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PK machine gun
400px|PKM of Finnish ArmyPKM general-purpose machine gun
Type	Squad automatic weapon General-purpose machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1961-present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Yom Kippur War Cambodian–Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Soviet war in Afghanistan Iran–Iraq War First Chechen War Yugoslav wars Second Chechen War Iraq War War in Afghanistan Cambodian–Thai border dispute 2008 South Ossetia war South African Border War Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War Second Congo War various others
Production history
Designer	Mikhail Kalashnikov
No. built	over 1,000,000
Variants	PK, PKS, PKT, PKM, PKMS, PKP
Specifications
Mass	PK: 9 kg (19.84 lb) (gun + integral bipod) + 7.7 kg (16.98 lb) (tripod). PKM: 7.5 kg (16.53 lb) (gun + integral bipod) + 4.5 kg (9.92 lb) (tripod). PKT (tank): 10.5 kg (23.15 lb)
Length	PK: 1,203 mm (47.4 in) PKM: 1,192 mm (46.9 in) PKT: 1,098 mm (43.2 in)
Barrel length	PK: 658 mm (25.9 in) PKM: 645 mm (25.4 in) PKT: 772 mm (30.4 in)
Cartridge	7.62×54mmR
Action	Gas-operated, open bolt
Rate of fire	PK, PKM: 650–750 round/min. PKT: 800 round/min
Muzzle velocity	PK, PKM: 825 m/s
Effective firing range	1,640 yd (100–1,500 m sight adjustments)
Feed system	Belts in 100/200/250 round boxes
Sights	Tangent iron sights

The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service. It remains in use as a front-line infantry and vehicle-mounted weapon with Russia's armed forces, and has been exported extensively.

Design details

The original PK (Пулемёт Калашникова: Pulemyot Kalashnikova, or "Kalashnikov's Machinegun") was a development of Kalashnikov's automatic rifle design, firing the 7.62x54mmR Eastern Bloc standard ammunition originally from the Mosin–Nagant. It is equipped with a simple bipod and is designed as a squad-level support weapon; it is also suitable for installation and vehicle mounting. The PK machine gun can be used as a light anti-aircraft weapon when it is put on an AA mount. Most are belt-fed, using linked 25 round belts. These 25-round belts can be linked to any length necessary. Typical of Soviet machine guns, the standard model feeds from the right and ejects its spent cases via an ejection port on the left side of the weapon, contrary to the right side ejection port seen in most Western machine guns.

Variants

PKM

The PKM (ПК Модернизированный: "Kalashnikov's Machine-gun Modernized"), adopted to service in 1969. It is a modernized, product-improved version of the PK weighing only 7.5 kg without ammunition.

PKMS

For heavier employment, the PKMS (ПКМ Станковый: "PKM Mounted") is based on the Stepanov's tripod mount and weighs 12 kg.

PKMSN

The PKMSN (ПКМС Ночной: "PKMS Night-Vision") is a special model of the tripod-mounted variant that can mount night sights for low-visibility operations. The PKMSN1 model uses the NSPU night-vision sight. The PKMSN2 model uses the improved NSPUM night-vision sight.

PKT

The PKT (ПК Танковый, "PK Tank") is a further development of the PK to replace the SGMT Goryunov vehicle-mounted machine gun. Modifications include removal of stock, longer and heavier barrel, added gas regulator and electric solenoid trigger.

PKP Pecheneg

The PKP Pecheneg is a new General-purpose machine gun based on the PKM. It has a heavy fixed barrel encased in a radial cooling sleeve that uses forced-air cooling, much like the Lewis Gun of World War I. Its design incorporates lessons learned in the Soviet Union's campaign in Afghanistan, where the RPK was found to be lacking in sustainable suppressive firepower.

Foreign Variants

HCP PKM-"NATO" (Poland)

In early 1990s the Polish armed forces were looking for a replacement for the PK-series machineguns they had in service as part of a preparation to join NATO. The H. Cegielski - Poznań S.A. Works in Poznań modified the PK/PKS to feed standard 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges and use NATO standard ammo belts. The new model received the code-name PKM-NATO. The modifications included a heavier barrel, a larger chamber, and a redesign of the lock, extractor, and the entire feeding mechanism. The prototype was tested from 1997 to 1999, but was rejected. The Polish Army adopted the UKM-2000 machine gun instead - which was also based on the PKM.

