So what is the muzzle velocity of pl 15. Replacement for "Makar": Lebedev's pistol is the best, but its prospects are vague. New from Kalashnikov

March 5, Managing Director of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant Alexander Gvozdik at the presentation of the start of the investment program of the enterprise, he announced that the launch of the Lebedev pistol (PL) in mass production is expected in the near future.

According to the press service of the Kalashnikov concern, at present, the IMZ has launched a project to organize a new production site to prepare for the serial production of submarines, the stage of development and submission of the pistol for acceptance tests is nearing completion.

In light of this information Federal news agency decided to remind readers what the Lebedev pistol is and how it actually appeared.

Let's start, however, from afar.

Competitors who didn't "shoot"

The collapse of the Soviet Union left the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with the good old Makarov pistol as the main army pistol. Despite the truly legendary reliability of this weapon, it, which was put into service back in 1951, by a number of criteria by the beginning of the 90s did not suit the army.

First of all, claims were made regarding the small magazine capacity (only 8 rounds) and the insufficiently effective 9x18 mm cartridge for the end of the 20th century. The new version of "Makar" in the form of a PMM pistol, using high-impulse cartridges 9x18 mm PMM and having a twelve-round magazine, did not fundamentally solve the problem.

In this situation, to replace the PM, a new army pistol was developed and adopted in 2003. It was created within the framework of R&D "Grach" Vladimir Yarygin PYa pistol (Yarygin pistol).

In contrast to the PM, the PYa was already “fed” with 9x19 Para cartridges, including their reinforced version with an armor-piercing bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core. The last ammunition was named 7N21. In total, the PYa store held 17 rounds.

However, every coin is known to have two sides. The new army pistol weighed much more PM, and most importantly, when launched into a series, it demonstrated a number of problems associated with an insufficiently high production culture of both itself and the ammunition used.

Over time, the Russian defense industry was able to solve most of these problems. Nevertheless, the negative attitude towards the IL of some users, formed under the influence of acquaintance with the first batches of pistols, continues to exist to this day. That, however, did not prevent (first of all - due to the low cost in comparison with foreign counterparts) the commercial PYa model, known as the Viking, from becoming one of the most popular pistols in Russian shooting clubs.

While the PY was not easily mastering the army horizons, he suddenly had a potential competitor. By 2012, led by Dmitry Streshinsky and Nicola Bandini Arsenal Firearms created the Strike One 9mm seventeen-shot pistol. With a lighter weight than the PY and better ergonomics, the new pistol, which appears in Russia under the name "Strizh", seemed a very promising product.

The main highlight of the "Swift", which immediately caught the eye, was the low position of the axis of the barrel relative to the hand holding the weapon. This design decision made it possible to significantly reduce the barrel toss, which should have had a positive effect on the shooting accuracy. By its creators, "Strizh" was positioned as a weapon intended for the Army, and for law enforcement agencies, and for sports, and for self-defense.

In 2012, "Strizh" went for testing at TsNIITOCHMASH, where it initially showed good results. But then something went wrong. We quote the general director of TsNIITOCHMASH Dmitry Semizorov:

"When working in special conditions, that is, when working on dry parts, when working without cleaning and lubrication for 5 days and when dusty, the pistol picked up such a large number of delays that it did not meet the requirements of the military customer in principle."

For an incomprehensible reason, Arsenal Firearms avoided finalizing its product to the requirements of the RF Ministry of Defense, fully focusing on the release of Strike One for the foreign commercial market.

New from Kalashnikov

So, "Strizh" was "out of the game." It is not known what impact the brainchild of Streshinsky and Bandini had on subsequent events, but already in 2014 he worked in the Kalashnikov concern Dmitry Lebedev, a student of the legendary sports weapons designer Efima Khaidurova, started developing his own pistol for the needs of security officials and athletes. The famous shooter also took an active part in this work. Andrey Kirisenko, multiple champion of Russia in practical shooting.

Lebedev's pistol - PL-14 - was created for the ammunition used by the PY, but weighed less than the Yarygin. In contrast to the PYa, which had only two-way safety levers, the PL-14 also had two-way magazine latch buttons and shutter delay reset buttons.

