PKP Pecheneg (6P41)

History

In 1961, the Soviet Army began to widely adopt the PK General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), which used the proven Russian 7.62mm rifle cartridge, fed by a belt mechanism and a pneumatic system. It was adopted by political and military allies outside the Soviet Empire and became a permanent and rather deadly component of the following wars - Vietnam, Yom Kippur, Iran-Iraq, Chechen wars, etc.

Surprisingly, the PK family line has stood the test of time and is still widely used today, modernized with the "PKM" shape.

At the turn of the century, the Russian military began evaluating a new modern machine gun for use in class roles. So the design will be very wear resistant and destined to have a real dampening effect. The design was led by TsNIITochMash, and the weapon was dubbed the PKP "Pecheneg".

It was then officially adopted for front-line use in 2001. It received the bugle name 6P41 and has since served in the Russian Army and SPETSNAZ special forces, while being adopted to varying degrees by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

At its core, the PKP remains a gas-powered machine gun system capable of fully automatic fire when fed from a 100, 200 or 250 rounds magazine in a hard case mounted under the receiver. It still uses the same 7.62x54R cartridge as the PK/PKM and has a rate of fire of 600-800 rounds per minute.

The muzzle velocity is 2,700 feet per second and the effective range is up to 1,500 meters.

Externally, the PKP has a handcrafted look with a solid rectangular case with an all black finish. Of course, the receiver contains the key inner working components of the system, including the feeding mechanism and firebox.

There is a lightweight skeletonized stock for shoulder support and the barrel is on the front of the cylinder. Iron sights are provided, but optical sights can be fitted as required. An integrated carrying handle can be used to quickly change the position of the device. Standard attachment to the barrel is a foldable bipod assembly. The rings allow the use of shoulder straps, a must for fast-moving infantry.

The ergonomic pistol grip and easy-to-use trigger group provide the weapon with familiar handling features. Unlike other GPMGs, PKP does not have a "quick change" barrel facility for managing hot barrels on site. Instead, the assembly is designed with a forced-air cooling layout.

The total weight of the PKP (with bipod attached) is approximately 8.7 kg. Its overall length is 47 inches, while the barrel assembly is about 26 inches long. Combined with night vision, the 6P41 is called "6P41N Pecheneg-N". Other names include the Pecheneg "Bullpup", which is a modified bullpup construction that retains the full-length barrel and includes an action/magazine feed on the rear of the trigger group.

Pecheneg-2 is considered an "improvement" of the original Pecheneg model and is currently (2014) in development.

The PKP has recently witnessed hostilities by members of the Russian army and special forces as Russia takes over Crimea.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes