
Introduction
When it comes down to it, nations use firearms to play the chords of history. Russia’s newest musical release in this regard is the flashy but flawed AK-12 series, belonging to the Ratnik modernization album alongside the lesser known banger, the balanced recoil KORD series. But here, we’re gonna step into the shoes of a really pretentious music snob and look at the unreleased song. The one that didn’t make the cut: the unique yet unknown AS-1 and AS-2 bullpup rifles.
The Mystery of the AS-1 and AS-2 Bullpup Rifles
Now I can’t blame anyone for never having heard of these rifles. Firearm trials, especially Russian ones, always have weird one-off entries from the array of competitors. They never receive much attention or publication, as more often than not the designs focus on some novel but unfleshed-out idea and lose to the safe and well-rounded choices. Thus, falling into obscurity without any actual service or further program developments. However, novelty by definition can be quite interesting, and that is why I decided to subject myself to scouring the Russian web - in this case, unearthing the testimony of a known Russian designer’s post on a rather dated military forum. This designer, Igor Mikhailovich, goes by the online nickname “Kochevnik,'' or “Nomad” in English. According to his postings, he retired after 32 years in service and now runs his own accessories company for combloc weapons. [4] He is also considerably involved in the Russian firearms industry and some projects originating from the Izhmash factory, now “Kalashnikov Concern”. Luckily for us, he has an aptitude towards shit-talking on the internet. [1] Some readers may know of Oxide’s youtube video covering the designer’s bullpup AK conversion kit that was in collaboration with Zenitco. [6] And indeed Kochevnik is a connoisseur of bullpups. He’s designed not only the aforementioned kit, but also further bullpup experimentations with the AK, radical bullpup conversions for the PK-series of MGs, took part in the Ash-12 trials, and - the reason he is relevant to this article - is the only person with an online testimony of a personal, hands-on experience with the AS bullpup series. [1,5]



Rifle Specifications and Unique Features
The rifle's specifications aren’t entirely clear, but the info we have is fascinating. The design is the work of Vladimir Zlobin, at Kalashnikov Concern. [1] They were first revealed in 2013 at the “Innovation Day” Expo, with Sergei Shoigu, the Minister of Defense of Russia at the time, stating there the rifles would join the “Ratnik” modernization trials. The same trials that saw the eventual adoption of the (AK-400) AK-12, seen in the front lines of Ukraine today. According to sources, the FSB, Russia’s internal security forces, originally ordered the development of the rifles for special operations. The series offers two chamberings, the AS-1 in 5.45x39mm and the AS-2 in 7.62x39mm. [3] Presumably, only the very necessary dimensions were changed between them such as the bolt face, magwell, and barrel, akin to such pairs as the AK-12/AK-15, and KORD A-545/A-762. The rifle allegedly comes out to an overall length of 740mm (~29”). Barrel lengths are unknown but presumably comparable or at least in the ballpark of the standard AK barrel, at 415mm (~16”) or perhaps slightly over 500mm(~20”), sources varying. [2] Very interestingly, it includes a radical feature to switch its operation from closed bolt to open bolt in “machine-gun mode”, similar to True Velocity’s, also bullpup, RM-277 entry for the US Army’s NGSW program. To complement this, it also possesses a RPK-like thicker fluted barrel and a mode with a higher rate-of-fire. All to improve its sustained fire capabilities. Not only all that, it also has the rather desirable feature of a bolt hold-open with specially prepared AK pattern magazines, something the standard AK pattern lacked compared to its western counterpart, the AR-15 and derivatives. Also the gun features a three position gas-block to accommodate subsonic ammo with stealthy manual action using a gas cut-off, work better with suppressors, and to over-gas to adjust to adverse conditions. To round it off it includes a full length sturdy top rail, side rails for lights and lasers, a seemingly decent pistol grip and cheek rest, and a two-chamber muzzle device capable of mounting a suppressor. Alongside this quite ambitious portfolio of features, it made a new attempt at the bullpup layout. [1]

Bullpup Design Challenges and Ejection Issues
The bullpup concept itself always tries to achieve one main objective. More barrel length for more bullet velocity, without adding more overall length to the rifle. They often have more enjoyable balance, more compactness, and therefore more maneuverability, which is perfect for CQB. However, when moving the chamber behind the trigger, bullpups run into the problem of assuring from both shoulders that the shooter’s face is clear of ejected casings and the bolt handle. A lot of bullpups just don’t even try to solve this, such as the in-service Tavor, AUG, Famas, L85, and others. The AS rifle series do attempt to provide a solution. Much like the FS 2000 or RFB, but really much more similar to the MDR, the AS features forward ejection right at the chamber/magwell section of the rifle. Because of this, I and others suspect the design’s ancestry includes the KBP-produced ADS “amphibious” rifle and the A-91 rifle, but that is mere speculation. Between this layout and the previously mentioned unprecedented suite of features, on paper this is essentially the end all rifle for the 21st century. However, there’s of course a “but”. According to what Kochenvik attested to, I would say the AS’s experience with this mechanism it was the MDR’s experience but much worse and never resolved.


