PKP Pecheneg

Lore & Background

The PKP Pecheneg was developed as a further modification of the PKM machine gun. According to the manufacturer, it can fire 600 rounds in rapid fire without damaging the barrel. During prolonged combat engagement, it can safely fire up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition per hour without degrading its combat effectiveness and reducing barrel life. The service life of the barrel is estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 rounds. A steel jacket encloses the barrel from the front of the trunnion to the muzzle, with oval holes for air access. From the gas block to the muzzle, four longitudinal grooves connect holes in the gas block and the front end of the muzzle device, drawing cool air through the grooves during firing—similar to the Lewis machine gun. This constant forced cooling reduces dispersion and increases barrel durability. The Pecheneg retained up to 80% parts commonality with the PKM.

Reader's Guide

The PKP Pecheneg is a 7.62×54mmR general-purpose machine gun. It is capable of mounting telescopic sights or optical sights via a side-mounted dovetail rail mount, which increases its accuracy and effective range. The Pecheneg-N variant (GRAU index: 6P41N) features a side-mounted dovetail rail for night vision sights and other optical sights. The Pecheneg-SP (GRAU index: 6P69) is an improved variant using titanium, with a redesigned barrel in standard and shortened configurations, a Picatinny rail for mounting various optical sights such as the 1P89-3 unified optical sight, a telescopic folding stock that makes it 30 mm shorter than Kalashnikov rifles when folded, and an optional vertical foregrip for easier recoil management.

Its serial production started in February 2017. A prototype bullpup conversion was developed by the Degtyarev plant. The STrL-P is a Vietnamese unlicensed copy made by Z111 Factory.