In addition, the PL-14 received a seat under the barrel for a flashlight or laser designator, power from sixteen-round magazines and, as a "cherry on the cake", an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber.

Finally, the PL-14 acquired a low barrel axis and significantly more thought-out ergonomics than the PYa. The resource of the barrel of Lebedev's pistol was 10,000 rounds for the reinforced 7N21 armor-piercing cartridges. With the usual 9x19 Para, this figure should, of course, be significantly higher.

The first appearance of the PL-14 prototype at the Army-2015 forum caused a real stir. At that time it was simply impossible to "catch" a pistol and its designer at the Kalashnikov stand - they constantly disappeared at closed presentations. The lucky ones who nevertheless managed to hold the PL-14 in their hands noted that the pistol sits perfectly in the hand and ... has a rather hard trigger.

The latter was due to the requirements of the army for the safety of the pistol. It is for this reason that Lebedev's pistol originally received a double-action trigger firing mechanism with a trigger pull of 45H and a 7 mm trigger travel.

Gun PL-15(The Lebedev pistol of the 2015 model) was developed by the design team of the Kalashnikov Concern under the leadership of Dmitry Lebedev, a student of the sports weapons designer Efim Khaidurov. Work on the PL-15 began in 2014 with the participation of Andrey Kirisenko, multiple Russian champion in practical shooting. At the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2017" was shown its shortened version - a pistol PL-15K.

PL-15 pistol Photo by JSC Concern "Kalashnikov"

The main buyers of PL-15 pistols should be special forces, the army and the police. In addition, it is planned to release a sports version for practical shooting. For the first time, the prototype of the Lebedev Pistol was publicly demonstrated in June 2015 under the designation PL-14. Its improved version was released in 2016 at the Army-2016 exhibition under the designation PL-15. In 2017, at the Army-2017 forum, the manufacturer presented an updated PL-15 with a different shape of the shutter and slide stop lever.

One of the most noticeable positive qualities of the PL-15 pistol is the ergonomic shape of the handle with a large angle of inclination, thanks to which pistol users were able to make an accurate shot when firing offhand. This advantage is possessed by such pistols as the Parabellum P.08, Ruger Mark IV and Glock 17. In order to reduce the recoil shoulder and toss when firing, the distance between the butt pad and the central axis of the barrel is made as small as possible. As a result, the shooter spends less time re-aiming after each shot, which increases both accuracy and rate of fire.

The Lebedev sample has a chance to become the first Russian self-loading pistol with a truly ergonomic grip, pleasant to grip and accurate in shooting, not inferior in these qualities to the best samples of Western space. The PL-15 handle has replaceable pads of different sizes. This solution, which significantly improves ergonomics, is used by leading manufacturers of short-barreled weapons in the USA and Europe in most of their modern self-loading pistols.

The PL-15 could even try to compete in accuracy with the famous Swiss SIG P210 and its modern version of the SIG Sauer P210 Target, famous for its excellent shooting accuracy, if not only for the self-cocking trigger (DAO) and the thick handle due to the double-row magazine. The PL-15 customers did not prioritize accuracy, unlike the Swiss, who did not want to reduce accuracy in comparison with the Luger 1906/29 in order to improve other basic properties of the weapon and adopted Ordonnanzpistole 49 that met their requirements.

Automation works according to the scheme of using the recoil of a movable barrel with its short stroke. The barrel bore is locked with a bolt according to a system with a skewed barrel, clutching a massive protrusion above the breech of the barrel with a window for ejecting spent cartridges in the bolt. Disengagement of the barrel from the bolt is performed by tilting the breech of the barrel downward when the inclined surface of the tide under the breech of the barrel interacts with the axis of the barrel retainer, due to which the massive protrusion above the breech of the barrel comes out of engagement with the window for ejecting spent cartridges in the bolt, then the barrel stops, and the shutter continues to move backward.

The levers of the flag safety catch and the slide stop, as well as the magazine latch button in the PL-15 and PL-15K are double-sided. In the form in which the prototype under the designation PL-14 was shown to the public, in order to reduce the thickness of the weapon, these levers are made practically flat, almost not protruding beyond the side edges of the frame, and are placed in special recesses. PL-15 developers have provided, albeit not so flat, but more convenient, the above-mentioned weapon controls of a more traditional form. The pistols presented at the end of August 2017 at the Army-2017 forum were equipped with a new-shaped slide stop lever with an enlarged protrusion.

