The Russian army has stopped ordering new Kalashnikov rifles,fearing that its most famous assault weapon is outdated. The military chiefs,however,do not want to inform inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov,91,about the move,as the shock could kill him. Soviet hero Mikhail Kalashnikov,a former Red Army conscript,designed the AK-47 in 1947,since when more than 100 million have been sold worldwide. Later he produced he AK-74. Kalashnikov,who invented the AK-47,keeps one of the assault rifles at his home in Izhevsk,The Daily Mail reports. We don't want to commit the sin of telling him this news. He may not outlive hearing about this, said one source. Russias Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov said he is already awash with Kalashnikovs but needs a more modern gun,which is still on the drawing board at the brands Izhevsk plant in central Russia. A new model is due next year,but Makarov has already ruled out buying again from the world famous plant before 2014.
