Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has announced that the first batch of 8,000 AK-12 rifles were issued to the units of the Central Military District of Russian Armed Forces. The personnel will get familiar with the new rifles in the proving grounds located in Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Samara Oblasts* and in Altay Kray*.

6P70 (6П70) is the GRAU index of the AK-12 rifle. The GRAU index of AK-15 is 6P71 (6П71). GRAU is the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation which assigns indices to the arms and equipment adopted by the Russian military.

The AK-12 and AK-15 rifles were adopted by the Russian Military in January of 2018. In April of 2019, it became known that a contract was signed between the Kalashnikov Concern and Russian Ministry of Defence for supplying the first 150,000 AK-12 and AK-15 rifles. In May of 2019, the rifles were shown in the hands of Russian military personnel during the 2019 Moscow Victory Day Parade. These 8,000 rifles are probably the first shipment of that 150,000 rifle contract.

The AK-12 rifles shown at the Moscow Victory Day Parade were equipped with under-barrel grenade launchers (most likely GP-34) and Valday red dot sights.

The AK-12 is the latest iteration of the iconic AK family of rifles. Retaining the battle-proven mechanism, the AK-12 deploys some features (folding and telescoping stock, 2-round burst mode, free-floated handguard, quick muzzle device attachment system, a much more rigid top cover attachment mechanism, Picatinny rails on handguards and on the top cover, etc.) that allow it to meet the requirements of modern combat. The AK-15 rifle is identical to the AK-12 with the only difference being the caliber: AK-12 is chambered in 5.45x39mm, AK-15 is chambered in 7.62x39mm.

Sources:

“Первая партия автоматов нового поколения АК-12 поступила на вооружение ЦВО”. (2019, July 17). Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Retrieved from: https://structure.mil.ru/structure/okruga/centre/news/more.htm?id=12241752@egNews

Images from www.kalashnikov.media, www.mil.ru

* Oblast and Kray are types of administrative divisions in Russia also referred to as Federal subjects of Russia.