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In the last publication () we showed a video, half of which is dedicated to a new word in Russian weapons design - the Lebedev PL-15 pistol. Many probably remember the excitement of 2015, when a working model of this weapon, the PL-14 pistol, was first shown to the general public.

What flattering names have they called it: “Russian weapons breakthrough”, “unsurpassed in beauty”, etc.! And now 2016 comes, the exhibition “Russian Army-2016” opens, and at the stand of the Kalashnikov Concern there is a new pistol model - PL-15.

The PL-15 pistol was developed by designer Dmitry Lebedev, who works at the Kalashnikov concern. Dmitry is a student of the legendary sporting weapons designer Efim Khaidurov, and has been developing experimental pistols for many years.

In the photo: designer of the PL-14\15 pistol Dmitry Lebedev

The development of a pistol under the symbol PL-14 began in 2014 with the active participation of the famous shooter Andrei Kirisenko, a multiple champion of Russia in practical shooting. The goal of developing a new pistol is to create a service (combat) pistol for the police, army and special services, as well as variants based on it for sports and practical shooting.

The new pistol was based on a number of basic concepts, namely: optimal ergonomics, safety in handling, high reliability with any 9x19 cartridges, complete “double-sidedness”, long service life (at least 10,000 rounds when using reinforced armor-piercing cartridges 7N21; with “conventional” "cartridge life should be significantly longer).

The Lebedev PL-15 pistol uses automation using the recoil of the bolt coupled to the barrel, with a short barrel stroke. The reduction 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 at the top of the barrel with the window for ejecting cartridges in the bolt. The pistol frame is made of aluminum alloy; in the future it is planned to use a frame made of impact-resistant polymer. The shape of the weapon's handle provides a comfortable and natural grip on the weapon, while the maximum thickness of the handle is only 28mm.

The trigger mechanism is hammer-operated, with a hidden trigger and an inertial firing pin. Shooting is carried out in self-cocking mode for each shot (double-action trigger only), with a trigger force of 4 kg, and the full travel of the trigger is only 7 mm. Additionally, a manual safety has been introduced into the design, which, when turned on, disconnects the trigger from the hammer and has two flat, conveniently located levers on both sides of the weapon. The design provides 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. Levers shutter stop also double-sided, like the magazine release button. The cartridges are fed from detachable double-row magazines with cartridges exiting in one row. Sights open, non-adjustable, installed in dovetail grooves. The frame under the barrel has a Picatinny-type guide for installing additional equipment (LCC, flashlight).

The PL-15 pistol can be equipped with an elongated barrel with a thread for installing a quick-detachable shot silencer.

On video: shooting from a PL-15 pistol with an attached silencer. Shooting is carried out with supersonic cartridges. If you use cartridges with a subsonic speed of a heavy bullet, the sound of the shot will be significantly quieter.

Compared to the PL-14 prototype, the PL-15 pistol shown at the Army 2016 exhibition is distinguished by a slightly modified shape of the rear part of the bolt, the presence of a hole at the bottom of the handle for attaching a pistol strap, new form safety levers, bolt stop, barrel lock, and magazine latch. In addition, a version was shown equipped with an extended barrel with threads on its muzzle for attaching a silencer.

The Lebedev PL-15 pistol has a number of advantages, including the ergonomics of the handle, the accuracy and accuracy of offhand and rapid fire, small thickness and the absence of levers protruding much beyond the side edges of the weapon, and in addition, only a self-cocking trigger, which allows you to safely carry a weapon with a cartridge in the chamber without the need to use a safety catch.

Tactical specifications 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, cartridges: 15

Personal opinion: looking at this incredible beautiful weapon, the thought “They could do it!” arises. I really hope that all the identified shortcomings will be corrected, and the Russian Army will receive a new wonderful pistol with excellent ergonomics, equally excellent ammunition, and excellent reliability. And who knows, maybe even you and I will get to shoot with it at the training ground? :)

Cybercat, based on materials from the sites http://modernfirearms.net, http://www.armoury-online.ru

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Reliable, safe and universal - the armed forces will soon receive one that is not inferior in efficiency to foreign analogues, and in a number of characteristics even surpasses the best of them.

State tests will be completed by the end of the year. The pistol model has not yet been officially named, but experts are confident that gunsmiths are testing the concern’s latest development.

About the features of this melee weapon - in the material of RIA Novosti.

