Kalashnikov developing ‘smart' weapons for infantry

The Kalashnikov Group is developing a firearm-mounted kit that manages target data and increases situational awareness for individual troops, Maria Vorobyeva, a company spokesperson, told Janes on 21 September.

“We have been developing smart weapons for quite a while now in both military and commercial small arms segments,” Vorobyeva said.

The new system is to be integrated with soldier protection, combat management, and power supply subsystems. According to Kalashnikov, the kit will feature a modular design, and forthcoming weapons fitted with the device will have a weight comparable to the 3.5 kg AK-12 5.45 mm assault rifle, which has been adopted by the Russian Armed Forces. The new weapon, fitted with the smart kit, is designed to engage personnel wearing body armour at distances up to 600 m.

Meanwhile, the company is about to begin manufacturing MP-155 Ultima 12-gauge shotguns fitted with sensors and an Android-based processing unit mounted in the rear of the upper receiver. The computer counts the remaining cartridges and the number of shots, and processes a video from an integral high-definition camera.

Kalashnikov has also developed the MP-135 Tactical pump-action 12-gauge shotgun that is integrated with Apple Watch wearable devices. Both the weapons are suitable for commercial or military use, the company said.