Mikhail Degtyaryov of Kalashnikov Gun Magazine published a couple of images of an ongoing Molot project of making a dual-feed (fed both from a magazine and belt) light machine gun. You can immediately tell that the firearm shown in the images is in the prototyping stage. It is unfinished and has a lot of welding and machining tool marks all over it.

Unlike most of the modern LMGs, it uses a recoiling barrel operation instead of being gas operated. If this becomes a production firearm, they’ll probably add a full-length barrel shroud to protect the reciprocating barrel. That is normally the case with many other firearms using recoiling barrel operation.

As shown in the top image, the gun is chambered in 7.62x39mm and uses either linked ammunition with a non-disintegrating belt or AK-47 magazines. This dual-feed feature is not anything new. Perhaps the most well-known firearm using such feeding system is the M249 SAW LMG. It is a good design feature allowing the LMG gunner not only share the ammunition with the rest of the squad but also use their magazines in case of running out of the linked ammunition.

Right now this Molot LMG is being tested in the manufacturer’s premises. Although it is not officially stated, I think they are designing it to enter a government trial – possibly the Tokar-2 trials. Otherwise, why would Molot start designing an LMG from the ground up? This kind of firearm is a military-only one with little to no possibility to be sold in the civilian market.