PKM

Description

The PK/PKM family of weapons was the brainchild of legendary Soviet weapons designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, famous for the AK-47 Assault Rifle and the mass of derivatives that followed.

In 1961 the Soviet military introduced the PK belt-fed/light machine gun to place the less man-portable SG-43 Goryunov (SGM). Within 8 years, the PK itself would be replaced by the upgraded PKM, which would prove cheaper to produce, weigh less and amongst other modifications, would have a strengthened receiver (a common cause of stoppages on the earlier PK).

The weapon is gas operated/open bolt, which is a highly reliable system used in countless machine guns around the world. It is fed by means of non-disintegrating metal belts of various lengths, that are very similar in design to that used by the German MG42. Most NATO used belt-fed weapons utilize a disintegrating belt system, as commonly seen on the American M60 or British L7A2/FN MAG.

The PKM has been adopted by forces all over the globe, particularly countries once loyal to the old Soviet Union and for this reason it has been used in conflicts from Vietnam, through to present day wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, often seen in the hands of irregular forces such as the Taliban or any number of the many terrorist groups that operate today.