The small thickness of the PL-15 is one of the main features of this pistol. For the 2016 model, the maximum grip thickness is 28 mm. But this advantage also has its price - flat safety levers, as practical experience shows, are very difficult to control in a stressful situation, be it a combat situation or a sporting event. There are two versions of the interchangeable firing mechanism. PL-15 - with only a self-cocking (DAO) trigger-type trigger, with a hidden location of the trigger, trigger pull of 4.5 kg and a trigger stroke of 7 mm.

PL-15-01 - with single-action striker trigger (DA), trigger force 2.5 kg and trigger stroke 4 mm. Inertial striker - when the trigger is released, the striker does not go beyond the surface of the shutter mirror, and the capsule breaks due to the energy of the inertial striker. The choice in favor of the DAO trigger with not the smallest trigger force was dictated by the designer's initial desire to make a pistol without a safety catch, but the safety catch still had to be installed at the request of the customers.

Here I recall the situation with the Polish pistol VIS 35 "Radom", which the designer Piotr Vilnevchits did not want to supply with a manually operated fuse, considering it not only useless, but also harmful, since in a critical situation the owner may simply forget to turn off this fuse or forget where exactly on weapons, he is generally found. But in the case of the Poles and the VIS 35, the customer listened to the opinion of the designer.

A double-sided flag fuse, the levers of which are located on both sides of the frame, when turned on, disconnects the trigger and the trigger. The Lebedev pistol is equipped with an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber, made in the form of a pin protruding from the rear end of the bolt when there is a cartridge in the barrel. The trigger guard is made with a front protrusion for the "grip", in which the shooter puts the index finger of the supporting hand on this protrusion, which, in my personal opinion, does not at all affect the reduction of the pistol toss when fired.

At the bottom of the front of the frame there is a Picatinny rail, with which various tactical flashlights or laser designators can be attached to the weapon. Sights are non-adjustable, installed in dovetail grooves. The cartridges are fed from a two-row magazine with the output of cartridges in one row.

The shortened PL-15K, shown at the Army-2017 forum, roughly corresponds to the dimensions of the Glock 19. The pistol has a frame made of high-strength aluminum alloy with replaceable grip pads of various sizes and a seat for installing an under-barrel flashlight and a laser designator. At the bottom on the sides of the handle there are semicircular holes for removing the magazine in difficult operating conditions, when you need to apply force by pulling the magazine by its cover.

The safety levers in the compact PL-15K have been moved slightly forward and upward, closer to the slide delay. At the request of the user, the base barrel can be replaced with an elongated one, which has a thread on the muzzle for the installation of a quick-detachable silencer. Replaceable front sight and rear sight can have a different configuration at the request of the user. It is also possible to install a collimator sight on the shutter.

The exhibition specimen was equipped with a single-action striker trigger with a trigger force of about 1.5 kg with a stroke length of 3 mm. This trigger is optional for the full-size PL-15. The service life of the PL-15 pistol in shooting is at least 10,000 shots with Russian reinforced 7N21 cartridges, which are more powerful than commercial 9 × 19 mm Parabellum ammunition and correspond to the more powerful western 9 × 19 NATO or 9 × 19 + P.

When firing with 9mm Luger cartridges of normal power, the PL-15 resource is about 30,000 rounds. However, it should be mentioned here that the warranty resource of Glock pistols is 40,000 shots, and the actual shots of many copies of these famous for their reliability, practical Austrian pistols amount to several hundred thousand. The frame is made of light alloy, but in the future it is planned to produce it from polymer.

Compared to the PL-14 prototype, the PL-15 demonstrated in 2016 differs in a slightly modified shape of the rear of the bolt, the presence of a hole at the bottom of the handle for attaching a pistol strap, a new shape of the safety levers, bolt delay, barrel lock and magazine catch. In addition, a version was shown, equipped with an elongated barrel with a thread on its muzzle for attaching a silencer.

