RPK



The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, Russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова or "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun") is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created as part of a program designed to standardize the small arms inventory of the Red Army, where it replaced the 7.62x39mm RPD light machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the armed forces of countries of the former Soviet Union and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK was also manufactured in Bulgaria and Romania.

History
The RPK has a new, heavier and extended barrel with an increased heat capacity. The chrome-lined barrel is permanently fixed to the receiver along with cooling ribs and cannot be replaced in the field. It is fitted with a new front sight base, gas block (lacks the bayonet lug) and an under-barrel cleaning rod guide. The barrel also features a folding bipod, mounted near the muzzle and a front sight base with a lug that limits the bipod's rotation around the barrel. The barrel's muzzle is threaded, enabling the use of a blank-firing adaptor. When the blank-firing attachment is not used, the threading is protected by a thread protector cap from the AK. The barrel is pinned to the receiver in a modified trunnion, reinforced by ribbing, and is slightly wider than the trunnion used in the AKM. Symmetrical bulges on both sides of the barrel chamber ensure proper fit inside the receiver.

The RPK features a thicker wooden forearm, a fixed wooden buttstock shaped like the RPD stock, optimized for prone firing, and a pistol grip from the AKM.

The weapon is fed from box magazines with a 40-round capacity or a 75-round drum magazine, both are compatible with magazines used with the AK-47 and AKM series

Aplicable factions
Middle Eastern Coalition