RPK-74

Weight 4,7 kg empty The Kalashnikov RPK-74 light machine gun has been developed during mid-seventies to complement the AK-74 assault rifle as a standard squad automatic weapon of the Soviet (later Russian) army. It is based on the parent AK-74 assault rifle in the same way as its 7,62mm predecessor RPK was based on AKM assault rifle. Design and functioning of RPK-74 is exactly the same as in RPK, with major differences being the caliber and the magazines - 5,45mm RPK-74 were issued only with box magazines of 45-round capacity, compatible with 30-round AK-74 magazines. Various large capacity magazines (drums and flat pans, holding up to 100 rounds and made of plastic) were experimentally developed for RPK-74, but never achieved production status. Most recent versions of the RPK-74 are RPK-74M (same gun but with black polymer furniture, side-folding butt and side-rail on receiver for sighting equipment; some parts also were strengthened to improve durability of the gun) and the 5,56x45 RPK-201 light machine gun, developed for export purposes to complement 5,56mm AK-101 assault rifle. --Modern Firearms
 * Caliber** 5.45x39 mm
 * Length** 1060 mm
 * Length of barrel** 590 mm
 * Feeding** box magazine 45 rounds
 * Rate of fire** 600 rounds per minute