Several months ago, we reported about the new Russian pistol called UDAV. We have also discussed multiple times the Ratnik-3 future soldier concept and the mystery weapon that it was demonstrated with. Recently, there was more information released about these weapons by a Russian news website called Rossiyskaya Gazeta (RG).

It turns out that the development of these weapons is the result of the collaboration of Russian small arms designing company TsNII TochMash with a Russian industrial design and prototyping company called KINETICA Engineering Center (a subsidiary of National University of Science and Technology MISiS). RG interviewed Vladimir Pirozhkov, the head of KINETICA company, who told more details about these weapon systems and revealed images of the prototype pistol and some design sketches and computer mockups of the two weapons. Pirozhkov is a renown industrial design specialist with a huge experience in the automotive industry. He was a former employee of Citroen and Toyota. Let’s see what new information RG and Pirozhkov revealed.

UDAV Pistol

If I understand correctly, TsNII TochMash is responsible for developing the mechanism of operation and KINETICA is the designer of the external design and ergonomics of this handgun. There is no official information, but many sources say that this pistol is currently tested in Russian military trials and the chances are high that it will be adopted as the next Russian army pistol.

According to Pirozhkov, the final version of UDAV pistol is a bit different than what he initially offered, however, his main ideas made it into the final design. In our previous article about the UDAV pistol, we talked about the first prototype having a more modern appearance than the final one. I assume that the military officials who are testing the pistol have probably rejected some of the futuristic exterior design elements on this pistol and that’s what Pirozhkov means when saying that the final version is a bit different. These are just my assumptions based on the scarce information available on this handgun and the real story can be different. We’ll get back to this story as soon as any new information is available.

As we mentioned earlier, an interesting feature of the UDAV pistol is that it is chambered in 9x21mm Russian. Nowadays, it seems like the 9x19mm is the obvious choice as a military handgun cartridge and cartridges like 9x21mm Russian are one of those special forces toys. However, looks like Russians consider adopting the 9x21mm cartridge on a large scale. I think even if the 9x21mm is adopted with the UDAV pistol, they will still have a conversion kit to transform the pistol into the more common 9x19mm caliber. If you are not aware of the 9x21mm Russian cartridge, read the TFB article about it written by Nathaniel F.

Another interesting design feature that Pirozhkov talked about is the construction of the suppressor for the UDAV pistol. It turns out, that the suppressor is 3D printed. KINETICA company has large 3D prototyping and 3D printing capacities. According to RG, the 3D printed suppressor is extremely lightweight and has unmatched sound and flash signature suppression capabilities. They also claim that this suppressor successfully passed a 5,000 round test and still “looks like new“.

Supposedly, this is the internal single 3D printed part of the suppressor for UDAV pistol

KINETICA engineers have also experimented with 3D printing some of the other parts of the pistol. Reportedly, they have successfully 3D printed polymer versions of some parts, tested them and found out that these cheaper and lighter polymer parts could replace the metal ones. At any rate, this is a matter of extensive testing and these parts won’t be used in the pistol design anytime soon.

Below you can also find a set of pictures of the initial 3D mockup of the pistol. Looks like initially it was supposed to be a striker fired pistol?! Note that it also lacks any traditional controls such as a magazine release button, slide stop and disassembly lever. The trigger guard looks to be a separate part and maybe it was designed to work as a magazine release and a disassembly lever. Interestingly, the prototype of the pistol also lacks a slide release lever. Maybe that is what Pirozhkov meant by saying that the final version is a bit different?

Ratnik-3 Rifle

As mentioned above, KINETICA is also the co-designer of the concept rifle shown with the Ratnik-3 suit. Unfortunately, there is no official information concerning the current stage of development of this weapon. Vladimir Pirozhkov revealed some sketches and 3D model images of the rifle.

The above-embedded image probably represents one of the first sketches of this weapon system. Apparently, it was designed to be chambered in a 7.62mm cartridge. In the drawing, the weapon is shown with a 45-round magazine. The receiver of this rifle was designed to be a stamped one and looks like it also has a hinged top cover. The rifle itself has a bullpup design and it is shown with a suppressor and an under barrel 30mm magazine-fed grenade launcher.

Another interesting design element is the adaptive buttstock. Looks like the upper and lower parts of the buttstock have an articulated design allowing to change its shape and adapt the stock to the shooter’s shoulder thus becoming comfortable and providing a reliable purchase regardless of the frame size of the operator and the equipment he wears.

The next image shows the belt-fed version of this concept rifle. This is probably the squad support version of this weapon system.

Next up, you can see an image showing a couple of other weapons that KINETICA plans to develop or maybe already develops in cooperation with TsNII Toch Mash.

As you can see, besides the pistol and rifle, they are also working on a sniper rifle and an SMG/PDW. We’ll keep following the news concerning the development of all these weapons and will report to our readers any new information that appears in Russian media.

Sources:

Maksimov I., Ptichkin S., Korolkov A. (2018, October 18). “Как будет выглядеть новый пистолет для армии: эксклюзивные фото”. RG.ru. Retrieved from: https://rg.ru/2018/10/18/kak-budet-vygliadet-novyj-pistolet-dlia-armii-ekskliuzivnye-foto.html

Images from www.RG.ru