Moscow: The Russian army says that it will no longer buy AK47 rifles, the iconic combat weapon designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov.

This year the Russian military has not bought any of the rifles, which have played a key role in armed conflict around the globe since their introduction in 1947.

The Russian Izvestia newspaper quoted a source in the country's Defence Ministry as saying that the army warehouses are full of Kalashnikov rifles.

Defence analyst Ruslan Pukhov says that the huge amount of the rifles in the army stocks is a legacy from the "big mobilisation" of armed forces in the USSR during the Cold War.

Pukhov said the rifle became outdated in the 1990s and it's not "the type of small arms and light weapons which Russian army needs now".

According to the same Izvestia report, the inventor of the rifle, 91-year old Mikhail Kalashnikov, hasn't been informed that his brainchild is no longer being bought by the army.

Simple and rugged, the Kalashnikov rifle has been a weapon of choice for guerillas and revolutionaries all over the world.

Mozambique and Zimbabwe have the rifle on their coat of arms.

Tags: AK 47, Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian army to stop buying AK 47