In 2017, as already mentioned, the weapon received further changes in the form of a different shape of the slide stop lever with an enlarged protrusion and a new shape of the side faces of the slide, made at a slight angle. In terms of the shape of the shutter, the PL-15 and PL-15K are similar to the Walther PPQ M2 and Steyr pistols.

The Lebedev PL-15 pistol has a number of advantages, including the ergonomics of the handle, the accuracy and accuracy of offhand and high-speed firing, small thickness and the absence of levers that protrude beyond the side edges of the weapon, and in addition, only a self-cocking trigger that allows you to safely carry a weapon with a cartridge in the chamber without the need for a safety catch.

Of the obvious shortcomings, it should be noted that the safety levers do not protrude beyond the side edges of the frame, which can cause difficulties when handling them, especially in thick gloves, as well as an insufficiently wide trigger guard and an unnecessarily large total length of the full-size PL-15.

In July 2019, the Kalashnikov Concern sports a version of the 9 mm Lebedev pistol under the designation SP1... The weapon is intended for practical shooting in production and production optics classes. The magazine holds 16 cartridges with their output in one row and has display windows.

The bolt of the SP1 sports pistol received a mount for mounting a miniature pistol sight of the "Red Dot" type. The handle is made with a notch on its front and side grooves for easy magazine removal. The SP1 pistol is equipped with Glock sights. The fuse, slide delay and magazine latch button are duplicated on both sides.

TTX pistol PL-15

Caliber: 9 × 19mm Parabellum
Weapon length, mm: 207
Barrel length, mm: 120
Weapon height, mm: 136
Weapon thickness, mm: 28
Weight without cartridges, g: 800
Magazine capacity, rounds: 16

TTX pistol PL-15K

Caliber: 9 × 19mm Parabellum
Weapon length, mm: 180
Barrel length, mm: 92
Weapon height, mm: 130
Weapon thickness, mm: 28
Weight without cartridges, g: 720

Most likely, the serial production of new Russian pistols with the PL-15 index will begin soon. The weapon is likely to receive the name "Lebedev pistol", or simply "Lebedev" by analogy with "Makarov". Judging by the reviews and characteristics, this short-barrel has excellent prospects, including export ones, so the name should be branded, like, for example, the legendary Kalashnikov.

If the PM-15 is indeed more convenient to use, and also more reliable, more precisely the Italian "Beretta" and the Austrian "Glock", then taking into account its declared low price, for sure, there will be a queue for it in the best weapons stores in the world. And many foreign special services, with pleasure, will acquire it for their military operations.

Overcome the limit of perfection

It is extremely difficult to make a new self-loading pistol with a movable barrel according to the classical scheme, which would not be inferior to its famous counterparts. It would seem that everything that could be improved has already been improved. Let's say more, recently the best weapon designers of the USA, France, Germany, Great Britain have tried unsuccessfully to improve the design of the short-barreled barrel.

And the cart, as they say, is still there. As a result, the 40-year-old Glock is still considered the ultimate in excellence. More precisely, it was before the appearance of the PL-15. Of course, new metals and alloys, as well as innovative machine-building equipment expand the boundaries for the flight of engineering, but the developers' imagination is quickly limited by the price: the gun should not only be super, but also affordable for the consumer.

Russians surprise the world again

So, the PL-12 pistol is the brainchild of the well-known Kalashnikov concern, which explains a lot in the approach to its development. There is no doubt that reliability, convenience during shooting and technological accessibility were put at the forefront. After all, the weapon should replace the workhorse of the Interior Ministry operatives and military officers of the RF Ministry of Defense - "Makarov", who is more than 70 years old.

We will remind, in the zero years "Makarov" already tried to change to "Yarygin", when an experimental batch of pistols with this name entered the military units. However, officers complained about its severity, unreliability, and even inconvenience. In many ways, this was due to the tolerances during metal processing, while at the same time the increased complexity of manufacturing parts. As a result, the assembly of the short-barrel wished for the best, and its protruding parts literally interfered with getting out of the holster. In short, the Yarygin was abandoned, but the idea of ​​making a new Russian pistol received a new impetus.