Zastava M84/M86 (Serbia)

The Zastava M84 is a Serbian-made licensed copy of the PK / PKS. The Zastava M86 is a copy of the solenoid-triggered PKT.

Norinco Type 80 (People's Republic of China)

The Type 80 is a Chinese-made copy of the PKM / PKMS.

Arsenal MG-1 & MG-1M (Bulgaria)

The MG-1 is a licensed copy of the PKM and has synthetic buttstock and pistol grip. The MG-1M, an improved Squad Automatic Weapon variant has improved features, such as a redesigned barrel that allows for better cooling.

Cugir Mitraliera md. 66 (Romania)

The Mitraliera md. 66 is a Romanian-made copy of the PKM.

Production status

The PKM and other variants are in production in Russia and currently are exported to many nations. Additionally, various models are manufactured locally around the globe. Zastava Arms produces the PK under license as the M84 (along with the PKT as the M86), and it remains in use with many of the former Yugoslav successor states. The most recent modification is the Russian Pecheneg, which features a forced air cooling barrel that cannot be removed in the field for quick replacement, unusual for a modern machine gun.

Users

•  Afghanistan
•  Albania
•  Armenia PK/PKM
•  Azerbaijan
•  Belarus
•  Bosnia-Herzegovina
•  Bulgaria: PK/PKM copies were produced as the MG-1 & MG-1M.
•  Cambodia
•  Cape Verde
•  Chad
•  People's Republic of China: PK/PKM copies were produced as the Type 80.
•  Croatia
•  Cuba
•  Egypt
•  Eritrea
•  Estonia Estonia also uses the MG-3 (MG 1A3) and the KSP-58 B.
•  Finland: Known locally as 7.62 KK PKM.
•  Georgia
•  Guinea
•  Guinea-Bissau
•  Hungary
•  India Manufactured at Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli of the Ordnance Factories Board
•  Iran
•  Iraq
•  Kazakhstan
•  Kyrgyzstan
•  Laos
•  Latvia
•  Libya
•  Lithuania
•  Macedonia
•  Mali - Armed and Security Forces of Mali
•  Moldova
•  Mongolia
•  Morocco
•  Mozambique
•  North Korea
•  Panama
•  Poland: PK/PKM copies were produced.
•  Romania: PK/PKM copies were produced as the Mitraliera md. 66.
•  Russia
•  Sao Tome and Principe
•  South Sudan
•  Serbia: Made under license as the M84/M86.
•  Soviet Union
•  Syria
•  Sweden: Known locally as "Kulspruta 95"
•  Tajikistan
•  Turkey
•  Turkmenistan
•  Uganda
•  Ukraine
•  Uzbekistan
•  Vietnam Used from the Vietnam War to the present
•  Yugoslavia: PK/PKM copies were produced.
•  Zambia

See also

• 2B-P-10
• AEK-999
• RP-46
• PKP "Pecheneg"
• Type 67
• Type 73, North Korean derivative.
• SS-77, South African derivative chambered in NATO calibre.
• AA-52
• FN MAG
• MG3
• MG51
• MG710
• Mk 48
• NTK-62
• HK21
• HK121
• Uirapuru
• M60
• List of Russian weaponry

Notes

1. Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies - Russian Arms
2. ^ Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
3. ^ http://en.calameo.com/read/000127853fed679f5ecec
4. http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/w_papers_pdf/WP/WP4_Cambodia.pdf
5. Type 80 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun. Retrieved on September 11, 2008.
7. http://news.oneindia.in/2007/03/19/oft-develops-gen-x-weapons-1174286532.html
9. Swedish Defence Forces
10. http://www.alphaco.us/alpha-co/nvaweapons1.htm

External links

• Modern Firearms
• Modern Firearms—Pecheneg
• Video of operation on YouTube

• Pages with empty short description
• 7.62 mm machine guns
• Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union
• General-purpose machine guns
• Infantry weapons of the Cold War
• Machine guns of the Soviet Union
• Weapons of Yugoslavia