SK-16

Designed by the designers of the Kalashnikov concern Evgeny Erofeev and Demyan Belyakov. The project is under development and testing. For the first time, the public saw this promising model in reporting on the visit of the head of Rostec , Sergei Chemezov, to the Izhevsk arms factory.

The project uses a lot of original ideas, which for one reason or another have not yet become widespread in the field of small arms , but are of great interest to both designers and shooters.

The automation device is made according to the "gun carriage", more characteristic of artillery (previously used, for example, in the design of the AN-94 "Abakan"), where the barrel is rolled back when fired along with the bolt. It gives a very significant advantage in accuracy when firing bursts of a fixed length due to the offset of the recoil momentum.

For mounting sights and other accessories, the weapon is equipped with Picatinny rails . Telescopic butt with back plate adjustment, folding sideways. The double-sided fuse lever is located above the fire control handle. To facilitate control, the number of rounds is planned for the magazine with a transparent back.

The project proposes to use the exhaust gas for the operation of automation using a special device located on the muzzle of the barrel . The muzzle gas vent moves the moving parts after the bullet leaves the barrel, eliminating spurious vibrations of the system at the most critical moment of aimed shooting. Peter Mauser was one of the first to use this design in his 1902 automatic rifle.

Also a feature of the SK-16 is the rollback of the barrel unit and receiver , extinguishing the blows that affect the weapon when firing. According to the designers - "Since the sight moves with the firing unit, its position from shot to shot relative to the barrel channel does not change at all. All this works for one purpose - to make the barrel and sight displacements minimal after each shot ." According to this scheme, an American Johnson M1941 rifle was used, which was used by the US Marine Corps during World War II .

The receiver consists of two parts. In the upper part are the mounts and guides of the receiver group and the bolt, and in the lower part there are USM parts and a store receiving shaft. This design allows the use of an anti-vibration bar for mounting sights.

The reload handle does not have a permanent rigid connection with the slide frame . During firing, it remains stationary, however, if necessary, it can interact with the internal components of the weapon to perform the required actions.

Bilateral extraction of sleeves with a switch of the direction of ejection, used in the design, will simplify the work of the shooter in crowded conditions and will also be useful for lefties .

• Alexander the Greek. What will replace the SVD: self-loading carbine SK-16 / Pop-mechanics.
• Vladimir Tuchkov. Kalashnikov creates a new generation rifle / Free Press.