Soft descent

The legendary Makarov has the status of the most popular domestic pistol today. It has been in service for more than 70 years and, with all due respect to its merits, is hopelessly outdated. They started thinking about replacing the "peam" back in the 1980s, but during the years of perestroika there was no time for that.

The military made the first attempt to switch to new weapons at the beginning of the 2000s - a limited batch of Yarygin pistols entered the troops. During operation, shortcomings were immediately identified. When shooting, the bolt often jammed, the pistol was too heavy for daily carry, parts protruding from the body made it difficult to quickly remove it from the holster, and the build quality left much to be desired. Something different was required.

The first prototype of the PL-14 (Lebedev pistol) was presented to the general public in 2015, and its improved version was shown a year later at the Army-2016 forum.

The product of the 2015 model takes into account all the shortcomings of its predecessor. In particular, the developers have improved the shape of the handle - it has become even more comfortable and ergonomic, reduced recoil and added smoothness to the trigger.

Moreover, the designers developed two versions of the PL-15 - with “long” and “short” descents. The first - about seven millimeters - will protect the shooter from accidentally shooting at stressful situation. This modification is intended for combined arms army units. PL-15 for “specialists” and highly qualified users is equipped with a more sensitive trigger.

The pistol is designed according to the classic principle of locking with a skewed barrel. This scheme is used by most manufacturers of short-barreled weapons in the world.

The standard barrel is PL-15–120 millimeters, and the total length of the pistol is 207 millimeters. An option with an extended barrel for the muffler is expected. Moreover, as with any weapon XXI century, on PL-15 can be installed red dot sight, underbarrel flashlight and laser sight. Another feature of the PL-15 is its hammerless design: the pistol fires in self-cocking mode for each shot.

Pistol PL-15K

Reliable fighter

The submarine was developed in record time short time taking into account the experience of the best weapons companies. The main reference point for Russian specialists was the Glock, which military and police officers around the world fell in love with. In Russia, the “Austrian” is also often used by certain units of the special services.

“First, the developers collected all the requirements and wishes of users,” Honored Master of Sports, world champion in practical shooting Andrei Kirisenko, who was at the forefront of the creation of the PL-15, told RIA Novosti. - We asked what they like or dislike about the Glock and other famous pistols. I wanted to take all the best in the world and eliminate the shortcomings. At the same time, Lebedev’s pistol is made according to the principle “there is no need to reinvent the wheel.” There is an old, proven browning scheme that has proven exceptional efficiency.”

Reliability, according to Kirisenko, is the most main characteristic requirements for military army weapons in Russia. In the submarine, this was fully realized. And the firing range and penetration ability depend on the type of ammunition.

“There is nothing more important than reliability for a short barrel,” the expert is confident. - And if the pistol passes tests at TsNIITOCHMASH, which, by the way, the Glock failed, then we can say with confidence: the PL-15 is the most reliable pistol in the world.

Because, firstly, the military has very high requirements for new weapons, and secondly, TsNIITOCHMASH has the most stringent and complex tests.”

The PL-15 is suitable for any type of ammunition, including high-power ammunition; neither heat, nor cold, nor rain, nor snow will interfere with the shot. Moreover, the pistol allows the use of low-quality cartridges, which often delay the shot in the Austrian Glock.

Lebedev is designed to fire 9x19 Parabellum cartridges, twice as powerful as the Makarov 9x18. The standard magazine with a capacity of 15 rounds can be replaced with a whole line of extended ones with a capacity of up to thirty rounds of ammunition.

The developers claim a high service life of the pistol - the PL-15 can withstand up to ten thousand shots, even with reinforced armor-piercing cartridges.

“With a Glock, for example, if you wet it in water, there is a high probability of delaying the shot. It reacts very poorly to our ammunition from the Barnaul and Tula cartridge factories - it works well with imported ones, but with ours there are regular delays. The submarine fires our ammunition perfectly in any difficult conditions,” Kirisenko noted.

Austrian pistol "Glock-17"

Pistol event

Among the advantages of the Russian pistol are compactness and ergonomics. Convenient controls, you can safely store the cartridge in the chamber - that is, the “take out-fire” scheme is implemented.

“The gun is very comfortable for a shooter. Lebedev, who worked for many years with sporting weapons designer Efim Khaidurov, is well versed in human biomechanics. Therefore, the angle of the handle and the ergonomics of the weapon are such that they allow you to fire a second shot very quickly and accurately,” emphasizes Kirisenko.

