Firearms / Machine guns / Pecheneg
Pecheneg
General Facts
- TYPE
Machine gun - ORIGIN
Russia
- NICKNAMES
PKP
6P41 (production index) - DESIGNED
1995 - 1999 - DESIGNER
TsNIITochMash - PRODUCTION
1999 - present - PRODUCERS
Russia - Kovrov
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Good accuracy
Limited heating of the barrel
No quick change barrel
Awkward positioning of bipod
Introduction
The Pecheneg is a machine gun of Russian origin. It was developed in the 1990's to replace the RPK-74 and PK with a design that was better suited for the infantry role. When compared to the RPK-74 the Pecheneg delivers much more firepower. Even though the Pecheneg was developed only for ground use it has also been fitted to several light vehicles. The Pecheneg is also known as the PKP, which is a aggregation of the PK machine gun it was derived of and the name Pecheneg.
Design
The Pecheneg is a modified version of the PK machine gun. There is about 80% parts commonality. The Pecheneg is gas operated and uses the same long stroke gas piston mechanism as the PK. The main difference lies in the barrel. A very thick ribbed barrel with forced air cooling is fitted within a shroud that reduces hot air mirage. The new barrel is not a quick change barrel design, but can handle firing 600 rounds in short burst before heating up too much. The forward position of the bipod allows for better long range accuracy but limits the arc of fire and makes it harder to fire from any other position than the prone position.
Firepower
The Pecheneg is a belt fed weapon that fires the Russian 7.62x54mm round. The only fire mode is fully automatic and the cyclic rate of fire is 650 rpm. The effective range is 400 m against point targets and 800 m against area targets. At longer ranges the Pecheneg is claimed to be 1.7 to 1.9 times more effective than the PK.
Users
The main user of the Pecheneg is the Russian army. The Pecheneg is to replace the RPK-74 and PK. It will take many years before these older designs are replaced and at the moment the Pecheneg is only in limited use compared to the older designs. The Pecheneg is also available for export.
Pecheneg
The Pecheneg is a modern machine gun of Russian origin. Compared to the RPK-74 it has much better firepower and range, while performance is in the same league as the PK machine gun the design is based on. The Pecheneg was developed only for use in the infantry role and there are no other variants.
- Specifications:
- Pecheneg
Type | Machine gun |
---|---|
Caliber | 7.62x54mm Soviet |
Magazine | Belf fed, usually 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, long stroke gas piston |
Fire selector | 0-F |
Rate of fire | 650 rpm |
Barrel length | 640 mm, 658 mm incl flash hider |
---|---|
Rifling | ? |
Muzzle velocity | 825 m/s |
Stock | Fixed |
Length | 1.155 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 8.7 kg empty, 12.7 kg on infantry tripod |
Sights | Iron sights, up to 1.500 m gradations, optional optical sights |
Remarks | Fixed bipod |