Too many'
The Kalashnikov, instantly recognisable, renowned for its ruggedness and regarded by some as a design classic, is said to be the world's most heavily produced rifle.
In service in Russia since the 1940s, it has been copied by manufacturers across the world.
It has gone through several versions, from the original AK-47 - the AK stands for "Kalashnikov automatic" - to the AKM and latterly, the AK-74.
Gen Makarov said stocks of the rifle exceeded the army's needs "several times over".
A spokesman for the rifle's developer, the Izhmash plant in central Russia, told Izvestia newspaper that a new model would be ready for demonstration by the end of the year.
The plant would seek to increase exports and step up hunting rifle production in the meantime, the representative added.