In terms of weight and size characteristics, the PL-15 is superior to the Austrian Glock: the maximum width in the handle area is only 28 millimeters, in the front part - 21 millimeters. The Russian pistol is better suited for concealed carry, the holster with it will not protrude much from under your clothes.

In 2017, the developers introduced and . The compact pistol differs from the basic one - weighing 800 grams - in its reduced length, height and, as a result, weight. The operating principle of automation and internal mechanisms are the same. The modularity is preserved - the user can replace the barrel with a longer one or install the necessary front and rear sights.

Colt M1911

Of course, the development of Russian specialists will be noticed on the arms market - it is structurally successful combat pistols are rarely presented in the world. For example, the well-known American Colt M1911 has been produced for more than a hundred years, and the Austrian Glock is almost forty.

The development of a new short-barreled weapon requires many competencies, starting with basic sciences and ending with metallurgy. Many countries with developed mechanical engineering cannot afford their own pistol. For example, France, Great Britain, and Saudi Arabia. In the United States, the Italian Beretta pistol is in service, and special units use the same Glock.

PL-15 once again proves that Russia has everything necessary knowledge and opportunities to create quality small arms, including short-barreled ones. The use of a domestic product in the army is important both from a strategic point of view and from a financial one - the cost of the PL-15 will be significantly lower than any other foreign analogue.

Nikolay Protopopov

PL-14– a domestic semi-automatic pistol of 9 mm caliber chambered for 9x19 Parabellum. Created by engineers of the Kalashnikov concern to arm 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. At forums in subsequent years, the Kalashnikov concern presented modified versions PL-14, PL-15 and PL-15K.

History of creation

The Makarov pistol is in the service of most law enforcement agencies in Russia and Soviet Union for more than half a century. Despite the fact that it has proven itself to be an excellent weapon in all aspects (excellent reliability, a more or less good cartridge, and most importantly - extremely cheap to produce), the veteran needs a replacement. Over the past few decades, many contenders have been developed to become the most widely used and mass-produced pistol in Russia. As we can see, no one has yet managed to remove the PM from his post. Nevertheless, designers are hard at work creating new pistols, and the famous Kalashnikov concern 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 Nagan system revolver - 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 shooting athletes. The work began in 2014, which testifies to the professionalism of the designer, who created a working version of the pistol within 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). Unusual for Russian weapons the cartridge is due to the obsolescence of the domestic 9x18. The more powerful and promising 9x19 cartridge was accepted as the only possible (for 2018) for Lebedev’s pistol.
The service life of the pistol with proper care exceeds more than 30,000 shots.

Design

A well-known disadvantage of the Makarov pistol is its ergonomics and magazine capacity of only 8 rounds. Despite the fact that the PM is compact pistol, the convenience and comfort of holding and shooting 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 made it possible to improve the grip and ergonomics of the submarine several times (compared to the PM). When you first look at the pistol, a bright detail catches your eye - the handle. It is intentionally tilted, which makes shooting more accurate in general, and especially a quick shot offhand. Also unusual looking PL-15 contributes extremely short distance between the back of the handle and the axis of the barrel. According to physical laws, this solution helps to reduce the leverage that occurs when firing. Accordingly, the barrel bounce from the recoil force will be minimal. The PL-15 automation operates on a rather complex principle. IN general outline this is the use of a recoil bolt connected to the barrel. This also results in a short barrel stroke. Automation uses many innovative constructive solutions to make it as reliable and efficient as possible. Also PL-15 has interesting feature. The trigger pull is 4 kg (for comparison, the PM has 2-3.5 kg), which eliminates unnecessary waste of ammunition in a stressful situation. The pistol controls are duplicated for both left-handed and right-handed people. There is also an indicator of the presence of a loaded cartridge, which allows you to determine both visually and tactilely whether the weapon is loaded. Under the barrel there is a Picatinny mount for installing a laser laser or flashlights. It is also impossible not to mention the extremely compact dimensions of the PL-15, which were reduced to a minimum in the PL-15K modification. Such a wide range of sizes allows the pistol to be used as an assault weapon or a concealed carry weapon. Due to the specifics of development, the PL-15 is planned to be produced in a variety of variants. Starting from full-size sports ones and ending with compact combat ones. Depending on the model, the dimensions of the pistol vary, as well as the design of the trigger (trigger and impact type). In sports modifications, the hammer 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 the size and weight of the pistol (0.72 kg versus 0.99 kg). The pistols' 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 bolt carrier. Reduced size and weight makes it comfortable to wear for long periods of time and provides greater concealability. The pistol also has Picatinny rails on the frame for mounting a laser target or tactical flashlight.

