#7.62x54mmR

Goodbye Dragunov SVD and 7.62×54mmR! Welcome CZ Bren 2 PPS and 7.62x51mm!  The Czech Army (Armáda České republiky) has ordered a total of 350 pieces of the new CZ Bren 2 PPS rifles. The rifle is made by Česká zbrojovka a.s. (CZ) on the basis of the CZ Bren 2, which in turn was developed from the 805 BREN in caliber 5.56x45mm or 7.62x39mm.

The craft-modified bullpup PKM design that has popped up in different iterations (albeit sparingly) throughout Syria, Yemen and Libya takes its roots in the Russian 7.62x54mmR Pecheneg PKP GPMG that became popular within the Russian Ministry of Interior due to the need for a beltfed weapon system that could be compact as possible. Originally the Pecheneg wasn’t a bullpup, but simply a shortened PKM with integrated carrying handle. Later, bullpup versions became available but at this point, it doesn’t appear that they are seeing a tremendous amount of use within Russia. The bullpup variant appeared on the scene at least in public around 2016. It didn’t take long for craft-modified variants to appear in hotspots in the MENA region, first in Libya in early 2017, then in Syria possibly around late 2017, and most recently in Yemen this summer (May, June 2018). Dates are very approximate with these timelines due to images making their rounds on social media from their respective communities until they get picked up by Western sources and analysts. So we can’t pin down exactly when these designs were developed or even entered service, but we do know none seemed to exist before the Pecheneg bullpup in late 2016. For more information about that original design, Russian presenter Sergey Badyuk got his hands on a variant in one of his episodes on Youtube.

The Iraqi Al-Kadesiah rifle was named after a battle bearing the same name in 636 AD which marked a key point in the Islamic conquest of what is current-day Iraq and Iran. The naming of weapon systems  whether it be small arms or missiles in Saddam’s Iraq was often based on important events in history, religion, or geography so this odd naming scheme comes as no surprise.

Russian archaeological team called “Yuri Gagarin” publishes on its  YouTube channel videos of excavations of WW2 relics from the battlefields of the war. In several recent videos, they show how they retrieve many really well-preserved firearms and other items from a swamp. Even after being in the swamp for about 75 years, these relics are in amazingly good condition. Below is a set of screenshots of the most interesting weapons and other items shown in their latest videos.

This experimental Soviet light machine gun was designed in a military academy called “F.E. Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy” by a gentleman named Major E. Gorov. In 1942, Gorov finished the designing process of his light machine gun and submitted it to government tests.

The Russian PKM: Arguably the best general purpose machine gun in the world, it combines a robust reliability with best-in-class light weight. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons recently released two video overviews of the weapon, giving us a good enough excuse as any to spend some time with the Soviet showstopper:

Kalashnikov Concern recently released a new English language video regarding their PL-15K compact pistol, MP-444 pistol, AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles, and SVCh semiautomatic sniper rifle. By way of a walkthrough from Kalashnikov Concern technical consultant Vladimir Onokoy, the video offers English speakers an important look at the technical features of the new weapons, which were until now something of a mystery to those on this side of the language barrier. The video is embedded below, followed by a written summary:

Coke’s slogan is “Taste the Feeling”, but maybe in the Ukraine it should be “the Army’s Rust Remover!” instead. “We use Coca-Cola when the gun is rusty. Coca-Cola takes rust away” says Ukrainian Ground Forces machine gunner Oleg Yuzkovich about his trusty PKM machine gun, in an interview with 5 Kanal (Channel 5 Ukraine, embedded below.

Kalashnikov Concern’s newest weapon releases have received quite a lot of attention since they were first shown off at the ARMY 2016 military and technology forum in Moscow, and as the conference winds down, I want to take a more thorough pass through four of these new products from the company. Since we published announcements for three of these new weapons, Maxim Popenker, gun expert and TFB contributor, has published more detailed descriptions of the RPK-16, MA, and SVK rifles on his website, Modern Firearms. Let’s take a look at what he has to teach us about these new weapons:

Modern? Sure, but let’s take a step back… Way back. It’s 1890 and smokeless powder has just been invented. There’s this guy named Rubin going around and spreading the gospel of the small caliber, high velocity .30″ bore round. You’re in Imperial Russia; what’s your country to do to keep up with this new tide of ammunition innovation?

Hognose at WeaponsMan takes a look at an interesting photo in one of his most recent articles. He writes:

Photographer Konstantin Lazarev is a reliable source for photos of the latest and greatest small arms to come out of Russia. His latest batch of photos shows several different Pecheneg and PK machine guns, configured with night vision and holographic optics. Some of the photos are below:

A week ago, Alex C. and Miles Vining pitted the Russian Mosin-Nagant against the German Mauser Gewehr 98 in a battle royale shootout to see which was the best rifle. Unsurprising to some, and outrageous to others, Paul Mauser’s masterpiece took home the gold and handily beat the Three Line Rifle, scoring more hits more quickly in all the shooting sessions.