Kalashnikov Concern to Start Full Production on PL-14 Handgun

kalashnikov pl-14 handgun barrel magazine

Kalashnikov Concern is set to enter full “serial production” on its much-anticipated PL-14 Lebedev pistol.

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Alexander Gvozdik, the managing director of the Kalashnikov Concern JSC Izhevsk Mechanical Engineering Plant, confirmed the news to a group of investors earlier this week.

“The serial production of the Lebedev pistol will start in the short term,” he said, according to Russia’s state-owned news service TASS. To that end, Kalashnikov is also launching a new manufacturing site for the PL-14 as development and trials for the pistol wraps up.

Furthermore, Kalashnikov Concern CEO Alexei Krivoruchko told TASS the PL-14 will likely be given close consideration by the Russian Ministry of Defence and multiple law enforcement agencies.

The Kalashnikov PL-14 was first introduced at the Army-2015 International Military-Technical Forum in Russia. Chambered in 9mm, the striker-fired, short-recoil-operated, locked-breech handgun features a five-inch barrel. In addition, it’s noted for it’s slim profile, measuring 1.1-inches thick at the grip and 0.82 inches thick at the front of the slide. The gun also sports ambidextrous controls. Additionally, it has a loaded chamber indicator; Picatinny rail; DAO trigger; 15-round capacity; and an overall weight of 1.76 pounds.

“The versatility of our new pistol allows to use it not only as a military weapon for the military forces and police, but also as a pistol for different shooting competitions,” Krivoruchko said in a 2015 presser. “We intend to produce different variants of the pistol, for example, with certain characteristics of the trigger mechanism for special forces units, as well as a civilian version with trigger that would be suitable for practical shooting competitions as well.”