RPK
| RPK | |
|---|---|
 RPK with a 40-round box magazine | |
| Type | Light machine gun Squad automatic weapon |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1961–present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | See Conflicts |
| 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: РПК; Ручной пулемёт Калашникова, romanized: Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, lit. 'Kalashnikov's hand-held machine gun') is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun/squad automatic weapon that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. The RPK 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 several African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.