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The ASh-12.7 (Russian: AШ-12,7; Автомат штурмовой, Avtomat Shturmovoy, literally "Automatic rifle") is a high-caliber Russian battle rifle. The weapon appears to be part of the ShAK-12 (Cyrillic: ШАК-12) complex.[1]
History[]
The ShAK-12 was designed by TsKIB SOO, originally under the name of ASh-12.7 or ASh-12. The weapon has reportedly been used since 2011 by Russian Special Forces and was apparently adopted, though there have been no records of the ASh-12.7 actually being used. This is likely due to the weapon having been highly classified.[1]
The weapon was apparently renamed to ShAK-12 some time in 2017, and is manufactured by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau. In spite of the renaming, the weapon still retains "ASh" proof marks on the side of the receiver; it is unclear whether "ShAK-12" as a term refers to the rifle itself or the complex including the rifle.
Design Details[]
The weapon is meant to be used for high-risk law-enforcement environments at short range to prevent mass collateral damage to innocent bystanders or hostages. Because it needs to fulfill these tasks, the ASh-12.7 is made to chamber special large-caliber munitions to fulfill a variety of purposes for various missions. The ASh-12.7 assault rifle has a bullpup layout, with a stamped steel receiver and a polymer housing and stock. It uses a short recoil, rotary bolt action, uncommon for a large caliber battle rifle and ejects to the right side only. Firing controls include two separate levers; a fire mode selector at the rear and an ambidextrous safety lever above the pistol grip.
There are several configurations of the basic rifle; such as one with an integral carrying handle and a flat-top version with flip-up iron sights. Certain variations include a picatinny rail at the fore end used for mounting multiple-shot grenade launchers or foregrips. A compensator or a suppressor can be attached to the muzzle, which is noticeably very short on the production ShAK-12 as it does not protrude out of the receiver.
Ammunition[]
The ammunition the ASh-12.7 uses is based on the 12.7×55mm ammunition used by the VKS sniper rifle, also developed by TsKIB SOO. It uses a straight-walled, rimless brass case.
The standard load for the ASh-12.7 is a lightweight, supersonic bullet with an aluminum core, exposed at the front and hollowed at the rear, partially enclosed into a bi-metal jacket. The cartridge has a bullet weight of 7 grams and a muzzle velocity of 290–315 meters per second.
Additional loads include an armor piercing bullet with a steel core weighing in at 18 grams, a subsonic lead core bullet with 33 grams of weight and a duplex round with two 17 gram bullets stacked ontop of each other.
Gallery[]
