The Russian army has ceased ordering the famed Kalashnikov rifle for its arsenal and is waiting on a newer model its manufacturer is developing.
The army already has more of the weapons than it requires, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Nikolai Makarov told Russian media.
The inventor of the weapon, Mikhail Kalashnikov, 91, has reportedly been deliberately kept uninformed about the decision.
"We do not want to have it on our conscience and tell him such bad news. He might not live through it," Russia's Izvestia newspaper quoted an unnamed friend of Kalashnikov as saying.
According to the weapon's manufacturer Izhmash, the AK-47 is still adopted by armed and special forces in over 100 countries.
When Kalashnikov turned 90 in 2009, the day was celebrated in Russia on a scale akin to a national holiday. He was decorated by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with the country's highest order, the Hero of Russia. |