PP-2000 Submachine Guns To Replace Kalashnikov Rifles In Russian Pilots’ Survival Kits

Russian military pilots’ survival kits placed in the ejection seats during combat sorties may henceforth include the compact PP-2000 submachine guns and not Kalashnikov AKS-74U, Russian state media reported Friday.

"A proposal has been put forward to study the possibility of arming military pilots with a very compact PP-2000 instead of the AKS-74U. The defense agency has responded with interest to this proposal," a source in the defense ministry was quoted as saying by TASS.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

Formerly, the kits included Kalashnikov AKS-74U assault rifle, the ammunition load and grenades in addition to food and water supplies, a first-aid set and communications gear. Additional arms and magazines are placed in the ammunition vest if required.

The light PP-2000 has been developed by the Tula Design Bureau of Instrument-Making for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. It weighs 1.4kg without the magazine and the buttstock. As its specific feature, the PP-2000 offers the possibility to use a spare magazine as a shoulder support. The breechblock lever and the magazine’s latch button can be re-installed on any side, which makes it possible for both a right-hand and a left-hand serviceman to use the gun.

The serial-produced PP-2000 submachine guns have been equipped with a removable side-folding metallic butt since 2006. The PP-2000’s length is 582 mm with the unfolded butt and 350 mm without the butt. For the sake of comparison, the AKS-74U is 730 mm long with the unfolded butt and 490m long with the folded butt.