Armed conflicts and numerous anti-terrorist operations in recent years have clearly demonstrated the need for a light machine gun that could complement a single machine gun and, if necessary, replace a heavy assault or sniper rifle. During the visit of Yuri Borisov, who holds the post of Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, to the defense industry enterprises in the Far East, the Urals and the Volga region, including the production sites of the Kalashnikov concern in Izhevsk, photographs of the new Izhevsk light machine gun known as the RPK-400 were leaked to the media. It is reported that the Kalashnikov light machine gun of the 400 series was developed in accordance with the requirements of the competition of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia under the code code "Turner-2". The machine gun is being developed in the interests of the Russian Guard, as well as various special forces, including the Presidential Security Service and the Special Forces Center of the FSB of Russia.
The idea of developing a light machine gun for an intermediate (automatic) cartridge is quite old. We can say that it dates back to 1943, when a cartridge of the model 43 of the caliber 7, 62x39 mm appeared in the USSR. The winner of the competition held during the war years was a machine gun designed by Degtyarev, designated RD-44. In 1948, after tests in the troops and the necessary modifications, the weapon was adopted by the Soviet Army under the designation 7, 62-mm Degtyarev light machine gun or simply RPD. The automatics and locking unit of this light machine gun were borrowed from the Degtyarev machine gun (DP), and the belt feed mechanism was borrowed from the famous German MG-42 machine gun. The RPD was a successful, reliable and relatively light (7.4 kg) model of small arms with a large ammunition - a box with a belt attached to the bottom of the machine gun held 100 rounds.
Soon enough, already in 1953, the GAU decided to unify the machine gun and the light machine gun, the result of this decision, 6 years later, was the adoption of a new Kalashnikov light machine gun, or RPK, into service with the Soviet Army, which was unified with the AKM. This work was carried out at the plant number 74 (as at that time it was called "Izhmash") by the group of the designer MT Kalashnikov with the leading designer VV Krupin. Starting in the 1960s, in the departments of motorized rifle, airborne troops and marines, the RPD began to be replaced by the RPK. At the same time, the light machine guns seized from the parts were sent to developing countries or transferred to warehouse storage.
Unlike the Degtyarev light machine gun, the Kalashnikov light machine gun had magazine power (a 40-round box magazine and a 75-round drum magazine were used), and the butt for the machine gun was taken from Degtyarev's product. Later, during the modernization of the Kalashnikov assault rifle in the Soviet Union, the modernization of the light machine gun of the same name was also carried out. For example, with the transition to the low-impulse cartridge 5, 45x39 mm and the adoption of the AK-74 assault rifle, the RPK-74 light machine gun was also created, and with the adoption of the AK-74M - the RPK-74M. The last light machine gun, like the Kalashnikov assault rifles of the "hundredth series", was actively offered for export, including in the version for the NATO cartridge 5, 56x45 mm (RPK-201), and in the version for the cartridge 7, 62x39 mm (RPK-203).
It should be noted that in the mid-1970s, within the framework of the Poplin theme, R&D was carried out in the Soviet Union in order to find a replacement for the PKK, it was planned to create a light machine gun with a combined (magazine and belt) cartridge supply system. The Soviet analogue of the famous Belgian FN Minimi, which received the designation PU-21 and was created by the design team consisting of A. I. Nesterov, Yu. K. Aleksandrov, V. M. Kalashnikov (son of Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov) and M. E. Dragunov, It passed the tests quite successfully, but due to the "trifles" - the absence at that time of a reliable machine for equipping ribbons with cartridges of caliber 5, 45x39 mm - the project was never continued.
NATO realized the need for such a machine gun at about the same time, when switching from the heavy 7.62 mm cartridge to the new 5, 56 mm cartridge, which very quickly became the standard rifle cartridge of most countries of the military-political bloc (as well as many other states). The transition to a new cartridge provided the need for a new light machine gun for it. So the Belgian company FN began work on its development. First shown in 1974, the FN Minimi light machine gun quickly gained popularity.