In 2015, the general public first heard about the PL-14 pistol, in which the numbers indicated the year of its presentation. Nevertheless, work on its refinement continued. Soon the PL-15 appeared, but even after the demonstration of this weapon at the Army-2016 exhibition, tests and design of a new version, the PL-15K, were going on. However, it has already become known that "Lebedev" will definitely go into service.

"Lebedev" with long and short slope

Each pistol has a fuse (and sometimes several), nevertheless, they forget to install it, or the lever is triggered by accidental actions of the owner of the weapon. Then there are spontaneous shots with serious consequences. Shots are not uncommon when falling to the floor. All this is called reckless weapon handling.

Taking into account this negative experience, both long and short descent were implemented in the PL-15. In the first case, the likelihood of accidental use of a short-barrel is significantly reduced, and in the second, the reaction rate to threats from the enemy sharply increases. True, such a sensitive pistol is intended for real professionals from the special services. It is also envisaged that the Lebedev will enter the army and for sale, both with a standard and with a long barrel - 120 mm and 207 mm, respectively, as well as with magazines for 15 and 30 rounds. And it can also be equipped with a collimator or laser sight, as well as an underbarrel flashlight.

Will not let you down in battle

Knowledgeable fighters say that the worst thing in a firefight is a pistol misfire, when the question of life and death depends on a fraction of a second. Numerous tests, including those under extreme conditions, have shown that Lebedev can be trusted exactly like the Kalashnikov assault rifle. It was tested during dust storms, in a downpour, in severe frost, and there was never a failure. But everyone's favorite "Glock" is terrified of water, even in small quantities. For example, caught in medium rain, it can misfire.

And also "Lebedev" differs from "Makarov" in that the PL-15 shoots a 9x19 mm "Parabellum" cartridge, which provides the bullet with energy up to 620 J. And this is twice as powerful as the 9x18 "Makarov" bullet. Even with these powerful cartridges, the new pistol will withstand up to 10,000 rounds.

Convenient and unobtrusive

The Lebedev is 5 mm thinner than the Glock - 28 mm versus 33 mm, which allows it to be worn discreetly. Its dimensions are adjusted so that the holster does not treacherously protrude from the jacket's floor. And he is lighter than his famous Austrian "colleague". The weight of a standard PL-15 is only 800 grams, while the Klok weighs 900 grams, and the Beretta 92 - 950 grams.

It is also important that the pistol in the Kalashnikov concern was developed taking into account the wishes and recommendations of specialists from the FSB special forces training center, as well as famous sports shooters. Designer Dmitry Lebedev adapted the weapon as much as possible for comfortable shooting, in order, firstly, to reduce the negative effects of recoil and, secondly, to get away from a significant toss of the top after the shot. As a result, the fighter, using the PL-15, easily and quickly returns the barrel to aiming, thereby gaining precious time for a second shot.

Considering that successful pistols have been in demand for decades or even more, the Lebedev is likely to become the personal weapon of several generations of Russian officers.

The Russian concern Kalashnikov will soon organize a new production site at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant to prepare for serial production of the Lebedev pistol (PL-15, PL-15K).

Surely, many remember when a working sample of Lebedev's pistol was first shown to the general public and what excitement it caused in 2015. At that time it was simply impossible to see the pistol, as well as the designer, near the Kalashnikov stand - they were constantly at closed presentations. And yet, the few who managed to hold the PL-14 in their hands noted that the pistol sits perfectly in the hand and ... has a fairly hard trigger.

The pistol originally received a double-action trigger firing mechanism with a trigger pull of 45H and a trigger travel of 7 mm. Such requirements, initially, were presented by the military to the safety of the product.

Over the next two years, the PL-14 was repeatedly refined, and all the time there was fresh news in this regard. And finally, at the forum "Army-2017", "Kalashnikov », demonstrated a new version of the PL-15 with a single-action firing mechanism, trigger force 25N and a trigger stroke of 4 mm. The concern also presented a compact version of the Lebedev pistol - PL-15K. The compact version had a length reduced to 180 mm, a fourteen-round magazine and the possibility of producing with two variants of the firing mechanism, as in the full-size PL-15.

