Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/@kalashnikov.media

This is the moment Kalashnikov push their latest assault rifle to the limit in testing – firing hundreds of rounds until the barrel eventually catches fire.

The footage was recorded during additional testing of the AK-12 assault rifle produced by Kalashnikov Concern, which was remodelled and relaunched in 2018.

In the video, a man can be seen loading and firing the rifle continuously to see how man round can be fired before the gun begins to malfunction.

The gunman, in full protective gear, fire off 480 rounds before the forearm and gas outlet pad begin smoking and they can be seen on fire after 510 shots.

The gunman continues firing despite the rifle being on fire, reaching 680 rounds fired before the barrel explodes in a flash of sparks.

The result is three times higher than the threshold for safety set by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Local media report the AK-12 is in use by some Russian soldiers. The rifle was remodelled and relaunched after an unsuccessful launch in 2012.

Netizen ‘Georgiy Molotkov’ said: “I really like this video. But I would love to see AK-15 in action and then compare it with the rival models. Especially those from China.”

While ‘Aleksey Maksyagin’ added: “Love it. I would really like to see how the barrel changes its shape as it heats up. It would be great to have the info on the temperature of the rifle throughout the video.”

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