The transition to a new cartridge was due to the experience that was gained during large-scale wars and local conflicts waged by the United States and its Western allies in the 1960s in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This experience demonstrated the complete unsuitability of automatic rifles designed for the NATO 7.62 mm cartridge, due to the large dispersion, especially when firing in continuous bursts. An increase in the accuracy of the battle of the automatic rifles existing at that time was associated with the transition of small arms to a smaller caliber of 5, 56 mm. Such a transition, in turn, gave significant advantages over small arms of 7, 62 mm caliber both in combat and maneuvering capabilities (the long range of a direct shot was maintained with a reduced recoil force) and in economic indicators. The positive results of the combat use of the new 5, 56-mm M16 rifle during the Vietnam War allowed it to be adopted by the American army, which also served as an impetus for the development of such weapons, designed for a low-impulse cartridge, in other countries, including Belgium …
In Russia, the idea of creating a light machine gun with a combined feed of cartridges returned at the end of 2015, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced an open competition for the development of such small arms under the code "Turner-2". According to the announced tender in 2017, prototypes of new machine guns should be ready for state testing, as well as technical documentation for the serial production of a light machine gun should be approved. It is planned to spend 25.56 million rubles for these purposes. According to the terms of reference, the Kord-5, 45 assault light machine gun (index PR-5, 45), which has a combined power supply, must have a short and long barrels, use a cartridge of 5, 45x39 mm, weigh no more than 7 kilograms, have a length of no more than 900 mm and a rate of fire of 800-900 rounds per minute. The machine gun is powered by magazines with a capacity of 60 rounds or a box with a belt designed for 100/250 rounds. The new light assault machine gun is designed primarily to support assault teams during operations in urban or enclosed spaces.
The main difference between promising small arms and existing models is that a light assault machine gun is perfect for firing in urban environments, both on the streets and in rooms of a small area and volume, allowing the shooter to create a greater density of fire. At the same time, the likelihood of "unpredictable results" of firing is minimized, that is, accidental damage caused by breaking through walls or ricocheting from them. This is achieved through the use of cartridges of less power than the single Russian 7, 62-mm machine gun PKP "Pecheneg". Another important difference between the Korda-5, 45 and the LMGs in service, making it the most suitable for dynamic combat in confined spaces, is the smaller size and weight, as well as the greater maneuverability of the weapon.
Despite the fact that the name "Kord" clearly indicates a potential contractor - the Degtyarev Kovrov Plant (ZID), the Kalashnikov concern proactively carried out design work on a similar development, albeit with traditional store food. The first information about the new Izhevsk light machine gun, originally conventionally designated RPK-16, appeared in the media in November last year. And after the new AK-400 assault rifle was presented in May 2016, sources from the Russian military-industrial complex during the Eurosatory 2016 exhibition said that a light RPK-400 light machine gun would also be developed on the basis of this assault rifle, which should take part in the competition announced in the country under the program "Turner-2". Thus, the Kalashnikov concern is currently developing a whole unified system of small arms, continuing the old traditions since the appearance of the AKM / PKK.
It is not yet known whether the new RPK-400 light machine gun is firing from an open bolt or from a closed one, the magazine Magnum writes. Judging by the published photographs of the novelty, the machine gun uses gas-operated automatic equipment. The machine gun is designed for the use of low-impulse cartridges 5, 45 × 39 mm. The barrel bore is most likely locked by turning the bolt, as in the RPK-74 light machine gun and the single PKM machine gun. At the same time, there is still no information about whether the RPK-400 has the ability to quickly change the barrel. The gas outlet unit with a gas piston is located under the barrel of the weapon, like in the PKM. The new machine gun is distinguished by the presence of a carrying handle. Removable folding telescopic bipods are attached under the barrel of a light machine gun. The butt of the machine gun was made folding, telescopic. The muzzle brake-compensator is identical to that of the new Izhevsk “four hundredth series” AK-400 assault rifle. The polymer forend of the RPK-400 light machine gun has Picatinny rails designed for attaching a variety of additional accessories, which include the front grip, laser designator or tactical flashlight.
For all obvious reasons, during the design process, detailed technical details regarding the RPK-400 light machine gun have not yet been disclosed, but something has already become known to journalists. In particular, the specialized online publication all4shooters.com writes that the machine gun will be equipped with a free-hanging barrel (the bipod attachment point and the front sight base were moved to the gas chamber), which, in combination with the single-fire mode of the machine gun and the ability to install various optical sights on the Picatinny rail allows the RPK-400 light machine gun to be used at short distances and as a sniper rifle. Like the AK-400, the stock was telescopic, it folds freely and is adjustable in length.
A drum magazine designed for 95 rounds was used to power the new light machine gun, previously such a magazine had already been used together with the AK-12 assault rifle. Due to the abandonment of the belt feed system, the RPK-400 machine gun should be significantly lighter than provided for by the terms of reference (it is reported that the new light machine gun is only slightly larger in weight than the basic AK-400 machine gun), which makes it much more convenient to fire from it from the hands. The scope of the new Izhevsk development is as follows: a "heavy" assault rifle with a bipod and a massive barrel, an analogue of a sniper rifle (under certain conditions), an addition or replacement to a single machine gun chambered for a rifle cartridge when fighting in a city or in a confined space, and when carrying out foot patrols.
