Russian news media today reports that, one year after Mikhail Kalashnikov’s death, the company that bears his name has officially launched the AK-12 rifle on the open market. Russia Today reports:

Концерн «Калашников» планирует в первом квартале 2015 года начать продажу новой модели автомата. Первый этап испытаний АК-12 подходит к концу. Стоить изделие будет примерно $1 тыс. Кроме того, на заводе в Ижевске освоен выпуск четвёртого поколения автоматов «сотой серии».

Machine translated, it reads:

Concern “Kalashnikov” plans in the first quarter of 2015 to begin selling a new model of the machine. The first phase of tests AK-12 comes to an end. Product cost will be about $ 1 thousand. In addition, the factory in Izhevsk mastered the production of the fourth generation machines “hundredth series.”

Not much more information on the offering is yet available. Just a couple of days ago Russia Today also covered the Kalashnikov Concern factory floor where the weapons are made. According to the site, the factory is gearing up to mass produce the AK-12; though little of that rifle is shown in the video.

When I heard the news a year ago that the firearms designer I had most admired had died, I immediately gathered my family together and poured a libation of vodka in his honor. It is good to see that Kalashnikov’s legacy at Izhevsk will continue with a new generation of weapons.

The AK-12, along with the competing A545 (an advanced version of he AEK-971) have both been accepted for operational trials, beginning in earnest in 2015.