Kalashnikov Concern
weapons and motor vehicle manufacturer
JSC Kalashnikov Concern (Russian: Концерн Калашников, romanized: Kontsern Kalashnikov, IPA: [kɐnˈt͡sɛrn kɐˈɫaʂnʲɪkəf]; Udmurt: Сюлмаськон Калашников), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (Russian: Иже́вский машинострои́тельный Заво́д (ИЖМАШ), romanized: Izhévsky mashinostroítelny Zavod (IZhMASh); Udmurt: Ижкар машиналэсьтонъя завод (ИЖМАШ)), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as in the capital city of Moscow. The concern designs and produces a wide range of civilian and military weapons including assault rifles, sniper rifles, designated marksman rifles, machine guns, squad automatic weapons, hunting rifles, shotguns, guided artillery projectiles, and a wide range of other precision weapons including remote controlled weapon stations, unmanned vehicles, and military robots.
The Kalashnikov Concern produces about 95% of all small arms in Russia and supplies to more than 27 countries around the world, making it the largest firearm manufacturer in Russia. Notable products include the Kalashnikov (AK) assault rifle series, the RPK light machine gun series, the Dragunov SVD semi-automatic sniper rifle, the SKS semi-automatic carbine, the Makarov PM pistol, the Saiga-12 shotgun, and the submachine guns Vityaz-SN and PP-19 Bizon. These firearms, except for the SVD, SKS and the PM, were based on the famous AK series, due to its reliability to endure harsh conditions, low production costs, availability in nearly every geographical region, and ease of use.
As of 2018, 26% of the Concern's shares belong to Rostec, while 74% of the company belongs to private investors (Alexey Krivoruchko and Andrei Bokarev).
The Concern contains three firearm brands: "Kalashnikov" (combat and civilian weapons), "Baikal" (hunting and civilian guns), and "Izhmash" (sporting rifles). The concern is developing new business lines that include remote weapon stations, unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, and multi-functional special-purpose boats.
History
First years
On 10 June 1807 by the decree of the Emperor of All Russias Alexander I a firearms factory was established in the city of Izhevsk, the construction and operation of which was headed by the chief mining engineer of the city ironworks Andrey Deryabin. Architects, Semyon Yemelyanovich Dudin and Andrey Deryabin developed a long-term master plan for further comprehensive development of the arsenal.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kalashnikov Concern” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.