POTD: The Kalashnikov AK-12 Rifle and Its Airsoft Version
Photo Of The Day and we take a look at what’s going on in Russia. In January 2025, Kalashnikov Concern delivered the first batch of the upgraded Model 2023 AK-12 rifles to a customer, fulfilling scheduled government contracts. As the standard-issue service rifle of the Russian Armed Forces, the AK-12 is said to see widespread adoption, with annual production volumes remaining consistently high to meet ongoing military demand.
The 5.45 mm AK-12 is the standard service assault rifle of the Russian military. The barrel is 415 mm and the weight is 3.7 kg.
The latest iteration of the AK-12 incorporates refinements aimed at improving ergonomics, reliability, and battlefield effectiveness, reflecting feedback from operational use.
The images above are probably as close as most of our readers will ever get to a real AK-12.
However, there’s another chance as Kalashnikov Concern just unveiled Russia’s first domestically produced airsoft gun—the AK-12—at the All-Russian StrikeCon 2025 festival.
This airsoft rifle is the result of a collaboration between Kalashnikov Concern and StrikeArms LLC, maintaining the exact dimensions of the real AK-12. It is mentioned that most of the external components are mass-produced counterparts of the AK-12’s original trim, manufactured at Kalashnikov Concern’s facilities in Izhevsk. As a result, the airsoft copy retains the exact size, coatings, and durability of the real AK-12.
Below is an image of Russia’s first airsoft gun.
Source: Kalashnikov Concern
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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The title that popped up in my email was pure Clickbait. I thought you guys were better than that. April 1 is tomorrow.
Unfortunately, if it’s made by Kalashnikov Concern, it’s just as banned from import as the real one thanks to the freaking sanctions.
They aren't importable because the receiver is too close to the spec of a real receiver. There used to be an AK-74 version that was a Co2 pellet gun. Sanctions don't actually have much to do with it, gun imports from the former Soviet countries have always been banned, but there is a specific exemption for the Vepr and the Saiga. How the Makarov pistols got in is an interesting question. Some of them are marked: Made in Bulgaria even though they clearly aren't and there were some RPK-74s that came in a few years ago that are marked as shotguns.