashy.
All the people who deal with AK-style rifles know the DO's and DON'T of the said "platform".
Do you mean all the people who deal with AK style rifles except Concern Kalashnikov themselves?
Are you going to suggest they should learn something from US producers of AK rifles from components?
And no one starts putting ful length rails for the sake of it. It was total BS and people aren't stupid.
I don't understand this... one of the functions of the rails is the ability to mount optics in parallel so a night vision optic device mounted in front of day optics gives night vision without needing to rezero the rifle,so why would you not want full length rails at least on top?
You can find the article in Russian as well. However...some pictures do not need translation. The mechanical safety selector straight out of WW1...yeah rest and laurels...
So designs need to be new and distinctive whether they work or not?
OK, that is your opinion...
The whole price issue is bogus if the rifle didn't met the expectations from start to end.
If two weapons are good enough to do the job and one costs half the price of the other and is ready for mass production and the troops are already familiar with the design then why choose the hard path?
From what I have read the AEK is excellent in full auto in terms of holding on target, but it was my understanding that the push for accuracy in the Russian military will lead to a greater focus on optics and single shot target engagement.
Furthermore this isn't a "new rifle". The Ratnik rifles are all evolutions (not even deep at that) of prior designs. They aren't 100K+ pieces of machinery. Nope they are 9 to 14 parts mechanical systems that need to have a superstructure allowing them to mount accessories. Don't pull the "from the scratch card". It just doesn't compute. Some designs are simply better. The AK-12 wasn't from the get-go. As they are a private company, they can sell their icon to the US and "not file for bankrupcy". Tis called capitalism for a reason, last time I checked;
You aren't listening.
The military wants upgrades in the short term and from scratch designs in the longer term.
the rifles we are talking about are the upgrades... we haven't seen anything revolutionary yet... all are so far based on existing designs and therefore can be considered upgrades... even if the AK12 is an upgrade of the AK-74M and the competition is an upgrade of a rifle prototype that never entered service.
The from scratch designs will come later and may not use conventional ammo...
Oh wow, why even implement Ratnik at all. I mean at some point, Izhmash and other such behemoths that plague big ambitious projects (XM1/F35 etc) will figure out the issues. Why the hurry. Are we talking like adults here or is there something else you want to say?
The military seems happy with the AK-74... add the ability to easily attach scopes and they really don't need a brand new rifle. But they are being told that they need 70% to 100% all new gear by 2020. You can hardly compare the XM-1 or F-35 in any aspect of Ratnik... and the whole concept of Ratnik was totally needed... for a change the developers of kit for the Russia soldier now have to integrate their design into a design suite to make sure everything works but also works with everything else they have to use.
Ratnik does not depend on AK12 or any other new rifle... they are just potential future components.
Finally, an aknowledgement about foul play. This was the point. The procurement fiascos, bis repetita, ad nauseam, end up delaying very profound changes LIKE with the AEK, who has had its gros-oeuvre ready for 20 years but has to deal with the insider competition.
Yeah and the Blue Streak missile was much better than Sergeant from the US and that super plane from Canada was going to be better than a MiG-31... what was it? .. the Arrow or something.
Get over it.
If it is so wonderful then why not export it?
Look at the AK evolution from 74M/1XX/200/12 and look at some of the features...the AEK has those since 1992. Let it sink. The AEK isn't Betamax. It's the freaking Fiber Streaming competing with the Compact Disk.They were world's appart. It's only the specifications that are saving the AK. Even the damn muzzle brake from the old ZID 973 has been lifted for the AK12. Just look at both.
Now if the differences were that clear cut there would not be such an issue... if I have told you once, I have told you a thousands times not to exaggerate.
There were balanced recoil rifles competing against the original AK-74... which was pretty much just an AKM adapted to a new lighter calibre. Most militaries are conservative by nature and to succeed you need to be significantly better... what does the balanced recoil AEK offer that is so wonderful except stability in full auto bursts?
If full auto burst stability was so damn critical then why did CK modify the AK-74M and not the AK-107?
Nope the Nikonov is a good rifle when taken care off.
Could say the same about the first model AR-15.
And it isn't even after Izhmash as a whole that I'm ranting. Team B with the 107 is doeing a hell of a job. And IMO the 107 should be the compromise for the MoD.
So it is balanced recoil mechanisms you are hot for?
I personally think all the cosmetic modifications to make it easier to use make it (AK12) better... ie thumb controls for safety and the ability to choose which side the cocking handle is positioned, and the fact that the safety selector no longer exposes the guts of the rifle to the elements when off.
Like the AN94? FFS just drop the pretense. The MoD wasn't a client, it was an aspiring client who was testing the waters.
they don't NEED a brand new rifle... they are happy with the rifles they already have... of course they are happy to just test the waters... any urgency is purely political... they need to meet figures set for 2020 regarding new equipment quotents.
Any real-world customer picks what fits "best" both in price and quality.
Most real world customers will find the products that meet their needs and then will shop hard to find the lowest price. Some wont care about price, but the vast majority will see it as the primary focus.
Here the customer is insisting to buy something that wasn't ready, is clearly behind and has issues delivering the things it promises. I don't know, but that looks to stupid to even claim that there isn't foul play.
Or it could be that they are largely happy with what they have and see no urgency to leap into anything right now.
Now like a standart AK? Yes, being most like a rifle that needs refreshment (at least) or even to be put in a museum (at worst) is the way to go...Progress etc. You're defending a burnt city.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the AK-74. Funny how in the 1980s the SA-80 was claimed to be the best assault rifle in the world... till it got dusty. Then through most of the 90s and the 00s it was the G-36 that was the new super gun... and now its name is being dragged through the mud.
The AK just works, it is not pretentious, and nor does it claim to be a super weapon... the accuracy demands for the new rifle look like sniper rifle requirements... ridiculous...
BTW if it makes you feel better I think I feel the same about fighter aircraft that you feel about rifles... I personally think the Su-27 family is over rated and gets domestic and foreign orders via politics and unfounded reputation, while the MiG-29 team seem to actually work harder and have a rather more multirole vision. I am rather surprised the SMT didn't get rather more orders, but of course because most of the eastern european users changed camp and wanted old crappy F-16s instead of upgraded SMT MiGs you could say the bottom fell out of the market.
[/quote]