Performance and Reliability Issues
Desert Tech’s MDR had many teething issues and troubles upon its release, from ejection issues, to double feeds, to poor quality control, and more. The company tried to address this with programs to introduce various fixes to customer’s purchased rifles, the new MDRX generation, and offering a variant of the rifle that just simply forwent the forward ejection mechanism altogether. [10] While we don’t know the exact geometry of the AS-1’s mechanism, Kochevnik's post revealed it was quite damning for the rifle. In one comment he states:
“Сырое изделие. Из 19 попавших к нам до 400 выстрелов без отказов выдержали только два автомата. Три полностью вышли из строя.”
“Unfinished products. Out of the 19 rifles we received, only two of them were able to withstand up to 400 rounds without any malfunctions. Three rifles completely failed.”


Additional Malfunctions
He accompanied it with the following photos, showing two major and devastating malfunctions, caused by failed ejections, which in turn caused casings to get deeply wedged and obstructed the cycling of the rifle. The perspective of the camera shot shows the “most convenient” way of reaching the chamber and clearing the jam. That is by unloading the magazine and fishing out the multitude of well embedded casings, as bullpups usually have rather obtuse disassembly and clearance procedures, and this one is no exception. This is very much the opposite of the beloved Kalashnikov it was attempting to replace. And well in combat, such a frustration could be rather fatal. [1]
Further Criticisms from Kochevnik
His bashing, however, does not end with just issues limited to the ejection. In a further post, he lists more shortcomings, some leading to the rifle becoming completely inoperable. He said quote:
"Например у нас сломалась пружинка в механизме снижения темпа стрельбы (ремонт в заводских условиях в зипе их нет), что привело к полной потере работоспособности автомата. На АК аналогичная поломка привела бы лишь к увеличению темпа стрельбы.
Ломался шток толкателя гильзы - тоже полный отказ (ремонт в заводских условиях).
Самопроизвольно выпадал магазин.
Заклинивание затвора в заднем положении - полный отказ.
Подача трёх патронов сразу (двух видел, трех в первый раз, три патрона пулями торчат в патроннике).
Ну и часто перекос патрона.
На одиночном огне при установленном пулемётном режиме (стрельба с открытого затвора) для выстрела нужно два раза нажать на спусковой крючок. Первое нажатие досылается патрон второе происходит выстрел и так каждый раз"
"For example, we had a broken spring in the rate reduction mechanism (there is no repair available in field conditions or in the unit), which led to a complete loss of the rifle's functionality. With an AK, a similar breakdown would only result in an increased rate of fire.
The firing pin guide rod also broke, resulting in a complete failure that requires repair in factory conditions.
The magazine would spontaneously drop out.
The bolt would jam in the rear position, causing a complete failure.
Three rounds were sometimes fed simultaneously (I've seen two, but three rounds in one go was the first time, with the bullets protruding from the magazine).
There were also frequent simple cartridge misfeeds.
In single-fire mode with the machine gun setting (shooting with an open bolt), you had to press the trigger twice to fire. The first press would chamber a round, and the second would result in a shot, and this had to be done every time."
He mentioned that he adamantly brought these concerns up with official representatives and criticized the choice to go with a new rifle instead of the original concept of introducing these features to the AK platform. Something he’s personally experimented with, albeit to little adoption. [1,5] Unlike the MDR, Kalashnikov Concern, while already having “serialized” these rifles and taken them out of the prototype stage, did not care to give them any further love. Probably in line with Kochevnik's claims that the product was flawed in its fundamental design. [1] Max Popenker, essentially Russia’s own Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons, only mentions the rifle in passing to claim the Russian firearm industry rather forget the rifle. It also doesn’t help that the secretive FSB was the main patron of the project. [11] In regards to this rifle, a failure to innovate to the end has meant a failure to leave any legacy for it in the end.
It's kind of a shame for such an ambitious and almost revolutionary project to lead to nothing, but such is many Russian forays into firearm developments. Besides Kochevnik’s own photos, the rifles lack any in-the-wild sightings nor publications outside of the initial revealing. The gun does make a small video game appearance in the Russian-made shooter “Caliber". [7] Vladimir Zlobin would later go onto designing the somewhat famous original 2011-2015 prototypes of the AK-12.

The guns appearance in "Caliber" albeit with a model inaccuracy in the ejection port in a game featuring otherwise rather mint quality gunporn, both Western and Eastern [7]
Special thanks to my friend Hauptmann, a fellow gun nerd, for translation proofreading and freelance firearm journalist Deni Almaskhanov for numerous conversations about the rifle and his contact with Kochevnik. His telegram can be found here: https://t.me/justgunstg and some of his other works can be found on Kalashnikov.ru.
Sources:
The ejection port’s geometry is the main notable inaccuracy
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