According to the TASS agency, on August 10, 2025, at the Patriot Park in Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, the Kalashnikov Concern presented its latest assault rifles, the AK-15C (carbine) and AK-15SC (compact subcarbine). In addition, the concern showcased the 7.62 mm RPL-7 light machine gun and new samples of the VKPO 3.2 field uniforms. It should be noted that the AK-15 is a modernized version upgraded to the AK-12 standard.
AK-15K / Photos: Kalashnikov Group
“Based on this model, and following the same approach as with the 5.45 complex, we developed the shortened AK-15C and the compact AK-15SC assault rifles,” explained the company’s chief designer, Sergey Urzumtsev.
According to Urzumtsev, the Russian Ministry of Defence has placed a state defence order for modernized AK-15 assault rifles chambered in 7.62×39 mm.
Earlier, at the IDEX 2025 international exhibition in Abu Dhabi, Sergey Urzumtsev stated that several Russian units are interested in shortened and compact versions of the Kalashnikov AK-12 and AK-15 assault rifles.
It was also reported that the second batch of the newest belt-fed RPL-20 light machine guns chambered in 5.45 mm will soon be sent to the Russian-Ukrainian front. Urzumtsev also recalled that the first batch of RPL-20s was delivered to the user in June, and the next shipment will reach frontline troops shortly. He added that the company’s service department regularly travels to various areas in the war zone to collect feedback on the new machine gun’s performance and make quick improvements. In particular, the mechanism for attaching the ammunition box to the weapon is being refined so that it can be intuitively mounted with a single motion. Other upgrades aimed at improving the machine gun’s ergonomics are also being implemented.
AK-15SK
The newest RPL-20 light machine gun, delivered to the military, is not a successor to the unified Kalashnikov machine gun (PK) but has its own niche in combat use, stated Sergey Urzumtsev. The main advantages of the RPL are its compactness, low weight, and large carried ammunition supply.
Compared to the PK, the 5.45×39 mm cartridge weighs about 10 grams, as opposed to approximately 22 grams for the 7.62×54 mm round. The use of a low-impulse cartridge allows for good handling of the weapon when firing from unstable positions, thanks to reduced recoil, particularly useful in trench fighting or confined spaces. Urzumtsev confirmed that there is demand for this type of weapon. The RPL light machine gun does not replace the PK and never will, just as the PK machine gun will never replace heavy-caliber machine guns.
Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov was briefed during a meeting on the logistics of the Dnieper Group at its headquarters on the progress in testing new weapon types developed by the concern, including the RPL-20.