Results

In general, Dmitry Lebedev managed to create, probably, the most promising Russian pistol, the development of which we can see right now. The 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 9x19 Parabellum cartridge, new 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 comfortable weapon whose ergonomics are influenced by the latest research in the field of biometrics. The PL-15 is a precision weapon, the accuracy of which is ensured by a number of innovative design solutions. I hope that the entire Russian arms community will closely follow the development of the newest 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, introduced in 2016.
• PL-15-01 - combat model PL-15, which has less trigger pull and is semi-automatic (unlike the PL-15, which was fired by self-cocking).
• PL-15K- a shortened version of the PL-15, intended for concealed carry or carry by services that rarely use weapons.

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

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

PL-15k

Right choice firearms involves selecting a model not only according to personal preferences, but also according to technical characteristics. For example, domestically produced pistols have earned a positive assessment not only in Russia, but also abroad, because they are distinguished by their convenience, high combat performance and ergonomics.

One of the most successful models is considered to be the PL-15k, which was developed by the design team of the Kalashnikov arms concern. In this article we will consider not only the history of the creation and scope of use of the pistol, but also its detailed technical characteristics, and a description of the pros and cons of the model will help you make your choice.

PL-15k

The abbreviation PL 15k means “Lebedev pistol”, because it was the famous designer Dmitry Lebedev who led its development. The first work on creating a new type of weapon began back in 2014, but a year later the developers were only able to present its prototype, and the latest, improved version was released only in 2016 (Figure 1).

Picture 1. External characteristics models

Picking up firearms, many are interested in the history of its creation, because for many models it is quite rich and interesting. We will also look at how the Lebedev 15k pistol was created, in what areas it is used, and what technical characteristics it has.

History of creation and purpose of the pistol

Initially, this model of firearms was created for the needs of the army, police and units special purpose. However, in the near future it is planned to release another version, which can be used for practical shooting.

The first public demonstration of the prototype took place in the summer of 2015, and the model itself received the designation PL-14. It was this that formed the basis of the modern pistol.

In 2016, at the Army-2016 exhibition, an improved model was presented, which was called PL-15, and in next year Another modification appeared - the Lebedev pistol (PL) 15k. In fact, the operating principle and design of the trigger mechanism remained the same, but the developers significantly reduced the size and weight of the weapon. This is due to the fact that the fighters special units, for whom the product was intended, often carry firearms only nominally and extremely rarely use them for their intended purpose. That is why the creators decided that the new model has a lightweight design and is perfect for constant wear.

By the way, the improved model can be used not only in the army or police, but also by security personnel or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who almost never resort to weapons.

Technical characteristics of the Lebedev PL 15k pistol

Since the PL 15k was designed based on the PL 15 model, they have a lot in common (Figure 2).

The main technical characteristics of the pistol are as follows:

1. The weapon is a classic self-loading unit that has proven itself in training and combat conditions.
2. Reloading occurs using the movable barrel, which moves backward along with the bolt under the influence of recoil.
3. The barrel stroke during a shot is short, that is, much less than the bolt stroke. It was this feature that made it possible to make the weapon small and convenient for constant wear.
4. The design features of the weapon also allow you to additionally install a longer barrel and different models of front and rear sights.
5. If we talk about traditional technical parameters, then its length is 180 mm, height 130 mm, and weight 720 grams. The magazine holds 14 rounds of 9*19 mm caliber.

During development Special attention paid attention to its ergonomics. Thanks to this, the weapon fits perfectly in the hand, and its low weight makes it easy to return it to the original sighting trajectory after the first shot.

The developers deliberately made the trigger travel large. At the same time, the pressing force is significantly higher than that of analogues and amounts to 4 kg. Thanks to this, it is almost impossible to fire a spontaneous shot, even if the gun falls to the floor from a height of human height.

The controls are located on the sides of the body. In addition, the design of the model involves the installation of additional equipment: a flashlight, a target indicator and a muffler.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Lebedev PL 15k pistol

The PL 15k has quite a lot of advantages, but its compactness is considered the main one. If we compare the Lebedev pistol with the Makarov model, we can say with confidence that this lightweight model is absolutely not inferior to its competitor in terms of combat characteristics (Figure 3).