The PL-15 pistol was created by designer Dmitry Lebedev, who at one time was a student of the legendary designer of sports weapons Efim Khaidurov. Lebedev has been developing experimental pistols for many years. The pistol itself was assembled with the active support of the well-known Russian shooter Andrei Kirisenko, a multiple champion of the country in practical shooting.

Optimal ergonomics, safety in use, high reliability with any 9x19 cartridges, complete "two-sidedness", high resource (about 10,000 shots using reinforced, armor-piercing cartridges 7H21; with "ordinary" cartridges, the resource, respectively, should be much longer).

The creator of the pistol, Dmitry Lebedev, said that the PL-15 is the result of many years of work. The idea to create such a weapon came to him while he was working in the research group of the famous designer of sports weapons Efim Leontyevich Khaidurov.

The submarine was developed based on the analysis of foreign-made weapons. The combat experience of the FSB special forces, the security service of the President of Russia and other special forces of the power structures of the Russian Federation was also taken into account.

So, PL-15 uses automation using the recoil of the bolt coupled to the barrel, with a short barrel stroke. The lowering of the breech of the barrel when unlocking is carried out by a figured tide under the breech of the barrel. The barrel bore is locked by engaging the protrusion in the upper part of the barrel with the window for ejection of sleeves in the bolt.

The frame of the pistol is made of aluminum alloy, in the future it is planned to use a frame made of impact-resistant polymer. The shape of the grip of the weapon provides a comfortable and natural grip of the weapon, while the maximum grip thickness is only 28mm.

The trigger mechanism in the basic version is hammer, with a hidden trigger and an inertial firing pin. Shooting is carried out in self-cocking mode for each shot (only double action trigger), while the trigger force is 4 kg, and the full trigger travel is only 7 mm. Additionally, a manual safety device has been introduced into the design; when turned on, it releases the trigger with the trigger and has two flat, conveniently located levers on both sides of the weapon. A version of the PL-15-01 pistol has also been developed, which has a single-action striker trigger, with a significantly reduced trigger force and trigger travel.

Also, the design provides a cartridge indicator in the chamber, made in the form of a pin protruding from the rear end of the bolt in the presence of a cartridge in the barrel. The slide stop levers are also double-sided, as is the magazine latch lever.

The cartridges are fed from detachable double-row magazines with the output of cartridges in one row. The sights are open, unregulated, installed in dovetail grooves. On the frame under the barrel there is a Picatinny rail for the installation of additional equipment (LCC, flashlight). The PL-15 pistol can be equipped with an elongated threaded barrel for installing a quick-release muffler for the sound of a shot.

PL-14- a domestic semi-automatic pistol of 9 mm caliber chambered for 9x19 Parabellum... Created by engineers of the Kalashnikov concern for arming the army and law enforcement agencies. The development project was led by Dmitry Lebedev, supported by Russian practical shooting champion Andrey Kirisenko. The pistol was first shown at the Army-2015 military forum in 2015. On the forums of subsequent years, the Kalashnikov concern presented modified versions PL-14, PL-15 and PL-15K.

History of creation

The Makarov pistol has been in the service of most of the power structures of Russia and the Soviet Union for more than half a century. Despite the fact that he has established himself as an excellent weapon in all aspects (excellent reliability, a more or less good cartridge, and most importantly - extremely cheap in production), the veteran needs a replacement. Over the past several decades, many contenders have been developed for the place of the most widely used and mass-produced pistol in Russia. As we can see, so far no one has managed to remove the PM from his post. Nevertheless, designers in the sweat of their brows create new pistols, and the famous concern "Kalashnikov" was no exception in this regard. A hitherto little-known student of the famous designer of sports small arms (he has more than a dozen sports pistols, as well as two sports modifications of the revolver of the Nagant system - TOZ-36 and TOZ-49) Efim Khaidurova, Dmitry Lebedev, in 2015 at the military-technical exhibition "Army -2015 ”presented its newest pistol PL-14. According to the concern, the pistol was developed with the participation of instructors for the training of FSB operatives, as well as sportsmen-shooters. The work began in 2014, which testifies to the professionalism of the designer who created a working version of the pistol in a year. In 2016 and 2017, at the same forum, Lebedev presented two more modifications of the PL-14 - PL-15 and PL-15K (modernized and modernized shortened, respectively). The cartridge, unusual for Russian weapons, is due to the obsolescence of the domestic 9x18. The more powerful and promising cartridge 9x19 was adopted as the only possible (for 2018) for the Lebedev pistol.
The service life of a pistol with proper care exceeds more than 30,000 shots.

