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PK machine gun | |
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Type | General-purpose machine gun Squad automatic weapon Medium machine gun |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1961–present |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | See Conflicts |
Production history | |
Designer | Mikhail Kalashnikov |
Designed | 1961 |
Manufacturer | Degtyaryov plant |
Produced | 1961 – present |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | 9 kg (19.84 lb) (gun + integral bipod) |
Length | 1,203 mm (47.4 in) |
Barrel length | 605 mm (23.8 in) |
Cartridge | 7.62×54mmR |
Action | Gas-operated, long-stroke piston, open, rotating bolt |
Rate of fire | Cyclic: 600–800 rounds/min[1] 700–800 rounds/min (PKT/PKTM)[2] Practical: 250 rounds/min |
Muzzle velocity | 825 m/s (2,707 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 1,000 m (1,094 yd) (100–1,500 m sight adjustments) |
Maximum firing range | 3,800 m (4,156 yd) |
Feed system | Non-disintegrating metal link 50-round belts in 100 and 200 or 250-round ammunition boxes |
Sights | Tangent iron sights (default); Optical, night-vision, thermal, and radar sights[3] |
The PK (Russian: Пулемёт Калашникова, transliterated as Pulemyot Kalashnikova, or "Kalashnikov's machine gun")[4] also commonly known as the PKM, is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
Designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia,[1] the original PK machine gun was introduced in 1961 and the improved PKM variant was introduced in 1969. The PKM was designed to replace the SGM and RP-46 machine guns that were previously in Soviet service.
The weapon remains in use as a front-line infantry and vehicle-mounted weapon with Russia's armed forces and has also been exported extensively and produced in several other countries under license.
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