MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Russia's Kalashnikov company will increase its output of a modernized AK-12 assault rifle, the company's press service said on Monday.
"The concern will have to fulfill the state defense order on a record scale by the end of 2023. The 2024 target envisions its further increase," the press service said.
The company has implemented a number of production methods that should make the AK-12's manufacturing process considerably less labor-intensive, it said.
"The special military operation has required designers and engineers to find new solutions to upgrade and modify this assault rifle. To this end, the Chief Engineer's Department and the Design and Technology Center devised a number of new processes and implemented them in manufacturing practices," it said.
The AK-12 accounts for over half of the company's firearms output, it said.
On December 8, 2022, Kalashnikov said that it would release an upgraded AK-12 in 2023.
Earlier, Kalashnikov said that the AK-12 would be the main assault rifle of the Russian Armed Forces for at least the next few decades.