Russian army equipped with new RPK-16 automatic gun
One of the leading Russian small arms manufacturers, the Kalashnikov concern, will supply the Russian Army with RPK-16 machine guns. The contract with the Russian Defense Ministry was signed in early February. This new Russian weapon has also attracted the attention of foreign military circles. The article below will tell you why?
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| Kalashnikov announced mass production of new automatic gun |
RPK-16 - 5.45 mm caliber medium machine gun (more precisely - uses 5.45 x 39 mm ammunition), built on the basis of the new AK-12 model, which has just been officially equipped with the Russian army. RPK-16 and AK-12 are almost identical in layout, but the medium machine gun has a longer and more rigid barrel cover.
Using RPK-16 when shooting can be done with the gun's foot or on the hand, or while moving with a fast rate of fire - 700 bullets per minute. Besides, RPK-16 is different from famous guns in Vietnam such as the 7.62 mm RPK model of 1959 (based on AKM), or the 5.45-mm caliber version RPK-74 (74M) standard of 1974 (1992) (based on AK-74) - can be used as a heavy machine gun. There are long (580mm) and short (415mm) barrel types.
In principle, it takes only a few minutes to change the RPK-16 barrel and lock the breech into the barrel housing with a horizontal wedge. The ability of the RPK-16 to quickly adapt to combat conditions, arouses great interest among both domestic and foreign military experts.
The RPK-16 automatic machine gun - a classic weapon developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and his students, has proven its reliability since the time of the AK-47. According to expert Maxim Popenker, the RPK-16 - is truly a versatile weapon: the RPK-16 with its short barrel can be used by special forces as an "assault gun", as a personal weapon. The gun weighs about 1 kg more than the AK-12, but allows, when necessary, a small unit to create effective suppressive fire, support maneuvering teammates or prevent unexpected actions of the enemy.