The Russian Ministry of Defense admits failure in the future of the Land Forces of the small-caliber weapon 5,45 millimeter and a full transition to the caliber 7,62. This is stated in the thematic collection “Rocket and artillery and technical logistics of the Russian Armed Forces - 2018”.
The reason for the possible failure of the cartridge 5,45 mm, in the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) called the lack of action of the breakdown of this caliber bullets at medium and long range on the enemy troops in the Personal Protective Equipment, The latest examples of which appear annually. According to experts of the third Defense Research Institute, efforts should be focused on the modernization and improvement of the characteristics of ammunition and weapons caliber 7,62 millimeter.
In Grau recalled, that at present the whole system of small arms of the Russian army based on the samples and machine guns of two caliber – 5,45 and 7,62 mm. Currently, Russia is re-sun on the new AK-12, created under the cartridge 5.45x39 mm.
5.45x39 mm caliber cartridge was developed in the late 1960s and adopted in 1974 year, as the main patron for the newly created under his AK-74. Cartridge 5,45 weighed on 6 grams less, than chuck 7,62, that allows the shooter to carry the increased ammunition. Among the main advantages of the new cartridge called diminishing returns, large patterning, a flat trajectory bullets, increase the distance direct shot.
