Global InformationRPK information
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2017) |
| RPK | |
|---|---|
 RPK with a bipod and a 75-round drum magazine | |
| Type | Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1961–present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Vietnam War South African Border War Somali Civil War Yom Kippur War[1] Lebanese Civil War Angolan Civil War Afghan Wars Salvadoran Civil War Iran–Iraq War Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995)[2] Gulf War Yugoslav Wars Burundian Civil War[3] Iraq War Militias-Comando Vermelho conflict[4] Syrian Civil War Libyan Crisis War in Iraq (2013–2017) War in Donbas Ethiopian civil conflict (2018-present) Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Mikhail Kalashnikov |
| Designed | 1959-61 |
| Manufacturer | Vyatskiye Polyany Machine-Building Plant |
| Produced | 1961–1978 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.8 kg (10.6 lb) |
| Length | 1,040 mm (40.9 in) (stock extended) |
| Barrel length | 590 mm (23.2 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.62×39mm M43 |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt; closed bolt |
| Rate of fire | 600 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 745 m/s (2,444 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 100–1,000 m sight adjustments, Windage adjustable at the rear sight |
| Feed system | 30-, 40-round box magazine, 75-round drum magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights: semi-shrouded front post and rear sliding tangent with an adjustable notch |
The RPK (Russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова/РПК, romanized: Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, English: "Kalashnikov's hand-held machine gun"), sometimes retroactively termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created to standardize the small arms inventory of the Soviet Army, where it replaced the 7.62×39mm RPD machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the military of the post-Soviet states and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.
- ^ Campbell, David (2016). Israeli Soldier vs Syrian Soldier: Golan Heights 1967–73. Combat. Vol. 18. Illustrated by Johnny Shumate. Osprey Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-472813305. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
- ^ Small Arms Survey (2005). "Sourcing the Tools of War: Small Arms Supplies to Conflict Zones". Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War. Oxford University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-19-928085-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ Small Arms Survey (2007). "Armed Violence in Burundi: Conflict and Post-Conflict Bujumbura" (PDF). The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City. Cambridge University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-521-88039-8. Archived from the original on 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Weapons of Rio's crime war". The Firearm Blog. 2017-02-21. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved 2022-11-03.