RPK
Squad light machine gun derived from the AKM: longer heavy barrel, folding bipod, high-capacity magazines.
RPK
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Partially verified
- Sources
- The Russian Way of War (Kalashnikov family and RPK; authors’ study, 2016)Army University Press / Foreign Military Studies Office · Accessed
- Last reviewed
Identity
- Designation
- RPK
- Alias
- Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova
- Manufacturer
- Izhmash
- Country
- Russia
- Year
- 1961
- Category
- Light machine gun
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7.62×39 mm
- Muzzle velocity
- 745 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~600 rpm
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Maximum range
- 1500 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 590 mm
- Overall length
- 1040 mm
- Empty weight
- 4.8 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Gas-operated, long-stroke piston
- Bolt / action
- Rotating bolt
Feed
- System
- Caricatore curvo 40 colpi / tamburo 75 colpi
- Standard capacity
- 40 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova) is the squad light machine gun developed in the USSR in the early 1960s as an evolution of the AKM, to replace the RPD in the squad automatic weapon role.
Officially adopted by the Red Army in 1961, it shares about 80% of its parts with the AKM, simplifying logistics and training.
Design
Compared to the AKM it features a longer, heavier barrel (590 mm), a folding bipod under the muzzle, a reinforced receiver and a 'club-foot' shaped wooden stock.
It uses 40-round curved magazines or 75-round drums, and is also compatible with standard AKM/AK-47 magazines.
Operational service
Distributed across the entire Warsaw Pact and produced under license in Romania (PM md. 64), Bulgaria, Yugoslavia (M72) and elsewhere. It was gradually superseded by the 5.45×39 mm RPK-74 from 1974.
It saw service in all major late-20th-century conflicts: Afghanistan, the Gulf Wars, Chechnya, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.
Variants
Main users
USSR · Russia · Patto di Varsavia
Key components
- ●Stock — Buttstock on the Kalashnikov-derived squad automatic rifle, supporting its heavier, bipod-equipped configuration.
- ●Receiver — Receiver of the 7.62×39 mm Kalashnikov-derived squad automatic rifle.
- ●Grip — Pistol grip on the Kalashnikov-derived RPK, separate from the rear buttstock.
- ●Magazine — Detachable box magazines and, on some issues, larger-capacity drums feed 7.62×39 mm ammunition.
- ●Barrel — Longer, heavier barrel than the AK rifle, combined with a bipod for the squad automatic role.
