Why Is The US Army Buying Mock Kalashnikov Assault Rifles?

America’s military budget is set to increase for a fifth consecutive year. President Trump is now asking for +$700 billion for the 2020 military spending bill, a record-setting number, to fund the national-security state. The money has been used for rapid modernization efforts ahead of a potential war with Russia and or China. This year, we’ve reported several instances where the US military has been buying mock weapons, and or taking existing weapons and transforming them into Russian look-alikes.

The latest war preparation comes from the US Army, where they want to buy five models of the Kalashnikov assault rifle that are considered mock weapons, used mostly in war training exercises.

The application for the weapons was first reviewed by RT and also reported by Fort Russ News. The document states that the request was made as part of the supply of training equipment.

“Five sets of simulations of AK-47 shooting assault rifles with small oxygen and propane cylinders to simulate small arms,” the document said.

Each weapon will include an external cylinder that will be secured by a backpack. Every time the weapon’s operator pulls the trigger, a blast of propane is ignited in the Kalashnikov’s barrel and shot out, simulating the noise of a 7.62×39 round.

The document states the need for cartridges for the Soviet-era PK machine gun, DShK heavy machine gun, and Yak-B 12.7mm machine gun.

It also says devices that simulate explosions are needed, along with the need for smoke bombs.

While US defense firms don’t generally produce mock Russian weapons – the document said the Army would likely have to review the international market for sourcing.

The Army’s intention of using mock Russian weapons will likely be for field training exercises to familiarize American troops with enemy Russian soldiers.

The extent of conditioning American soldiers to identify and kill Russian troops is also occurring in another domain of warfare, that is in the air and space.

In March, we reported how the Nellis Air Force Base’s Facebook page published a video of a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon belonging to the 64th Aggressor Squadron in a new paint scheme that resembles Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter.

The Aggressors Squadrons F-16 copied paint schemes, markings, and insignias of the Sukhoi Su-57, a single-seat, twin-engine multirole fifth-generation stealth jet, flown by the Russian Air Force.

Photos also emerged on a Turkish website earlier this year of a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet belonging to Fighter Squadron Composite Twelve (VFC-12), a US Navy Reserve fighter squadron based in Virginia Beach, sporting the same Russian Su-57 color scheme.

From fake Russian weapons to US fighter jets painted in Russian color schemes, the Pentagon has been conditioning combat troops and fighter pilots through simulation for the next war.