Design

A well-known drawback of the Makarov pistol is the ergonomics and the magazine for only 8 rounds. Despite the fact that the PM is a compact pistol, the convenience and comfort of holding and firing is often questioned. One of the main tasks of Dmitry Lebedev when developing a new pistol was to solve this problem. The designer applied many solutions that allowed several times (in comparison with the PM) to improve the grip and ergonomics of the submarine. At the first glance at the pistol, a bright detail catches the eye - the handle. It is made intentionally tilted, which makes shooting more accurate in general, and especially a quick offhand shot. Also, the unusual appearance of the PL-15 is facilitated by the extremely small distance between the back of the handle and the axis of the barrel. According to physical laws, such a solution helps to reduce the lever force that occurs when firing. Accordingly, the toss of the barrel from the recoil force will be minimal. The PL-15 automation works according to a rather complicated principle. In general terms, this is the use of the recoil of the bolt connected to the barrel. In this case, a short stroke of the barrel also occurs. The automation uses many innovative design solutions to make it as reliable and efficient as possible. Also PL-15 has an interesting feature. Effort on the trigger is 4 kg (for comparison, for PM - 2-3.5 kg), which eliminates unnecessary waste of cartridges in a stressful situation. The pistol controls are duplicated for both left-handers and right-handers. There is also an indicator of the presence of a loaded cartridge, which allows both visually and tactilely determine whether the weapon is loaded. Under the barrel there is a "Picatinny" type mount for the installation of LCC or flashlights. It is impossible not to mention also the extremely compact dimensions of the PL-15, which were reduced to a minimum in the modification of the PL-15K. Such a wide range of sizes allows the pistol to be used as an assault weapon or as a concealed carry weapon. Due to the specifics of the development of the PL-15, it is planned to be released in a variety of options. Starting from sports full-size and ending with compact combat. Depending on the model, the size of the pistol varies, as well as the design of the trigger (trigger and percussion type). In sports modifications, the trigger must be cocked manually for each shot, while the combat PL-15-01 is a semi-automatic self-loading weapon.

Difference between PL-15 and PL-15K

The PL-15K pistol (K-compact) is a modification of the PL-15. The main difference between the pistol is in the size and weight of the pistol (0.72 kg versus 0.99 kg). The pistol magazines are not interchangeable: 14 rounds for the PL-15K and 15 for the PL-15. There is also a PL-15K with a polymer shutter frame. The reduction in size and weight ensures long-term comfort and greater discretion. The pistol also has Picatinny rails on the frame for mounting an LCC or tactical flashlight.

Outcomes

In general, Dmitry Lebedev managed to create, probably, the most promising Russian pistol, the development of which we can observe right now. PL-15 (and modifications) is a reliable weapon, the automation of which was developed taking into account the experience of previous models of Russian short-barreled weapons. The new 9x19 Parabellum cartridge in the Russian arms industry will become a reliable aid in the development of this weapon, becoming one of the main innovations of this pistol. The PL-15 is a handy weapon whose ergonomics have been influenced by recent research in biometrics. PL-15 is a precision weapon, the accuracy of which is provided by a number of innovative design solutions. I hope that the entire Russian arms community will closely follow the development of the latest domestic pistol.

Modifications of the Lebedev pistol pistol:

• PL-14 - the first version of the Lebedev pistol, presented to the general public in 2015.
• PL-15- sports model PL, presented in 2016.
• PL-15-01- combat model PL-15, which has less effort on the descent and is semi-automatic (in contrast to the PL-15, which was self-cocked).
• PL-15K- a shortened version of the PL-15, designed for covert wearing or wearing by services that rarely use weapons.

Below is a table of technical and fire characteristics of the PL-15 pistol.

Technical characteristics of the Lebedev Pistol / PL-14 / PL-15